This morning we began our day in Revelstoke. The Stoke Hotel had a really great breakfast with lots of GF options and oranges already cut up into eighths. What a treat!
We had the bikes loaded by 8:15 AM. Jeff drove us south on Highway 23, to within 10 km of the Arrow Lake Ferry. We pedalled to the ferry, expecting a departure of 10 AM, and we found we were the last ones being waved aboard at 9:30 AM! Riding the ferry was part of the experience of today's bike trip - and it meant there was little traffic on the highway. This was a real bonus in Jessica's and my eyes.
We had great sights to see from the ferry. Here are just a few:
The crossing took about 15 - 20 minutes. Once on the other side - we let all the vehicles depart first, and then we cycled off last. And then we had a workout - a climb for about 8 km. The paved road had tar put on top of it and rocks embedded on top. It was meant to give additional grip to drivers especially in freezing conditions. While this cycling route was recommended by a Revelstoke Travel guide - I have to think it was written by a marketer and not by a cyclist. A cyclist most certainly have made mention of the rough texture of this paved road or the narrow shoulders that were available and smooth.
Before we hit the top of the hill, J discovered he had a slow leak in his back tire so we turned around and began the descent back down. About 2 km from the ferry, J's back tire became fully flat so we pulled over so that he could change it.
We had three friendly drivers go past - and all three of them stopped and asked if we needed any help. How nice is that?
The perk of stopping at this intersection was eating some wild strawberries that were growing in the ditch.
After J changed his tire we cycled down to the ferry and chatted with a couple from Kamloops. They had arrived at 10 AM expecting to catch the ferry. It was now 11:15 AM and the ferry had not arrived. But it arrived within 5 minutes of our arrival. We had that tiny little window of cell phone service to let Jeff know of our revised plans. He told us he was on the ferry (as a pedestrian) that was just about to touch the West side of Arrow Lake where we were waiting! So he stayed on the ferry, and we wheeled our bikes on and road the ferry back to the east side of the lake.
While on the ferry it started to rain - so we were glad once again that our support vehicle was available to pick us up and drive us! Jeff had parked the car in the parking lot on the east side of the lake so we loaded the bikes onto the vehicle and returned to Revelstoke. We grabbed hot drinks at Tim Hortons, fuelled up at Shell and Jeff bought his lunch at Subway (we had already eaten ours on the ferry!)
We then drove towards Golden and stopped at the Giant Cedars trail just west of the top of Roger's Pass. Once parked and walking towards the start of the trail - we learned it had been closed due to windstorms - that occurred in 2022. I guess it wasn't a priority to fix the trail!
We drove about two hours east to Golden and checked into the Travelodge Motel. Jeff has friends living in Golden so he left us to go and visit them. The three of us used the hot tub, sauna and waterslide!
Jeff's friends suggested we eat dinner at The Island. We felt it was worth the 37 minute walk each direction to have the fabulous food we ate! Jessica had a GF pasta, J had elk with gorgonzola cheese, spetzl and roast vegetables and I had a mango salad with prawns. Delicious.
The view from the upper patio of the Island restaurant (we elected to eat inside to avoid the rain!)
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