Holy smoke

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Day 18.

After yesterday’s 29Km of gravel road the bike was pretty dirty but I knew I was going to ride another six and a half today so I just left it that way. Again I plotted a route in the GPS last evening so I knew what to expect. What I didn’t expect was how much smoke from the wild fires there was an hour South of here.

I took Hwy 1, The Trans Canada Highway, to Salmon Arm that then the fun began as I turned South toward silver Creek and Yankee Flats. Beautiful pavement and lots of twists and turns all the way to Hwy 97. I could see the smoke was getting heavier as the hilltops started to disappear. By the time I got to 97 it was like riding in a light fog and smelt like I was sitting by the non existent camp fire I’ve been missing since entering Alberta.

I turned West to Falkland where I stopped for gas and a drink. Even in the gas station restroom I could smell smoke. From there I turned back North on the Chase Falkland Road named for the fact it runs from Chase to Falkland. This is where I knew the six and a half Kilometres of gravel awaited me. It wasn’t quite as smooth as yesterday’s gravel run but still not bad. The paved portion of the road wasn’t the best in places either though. I don’t think I’ll be back but the route South I may do again.

As I was heading North the smoke did lighten up somewhat but what could have been a really nice picture overlooking the community of Chase wasn’t to be. I spotted a DQ in Salmon Arm the last time I rode through but told myself NO. Today I didn’t have the same discipline and had most of a small mint chip shake.

Relaxing back at camp I saw another toy hauler pull in and after a while I started my walk circling the park a few times. The owners were sitting outside so I asked if they were staying for a few days to do some riding and since the answer was yes, I offered to bring back my backroads map. I hadn’t noticed the licence plates but they are from Ontario as well.

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Photos

Salmon Arm
Being a bad diabetic.