Peaks and valleys of traveling in the mountains

Hello Everyone,

I've written before about the ups and downs of living on the road, about how some days you should envy me and on others I envy a more stable life. It's not uncommon for these highs and lows to come in close proximity. Yesterday was one such day.

It started pretty low. For the second night, I stayed in a rest area just outside of Revelstoke, which turns out to be a pretty popular thing to do. Lots of RVs and campers there in the evenings. It's pretty functional, and has a nice view of the mountains, which is great. But it's right by the highway and train tracks, so it's loud and grubby.

Also, when I first pulled into a spot on that second night, I found what I'm pretty sure is a discarded crack pipe by my rear wheel. That really put a downer vibe on the place for me for the rest of the evening. Also, I switched spots.

By the time I had eaten both breakfasts (I need a lot of energy, and usually skip lunch), and packed up, I was the last rig there. Which also lent to that feeling of betting left behind. Everyone had somewhere better to be, except me.

The good part about starting your day at low ebb is that it's quite easy for it to start looking up, as mine did. During the day and over night, the clear skies had dried the trails, such that they were in great shape when Arthur and I headed out to ride.

Further, the clouds were gone, so I could see and marvel at the beautiful scenery. We had a very fun day of biking, and were in good spirits when we took off for our next destination.

I had heard talk of hot springs not too far away, so we headed off to check them out. Our route involved a short ferry ride, and while waiting for the boat, Arthur and I both went swimming in the clear, icy cold waters of the lake. Another high point.

We made it to Halfway Hot Springs, after a bumpy ride up an old logging road. We were camping there for the night, but before we set up, we headed down to the water to check out the main attraction.

The campsite sits on a ledge on a steep embankment, a shelf on the side of a mountain. You go down a series if wooden steps to the river, and there you find a couple of pools, man-made, with pipes that direct water from cracks in the mountain into the pools. The river is glacier fed and so makes a nice contrast to the hot water.

I went for a soak that evening and the next morning. It was great. Beautiful and peaceful, a total antidote to the low feeling I'd had yesterday morning.

Today is a travel day. We're headed to Golden, which isn't far from where we stayed last night, but there is no direct route, so we have to drive a big loop to get there. I'm looking forward to it, and some more highs and lows.

Wes

Included below is a photo of the rig on the ferry.