Tuesday night, when I went out to get pizza for us, The Revelstoke Summer Street Festival was in full swing. They close off a block of MacKenzie Ave. and have live music and entertainment. It appears to be a nice, family friendly event.
Wednesday morning, it was calm and warm - on morning walk I saw a nice reflection of the mountains on the Columbia River.
Our plan for today was to drive the Meadows in the Sky Parkway. It is a scenic drive up Mount Revelstoke. It is also known as the Royal Road, as numerous British Royalty have come to Revelstoke and traveled up the mountain. I also learned that Mount Revelstoke Ski Resort, where we hiked Monday, was on Mount Revelstoke but was moved to Mount MacKenzie - where it is now.
Five kilometers up, we came to the first view point - great views of the city from here. While there, we were told that the Royal Canadian Air Force demonstration team, the Snow Birds (similar to the US Air Force demonstration team, the Thunderbirds) would be performing an air show sometime after 3:00 p.m.
We continued up the mountain for another 20 or so kilometers and were lucky enough to find a parking space. I initially thought about taking the shuttle up the final leg, but when looking closer at the map and description of trails, we decided to hike the one km summit trail - it was a pleasant walk with only a little uphill ascent.
Once there, we learned more about the history of the mountain and enjoyed the wildflowers - it is easy to see why it is named Meadows in the Sky Parkway - meadows of wildflowers at 6,000 plus feet elevation.
The first trail we hiked was the First Footsteps Trail, honoring the natives who were here for centuries before European settlers arrived.
Amazing views from this altitude.
At one point, had great views of the glaciers in the distance as well as snow just a few yards below me.
I took a video to give a sense of the panoramic views.
Great views of Lake Revelstoke, a man made lake on the Columbia River created by a dam where water generates electricity.
We learned that the park is virtually an island, as population growth and development encircles the park.
We also learned about why wildflowers grow so well here.
I did not take this photo of wildflowers; this is my photo of the large photograph on the sign about wildflowers - but this is what the meadows look like.
And yes, we did make it to the summit.
We then had a picnic lunch, and then hiked by Balsam Lake out to Eagle Knoll - again, amazing views.
Then we headed back down the mountain and stopped at the 5 km viewpoint to watch the air show put on by the Royal Canadian Air Force Snow Birds. I took one photo where a contrail showed up against the mountains and then took four short video clips of the air show.
Another great day in Revelstoke.
Wednesday morning, it was calm and warm - on morning walk I saw a nice reflection of the mountains on the Columbia River.
Our plan for today was to drive the Meadows in the Sky Parkway. It is a scenic drive up Mount Revelstoke. It is also known as the Royal Road, as numerous British Royalty have come to Revelstoke and traveled up the mountain. I also learned that Mount Revelstoke Ski Resort, where we hiked Monday, was on Mount Revelstoke but was moved to Mount MacKenzie - where it is now.
Five kilometers up, we came to the first view point - great views of the city from here. While there, we were told that the Royal Canadian Air Force demonstration team, the Snow Birds (similar to the US Air Force demonstration team, the Thunderbirds) would be performing an air show sometime after 3:00 p.m.
We continued up the mountain for another 20 or so kilometers and were lucky enough to find a parking space. I initially thought about taking the shuttle up the final leg, but when looking closer at the map and description of trails, we decided to hike the one km summit trail - it was a pleasant walk with only a little uphill ascent.
Once there, we learned more about the history of the mountain and enjoyed the wildflowers - it is easy to see why it is named Meadows in the Sky Parkway - meadows of wildflowers at 6,000 plus feet elevation.
The first trail we hiked was the First Footsteps Trail, honoring the natives who were here for centuries before European settlers arrived.
Every hundred yards or so, there would be more info about the natives or first nations peoples as they are called in Canada.
Amazing views from this altitude.
At one point, had great views of the glaciers in the distance as well as snow just a few yards below me.
I took a video to give a sense of the panoramic views.
Great views of Lake Revelstoke, a man made lake on the Columbia River created by a dam where water generates electricity.
We learned that the park is virtually an island, as population growth and development encircles the park.
There is still a historic firetower there, but we could not enter it as they were doing renovations.
We also learned about why wildflowers grow so well here.
I did not take this photo of wildflowers; this is my photo of the large photograph on the sign about wildflowers - but this is what the meadows look like.
And yes, we did make it to the summit.
We then had a picnic lunch, and then hiked by Balsam Lake out to Eagle Knoll - again, amazing views.
Then we headed back down the mountain and stopped at the 5 km viewpoint to watch the air show put on by the Royal Canadian Air Force Snow Birds. I took one photo where a contrail showed up against the mountains and then took four short video clips of the air show.
Another great day in Revelstoke.
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