Yesterday we wrote about all the water sources we had explored around the town of Invermere. But we hadn't yet been on the most important water--the Columbia River. It took some imagination, but we finally figured out a way to kayak the section of the Columbia River from Invermere to Radium Hot Springs.
Floating down a river means that we need two vehicles--one at the entry point and one at the exit point on the river. On the day we left this area, we used the motor home as one of our river shuttle vehicles. We dropped the car off at a take-out spot on a forest service road west of Radium Hot Springs. The road was rough gravel with lots of pot holes, so Denisa was planning to walk the mile back to town. But instead, she got a ride back to where Mark was waiting in the motor home. Then we drove the motor home to the put-in spot in Invermere where Mark had gotten permission to park.
Then we inflated the kayak and started our three-hour float at the north end of Lake Windermere. Remember, this is the lake that will become the world's longest skating trail once it ices over this winter.
The water is perfectly clear here, and we can see the water grasses beneath the surface as we take off.
The clear water makes for great fishing conditions for the birds in this wide section of the Columbia River wetlands.
We immediately started seeing raptors sitting in the tall trees beside the river, waiting for lunch to swim by. We saw bald eagles,
and an osprey sitting like an angel on the top of a Christmas tree.
With that clear water and calm winds, it was a perfect day to be on the river.
We also found this family of ducks that didn't mind hanging out near our boat this morning.
Mom and Dad were showing the ducklings the bottoms-up method for finding breakfast on the river as we floated by.
Denisa is always looking for wildflowers, and she wasn't disappointed even on the water. An entire mat of interwoven flowers was floating near the bank.
That mat is made up of tiny 5-petal daisy-like flowers. The Columbia River doesn't disappoint even a flower-lover!
The current on the river was minimal while we were in the wide wetland section close to Invermere. But then the river narrowed, and we saw an increase in the current when a smaller river came in from the left. We also noticed that side river was cloudy as it contained a lot of glacial silt. We waited for the additional silt to settle so we could get our clear Columbia water back.
And we waited some more. Miles later, and the clear water that we started with looks more like the glacial lakes we've been paddling.
It was a calm float that required some paddling to get us all the way to Radium in a timely manner. We were entertained by changing scenery, like these white cliffs.
But wait, what's that at the top of that cliff? After we saw a golf swing, we realized that was a tee box on one of the many golf courses we've driven by in this valley. But wait (again), what's that odd-shaped knob just to the left of the tee box?
When we floated by, we saw that "knob" was a bald eagle, sitting just beyond the tee box. Because he was sitting just below the cliff top, those golfers had no idea he was so close.
As we floated past the last curve before our take-out spot near Radium Hot Springs, we counted this as a great kayak trip. The Columbia River is the longest river in North America that empties into the Pacific Ocean, and we got to see it very close to its beginning.
We got the kayak packed up in the car, then drove down the highway to where we left the motor home this morning in Invermere. We have wandered God's watery wonders here! We have successfully explored the lakes, the rivers, and the wetlands around Invermere, British Columbia. Now it's time to fire up the motor home (aka the river shuttle vehicle) and head down the road to our next destination.
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