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Published: June 20th 2017
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Osoyoos to Christina Lake
The morning after our day of rest in Osoyoos dawned clear and dry. Off I went to climb the Anarchist! That is the name of the mountain on the east side of Osoyoos - someone told me it is named that because an anarchist once lived on it - I don't know if that is true, but it is a great name for a challenging climb. Highway #3 winds up the Anarchist in a series of switchbacks. My friend Gordon Bryce who, along with his lovely wife Ann, we had met the day before when they pulled the van into the site beside us, told me the little level spots that occur at the turn of the switchbacks provide welcome rests, albeit short ones. Gordon is an experienced cross Canada rider and he generously shared his cycling wisdom with Raja and me. Although the climb was long and hard, those little rests at the turns made all the difference. On the way up I saw a rattle snake on the shoulder. I was not sure if it was somnolent in the cool of the morning or dead (he looked undamaged). I took his picture outside of striking
distance just in case. A fellow in an SUV stopped and borrowed my air pump for the mountain bike he had in the back. He had lost his in the river. I talked to a group of 3 Dutch tourists who were taking in the view at a lookout. Later on a young fellow glided silently up beside me on his bike and wished me a good morning before effortlessly pulling past and away. Before I reached the top, he passed me again going down - I guess he was just doing it for the exercise! I reached Anarchist Summit (which sounds like a conference that would be impossible to govern or even arrange!) without feeling too wiped out by the climb to it's 1200 and some odd metres. Maybe I am getting in a little better condition or maybe my mind control is improving - I'll take it either way. The views on top were amazing. Rolling ranch land with panoramas of mountains behind. The highway here runs within a kilometre of the American border. I passed the quaint town of Bridesville and then descended the other side of the mountain over the incredibly deep Rock Creek Canyon and
then into Rock Creek proper, where the Saturday market was in full swing. It looks like a town full of artists and free spirits - our kind of place! Michele met me for lunch in Rock Creek and then went on to check out the market, where she got a pair of antique jodphurs - just what every girl needs. She then went on ahead to the town of Midway, where she was able to get us a site at the town's campground. It is right on the Kettle River and is quite lovely. A fellow cyclist by the name of Sean was in the site next to us. He and his border collie, Rex, were doing the Kettle River Rail Bed trail. Sean was super friendly and so was Rex who was clearly addicted to playing frisbee. Raja showed up and set his tent up near ours. My brother Peter tells me he found a geocache near a border marker on the small mountain across the river. The American border is only about 500 metres from where we camped. In the morning I stopped at the Copper Eagle Coffee Shop and Bakery in the amazing city of Greenwood (Canada's
smallest city) for a coffee and sticky bun. Delicious. There I met the cycling trio of Paul and Mariette Demers from New Brunswick and Doris (pronounced Dorees) Laplante from Quebec. These amazing people are cycling across Canada in the Cycle for Hope fundraising for cancer event. They are mostly my age or older and they easily caught and passed me later on, even with their bikes fully loaded with luggage and camping gear. They had met Raja the day before and we all agreed to meet at the campground at Christina Lake. As I rode along the highway near the no longer existing town of Eholt, my eye was caught by what looked like money in a baggie lying on the shoulder. Sure enough, the baggie contained some receipts , some $5 bills, a drivers license and two credit cards. Michele caught up with me and I turned my find over to her to give to the police in Grand Forks. When she got to Grand Forks she went to the station and found no one home. She picked up the phone on the wall by the door and someone somewhere other than Grand Forks answered. They said the detachment
was closed on Sunday (Huh?) and could she turn it in on Monday. She said she was travelling and they said to turn it in at Castlegar. The town of Grand Forks is so beautiful and serene, I could almost believe the criminals take Sunday off.
Christina Lake Pines campground was our destination and that is where we all congregated after Michele had secured the sites. Paul, Mariette, Doris, Raja and Michele and I all camped together - a merry band of cyclists.
The story of the hunt for the owner of the baggie continues. It takes a few twists and turns and I will save the details for the next post when hopefully it will have come to a happy resolution. Suffice it to say that we decided not to turn it into the police, but to seek out the owner ourselves - the story so far involves a stupid question, some serendipity, a girl named Elvira and a town clerk in Homer, Alaska.
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Judy Powell
non-member comment
Page -turner!
Wow Michael, only you can turn a travel blog into a page-turner! I am so happy to follow your and Michele's delightful adventure. Keep up the great work both on the road and on the page!