Peaks and valleys

Hello Everyone, 

It somewhat ironic that some of the most beautiful views one finds when traveling, the peak of the experience you might say, are in valleys. Today, I drove from Kelowna to Revelstoke through the Okanagan Valley, and the views were amazing. It was raining heavily, so I didn't get the full effect, but that just shows how special the area is. Even without seeing it all, it was still awesome. 

Side note - how is Revelstoke's motto not Get Stoked, or Rev It Up, or Stoke Your Fire, Stoking a REVolution, etc. Missed opportunity there, tourism board of Revelstoke. 

Today, Arthur and I finally got to ride in the Interior, but just barely. After labouring 4 miles up a mountain, it started to rain. Just like yesterday, I figured it wasn't a great idea to be at high elevation during intemperate weather. There was no lightning, at least while we were up there, but that kind of thing can strike out of nowhere. Like a cat, or some other metaphor for moving really fast. I'm coming up blank on ideas here. 

Anyway, we bombed it down. Or we would have if the trails handled water better. But since this is a normally arid spot, the rain created a lot of mud, which makes traction difficult in corners. So in practice, we gingerly made out way down. 

On a hot summer day, Arthur will gladly spend hours swimming. He'll even get his face in the water chasing a ball. But God help us if it rains. He's anxious to get back to the truck and get in out of the bad weather. His thick, heavily shedding, coat keeps his skin dry, but he still does not at all like getting wet in the rain.

We're supposed to get a bit of sunshine this weekend, so he and I will try to hit up the mountains here. Otherwise, we'll go full tourist, complete with camera strap, full brim hat, dark socks in my garish running shoes, and cargo shorts. I'll try to make an was of myself around some national monument, just to complete the image. Will be a stretch for me though. 

Wes