PART TWO OF FRIDAY'S ROAD TRIP, MORE FALL COLOUR!

The first few photos were taken along the trail from home up along the Okanagan River.  The Kokanee are spawning and turn red when doing so.

Sumac is red and poison ivy is orange

Sumac

On our road trip last Friday I stopped at this spot for a geocache.  It was a long while before I got around to looking for the cache because I noticed this fall colour and photography trumps geocaching.  The geocache will always be there but the colour and light is fleeting and must be captured when found.

Then I found this little pond

Exploring a bit further I found this road which led me to more fall beauty

And then to the other side of the pond

Continuing our drive along BC Hwy 3, we turned up Sidley Mtn Rd and found some more colour.  In the high elevation up here, many trees were totally bare already.  I was thinking that this was probably our last chance for good colour this year.

Another geocache led us to find this old cabin on a side road off the Mt Baldy ski hill road

We took the Mt Baldy Road from Hwy 3 back to Oliver.  It is mostly gravel but in good condition and pretty quiet.

 

ATV RIDE AND PART ONE OF YET ANOTHER ROAD TRIP WITH A SASQUATCH VISIT

We took the RZR for a short ride up in the hills last Tuesday.  It was short in distance but long in time.  I had been searching for this Taylor Lake to solve a bit of a puzzle.  One of the logging roads is called Taylor Lake but someone had used felt pen to say Not Taylor Lake.  When Aileen and I went up it last RZR ride we certainly didn't see any sign of a lake.  Then there was Orofino Road and there was no lake up there either when we looked.  Finally decided on a small seldom used road that the aerial photos seemed to show heading for the lake.  It turned out to be very badly washed out so we were crawling up in in low gear mostly slower than a walking pace.  Finally the road improved and we made it to the lake.  There was a very cool wind blowing at the little picnic site so we carried on a bit further and found a sheltered clearing to have our lunch. On our way back, I noticed what appeared to be a bit of a trail heading toward the Orofino Road so we followed that and we were soon in new logging with connecting roads taking us to Orofino and a much smoother ride back to the car.

Yesterday, when I was checking the weather, I noticed that our good weather was coming to an end and if we wanted to see fall colour up in the high country along Highway 3 east of Osoyoos, this could be the last chance.  So heated up some soup, grabbed my cameras and off we went.  Of course we combined it with geocaching and picked up six along the way.  One of the caches paid big dividends which you will see in part two which I will probably post tomorrow.

Taylor Lake

Taylor Lake

South of Oliver

South of Oliver

Osoyoos south side, half of the lake is south of the border

Osoyoos

Osoyoos north side

Osoyoos

North of Osoyoos

Enjoying our soup lunch

Old barn off the highway on Anarchist Mtn

Anarchist Mtn

Anarchist Mtn

Anarchist Mtn

These two big red guys just lay there watching me take photos

    He didn't catch me!

ANOTHER ROAD TRIP

This a carryover from our Christina Lake trip with these red maple leaves.

This past Sunday we took the car and went on a little road trip.  We went up past the Apex Mountain ski area and across to the Nickleplate mine area and then down to Highway 3 just east of Hedley, BC.  This is a shot of some poplars with my full frame camera.

A pano of the same trees with my phone.

Some fall colour with my camera.

We explored a side road which led us to this nice viewpoint looking east along the Similkameen River Valley towards Keremeos, BC.  This was a launch point for parasailers.  

Further down the mountain we stopped for lunch at this fine viewpoint.  This is looking west up the Similkameen Valley.  Hedley is tucked around the corner of the treed hillside to the right of the water that's visible.

Another view same as the above showing some of our switchbacks and the highway below.

Switchbacks from both sides.

We were surprised to see this Scarlet Gilia which is a spring flower.  Aileen spotted it as we were driving.

The Sumac was colourful.

In the midst of the desert like environment, it was so refreshing to find this little creek crossing the road.

After coming down off the mountain, we took a short side trip up the Ashnola River.  I picked up four geocaches along here and one was near this outhouse in a forestry campsite.  Someone had cut animal figures in the top of the side walls so I took a photo from inside of the foliage outside.

Same as above.

Fall reflections in the river.

Looking upstream from one of the bridges.

Yesterday I took my cameras for a ride in the hills closer to home.

Midafternoon and it was feeding time.  There was a third cow/calf couple off to the right that were doing the same.

A little lake I drove by.

My full frame DSLR camera took this one.

And a vertical pano with my phone.