East Kootenay region of British Columbia is a magical place. We’ve just returned from there, exhausted and happy to have time with our daughter and grandsons who met us near Invermere along the Windermere Lake. The weather was fabulous, hot and dry, and we swam every day.
What struck me was how many cars were on the road from all over Canada and the United States. This is a very safe part of the world. We travel at our leisure, take time in the summer to visit and vacation. There were license plates from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, from Washington, Montana and Idaho. We saw California plates, some from Ontario and Quebec.
The roads are windy, mostly in very good condition, with a few spots under construction. The scenery is fabulous. Coming from the west coast rain forest, I am always fascinated by the mountain hemlocks with their short branches and upright bearing, backed by the sheer rock and high snowy peaks of the Rockies. They pack themselves in close to each other and take up such a small circumference compared to the Douglas and grand firs of the coast.
But back to the issue of safety. Would you take a car and drive the hills of Pakistan for a vacation? Or rent a boat and take your family tubing on a lake in eastern Ukraine? Pack your tent and go camping in the wilds of Ecuador without a guide? We are blessed to live here. I don’t take it for granted.
