Friday, June 29th, 2012

A drive to take the lay of the land, - and the river.

On Sunday the blue skies that had been quite gorgeous in the morning were tenuous in the afternoon, - threatened by large puffy thunderhead type clouds and a few morose fellows hanging around the tops of the mountains.

We hadn't seen what was happening with the river, but the news from the rest of British Columbia talked about lakes topping their basins and rivers escaping their banks;  creeks going mad and frothing down mountainsides and through towns, and the mighty Fraser threatening northern towns and the southern estuary.  Could we escape this great expanse of water spreading over the countryside
and into the cities and villages?   We cross the Red Bridge...

Over to the right the talus slides have a green and cream aura of growth, refreshed by spring rains.

Would you like to have that rock looming over where you live??

We turn back towards Keremeos on the far side of the river.  The water flows swiftly

but orderly, down under the Engineers Single Lane Bridge  that connects the

Rodeo Grounds and the south side ranches with town.

Charles stops at the end of the road and I step out of the SUV to catch a snapshot

of the Similkameen, with stern orders to stay well away from

the edge of the river bank..... and I do!

I point the camera up and down and across the river and note

 the island sandbars that have built up over the years, covered with poplar trees,

not completely covered by the water as they have been in other years at flood time.

We pass the big houses of the city people who have come to retire in this lovely valley,

and the working ranches.

The rock on the far left of the picture  below is Charles'  'measuring rock'

and as we cross the Engineers Bridge we remark how some years it is completely covered,

and  we wonder why this year the valley has not had a recalcitrant river

to deal with  when other parts of the province have been

so sorely tried. 

And are thankful!!