Cultus Lake is approximately 90 minutes East of Vancouver.  It is a very popular recreational area that offers hiking trails, swimming, boating, fishing and of course, golfing.

Cultus Lake

We camped there for 8 days, and despite the fact that we had quite a few rainy days, we had a very good time.  We finally met  Sharry and Al, from Texas.  Bear had been corresponding with them online for a little while and we found out we were going to be in Cultus Lake at the same time!  We spent evenings chatting around a campfire, it was fun and we feel we have made friends for life.

Sharry and Al really enjoyed Chicken's company 😉

A break in the weather meant going on an excursion and see what we can see.  The first day, we found Minter Gardens in Rosedale.  In 1977, on a family outing, Brian and Faye Minter discovered a unique and picturesque site and decided to create one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.  Their dream became a reality and we can now admire this 32 acres garden set against a magnificient mountain backdrop.

Entrance, Minter Gardens

A daisy with a bad hair day!

Serene beauty

Chicken found a friend hiding in a little garden shed.  They had a good time together.

Chicken and his friend the garden gnome

Alas, it was time for chicken to say goodbye to his new friend, and we left Rosedale and made our way to Hope BC.

Bear and Chicken having fun in Hope BC

Hope is the capital of chainsaw woodcarving in BC.  It is also where the movie Rambo “First Blood” with Sylvester Stallone was filmed.  Director Ted Kotcheff, a canadian, really liked the rain forest around Hope, the curious mixture of coniferous and almost southern savannah where everything is covered by moss because it rains all the time.  To him, it looked damp and uncomfortable, and that is what he wanted for the movie.  The misty weather of the small town and the imposing mountains and canyon scenery contributed to the success of the film.  The buildings that were blown up in town during the movie were actually built for the sole purpose of being destroyed, no real building were damaged 🙂

The bridge where Rambo was escorted out of town

The Coquihalla Canyon near hope was also featured in the film.  The 150 foot fall from a helicopter in a narrow canyon was filmed there.  The stunt man received $14.000 to perform the stunt, he reportedly had agreed to do it for half that amount, but after seeing the helicopter repeatedly blew over the airbags he was set to land on, he doubled his price!  The scene took 6 hours to complete.

Coquihalla Canyon

Rushing water in Coquihalla gorge

This is also the site of the Othello tunnel.  The 5 tunnels are amazingly perfectly aligned.    Long thought impossible, Andrew McCullough figured out the way to make a passage for the Kettle Valley Railway.  He and his men were lowered in woven baskets from the top with their tools and survey instruments, an from this precarious position, developed the plan for a series of tunnels and bridges.

The tunnels are perfectly aligned

The tunnels were accessible by an easy walking trail along the gorge.

Bear in one of the tunnels

On a cloudy but NOT rainy day, we went to Harrison Springs.

The Village of Harrison Hot Springs has been a small resort community since 1886.  The hot springs are a major atraction and people come to stay at the Spa-resort. The village is situated at the southern-end of Harrison lake.  We took a 2 hour cruise on the lake.

The crew was happy to let Chicken drive the boat

The lake is fed by a glacier on top of Mount Breakenridge

It is said that there is a Tsunami risk here, some geologist believe that an unstable rock face at Mount Breakenridge at the north end of the lake could collapse into the lake and generate a large wave that would destroy the town of Harrison Hot Springs.

A quiet place, with no electricity or services, only accessible by boat. For those who want to be away from it all.

Snow peaks magically appear on top of the clouds

Rainbow falls are 2300ft high, on a sunny day,   a rainbow appears in the mist at the bottom of the falls.

Upper part of Rainbow Falls

Canadians only enjoy a few months of summer, and they make the most of it.  Even though this lake is fed by glacier water, and the temperature was on the cold side the day we took the cruise, it did not keep them from enjoying the lake!

Tubing with winter coats on?

Only in Canada….

Canadian-style high-tech camping!

😉