Back to the Lake!

 On our way back from the Yukon, along the Stewart-Cassiar highway, word was received that a nice neighbour had cut all the grass at home!  So, with no need to hurry home, and the weather being pretty decent, it was a no-brainer to head for the lake!

Revelstoke Lake, is actually a reservoir along the Columbia River.  But since it has dams at both ends, the water level is kept very constant, so it appears like a 'normal' lake, with no exposed bare banks.  It is almost 120 km long by road with the Revelstoke dam at the lower end, and the Mica dam at the upper end, holding back Kinbasket Lake.

Before the Rogers Pass road through the mountains was opened in the 60's (?) the only land route took a very long jog to the north before coming back south - it was known as the Big Bend highway.  As a result of flooding Revelstoke Lake, a new highway at a higher elevation had to be constructed for access to the Mica dam.  Therefore, many sections of the abandoned route now lead down to dead-ends in the water - which in turn provides many points of access for camping etc.

There is a provincial park (Martha Creek) campground on the lake, as well as several provincial rec areas with minimal services.  Of course, the places I seek out have no services!

There is a fair bit of logging ongoing all up the sides of the lake and adjoining valleys.  Since there are no continuous roads on the far side of the lake, there are multiple spots where primitive ferries or barges take log trucks across the lake. 

Some run on cables stretched across the lake underwater, while others are powered by attached boats.

Not sure if this one is abandoned, or just awaiting it's next assignment?

If it still floats, I think it would be a great place to park a few RV's on it and float around the lake for a few weeks!

This was sort of an unplanned trip, so our arrival was not at the best time - late Friday afternoon.  This meant that a lot of the prime spots closer to town were already taken, but with over 100km of lakeshore to choose from, it's rare that you can't find a good place a bit further north.  It was getting rather late the first night, so we just opted to head up the nearest unused logging road with a view of the lake from above.

In the morning, we took our time heading further north to look for a better option.

We ended up at a nice quiet little spot, right beside a bubbling brook! 

Sections of the old, paved highway here are almost completely reclaimed by the roadside brush.  Here, it is right to the centre line of the old highway!

Once the weekenders were gone, one of our favourite spots became available, and we moved right in.
 

At first I thought it was a squirrel, but on closer inspection, this Marten was not at all afraid to watch from a nearby tree.

I get up just for a second, and someone takes my place!  And tries to look all innocent!

Eventually, it was time to make an appearance at the home place for a while - actually, just because the good weather was coming to an end!

Once at home, Bailey insisted on checking out his 'winter home', the 5th wheel.  It apparently passed his inspection!  Still mouse-free!

The blog is still way behind, but starting to catch up a bit.  Problem is, blogger insists you be online to edit anything, unlike when I used to use Open Live Writer.  Even though I have Starlink along, at my last camp location, the 100' trees prevent any continuous coverage.  Can still download and send email, but can't do anything online that requires continuous coverage ...