Clinton to Vancouver (15 June)
Clinton is about 900 meters above sea level. Our RV park was a bit out of town but much the same altitude so the night was cool.
Our journey quickly took us to lower altitudes and the landscape changed. There were fewer trees and the hillsides seemed almost bare, sometimes with a few scattered trees and sagebush.
Further down we came to wide and swiftly flowing rivers, helped by the snowmelt.
Lower still some mountains reappeared and we were reminded of our first few days in the Canadian Rockies and Cascades.
Railway tracks were on both sides of the river; apparently Canadian Pacific decided that it would be prudent, given that snow and landslides frequently disrupted rail transport. The track on the western side was a double track and we heard that there is a freight train on it every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day. Some of these trains are so long that they take about five minutes to pass. We saw several very long trains during our drive.
We visited the Othello Tunnels which were dug out in the early 20th century for the Kettle Valley Railway, a subsidiary line (since decommissioned) for the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is now part of a walking trail. The name Othello comes from the railway engineer, Andrew McCulloch, an avid Shakepeare fan, who named various stations after Shakespearean characters.
Incredibly, these steep chasms, often with vertical sides, provide no obstacles to trees putting down their roots and growing. The tree in the image below had to push out horizontally before turning and heading towards the sun.
We are in Vancouver for three nights and then cross the border into the USA on Monday.
Our journey quickly took us to lower altitudes and the landscape changed. There were fewer trees and the hillsides seemed almost bare, sometimes with a few scattered trees and sagebush.
Further down we came to wide and swiftly flowing rivers, helped by the snowmelt.
Lower still some mountains reappeared and we were reminded of our first few days in the Canadian Rockies and Cascades.
Railway tracks were on both sides of the river; apparently Canadian Pacific decided that it would be prudent, given that snow and landslides frequently disrupted rail transport. The track on the western side was a double track and we heard that there is a freight train on it every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day. Some of these trains are so long that they take about five minutes to pass. We saw several very long trains during our drive.
We visited the Othello Tunnels which were dug out in the early 20th century for the Kettle Valley Railway, a subsidiary line (since decommissioned) for the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is now part of a walking trail. The name Othello comes from the railway engineer, Andrew McCulloch, an avid Shakepeare fan, who named various stations after Shakespearean characters.
Incredibly, these steep chasms, often with vertical sides, provide no obstacles to trees putting down their roots and growing. The tree in the image below had to push out horizontally before turning and heading towards the sun.
We are in Vancouver for three nights and then cross the border into the USA on Monday.
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