Yearn to Wander

Kootenai National Forest Low-Hanging Fog on Early September Morning

Through the Kootenais and Kootenays to the Okanagan Vineyards

We headed west from Kalispell with the Rocky Mountain Trench in our rear view mirror. The Trench is a broad valley, nearly 1,000 miles long and fifteen mile wide. The Rocky Mountains border it on the east as it extends from Flathead Lake in Montana north to British Columbia's northern border. This geologic phenomenon resulted from two different faults at different times and later modification through several periods of glaciation. Ranching, logging, mining, and tourism support the economies throughout the valley. We contributed to the local economy during the couple weeks we spent hiking, birdwatching, and working, and in August when we drove through the Columbia Valley to Golden.

From Kalispell, we traveled along the Kootenai (Am. spelling) River, a major tributary into the Columbia River, and through the Kootenai National Forest. Then, after a brief northerly drive through Idaho to the US-Canadian border, we followed the Kootenay (Cdn spelling) Highway, through forests, past lakes, along rivers on one of the prettiest routes either of us have ever seen. Check out http://www.kootenaysbc.com/ if you're interested in more about the Kootenay region.

From the Kootnay region, at Rock Creek, we headed north to Kelowna through more mixed forests. The population of trees changed slowly. Birches joined aspen clumps. The most remarkable tree though was the Western Red Cedar, a tree that can grow for hundreds of years to over one hundred feet.

We reached Kelowna, the major city in the Southern Okanagan Region, and where Canada's vineyards and orchards fill the landscape -- Canada's fruit basket. It was a big surprise. Bright, warm sunlight; colorful flowers galore: roses, dahlias, sunflowers, hydrangea, fall asters of all sorts; trees filling the boulevard medians; delightful city parks; lots of ethic restaurants; many small theaters, music venues, coffee shops, bookstores; bicycles, hybrid buses, and more cars than pickups -- all part of a vibrant small city on Okanagan Lake, a major lake surrounded by vineyards, orchards, and nurseries. We felt feel welcome. We will return!