A town on a river means there are likely to be lots of bridges. We’ve lived in London and Chicago, and both were not short of a bridge or two. Spokane seems to have done well in the bridge standings too. There are the large structures carrying the roads across the river and then smaller footbridges including suspension structures. As we walked along the river, we got to see a lot of different bridges and tried out a few of them too.
Once we had crossed the border into Canada, we traveled for a while before arriving at Radium Springs. Here we took a turn into the Kootenay National Park which also provides the main road up towards Banff. As we made the turn and took the entrance into the park, I was convinced that something was wrong. We were driving right at a cliff. Sure, there appeared to be a crack in the cliff but that surely couldn’t be the road. However, that is exactly what it was. The road ran through this tiny gap and into the valley beyond. It was quite a stunning way to enter a park!
The beginning of our vacation involved a decent drive, and our route took us right by Spokane. We may have lived here for over seven years, but we haven’t been to Spokane in that time. In fact, we have been there before but only to the airport which we staged through for a trip we made back when we lived in Chicago. A hotel airport doesn’t really count as visiting a city. Since we had built some time into our schedule, we made a diversion into the center of the city to have a look around.
I had heard about the falls in the middle of the city and that there was some nice development along the river, so we headed for that area. Turned out to be a really nice afternoon to be walking around the river so we had got quite lucky. There are some other parts of our visit that will justify their own posts in due course so I shall just start with some shots of the falls and some of the buildings in the areas that we saw. I shall add more of the sights in due course.
If you live in the UK, you probably aren’t aware of how fortunate you are to have the variety of places to walk that you do. Public rights of way are a feature of the UK that are not necessarily replicated in other countries. They provide the chance to walk in many places that would otherwise be out of bounds. Also, the woodlands that are accessible are a treat. We took a wander through Blackwood Forest while we were in the UK and Sam and Chris introduced it to us. We weren’t going to be taking a major hike based on time available and other things, but we did have a relaxing wander through the trees. We also had time to stop at the café in the forest, too, which may have eaten up some time while we ate up some good food!
For one of our recent stays in the UK, we rented an AirBnB in the Hampshire town of Stockbridge. I had driven through (or by) Stockbridge on countless occasions over the years but had never stopped to explore it. Turns out that was an oversight on my part as it is a really delightful little town. Plenty of interesting shops and eateries to explore. Also, doesn’t hurt to have a few pubs that are worth a visit too. We had an excellent time while staying there and here are a sample of some images of the town from our time there.
The Pacific Northwest is not short of trees (and many of those trees are not short!) but they are often pretty regular looking trees. We do have some more twisted looking specimens for sure, but the UK does seem to provide a selection of aged trees that have developed some amazing shapes to them. One such tree was in the grounds at Hinton Ampner. I have no idea how old it is and whether this is the norm for this type of tree, but I thought it looked fantastic so here it is getting its own post.
I have put together posts for various animals that we saw during our trip to Kenya and Tanzania. We also saw lots of birds. Most of them I had no idea what they were, but our guides did a great job of telling us what we were seeing. Whether I can remember them all now, is a different story. Fortunately, I think I keyworded them shortly after we returned so I do have a chance. Rather than talk about the various different bird, here is a compilation of images of some of the ones we saw during our time away.
We stopped for a small snack at Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park after our walk. We were heading to lunch later, but you don’t want your energy to drop so a cake of some sort is a necessity. The tables around the café provided plenty of food for the local jackdaw population and they were very keen to get whatever fell from the plates of the customers. With the sun on them, they looked really cool. I didn’t know what they were at the time, but the grey heads were quite distinctive, and I did a search later on t identify them. Funny to learn these things so long after I had lived in the UK.
Richmond Park is famous for its deer. You don’t have to go far in the park to come across some. They seem pretty relaxed despite the presence of so many people nearby but I imagine it is a long time since anyone in the park was hunting them, so they don’t see us as a threat anymore. As we went for a stroll, we came across a few groups of deer busy munching away. Occasionally, they would look at us as we got closer but their lack of interest most of the time was obvious!
Take me to a place by the sea and I will be checking out the ferries. BC Ferries provides the services in British Columbia and there is a short crossing between Nanaimo and Gabriola Island that has a pretty frequent service. I understand the Island Class ferries are the ones that operate this service and they come into Nanaimo alongside the waterfront where we were walking after arriving.
During the peak times, there were two ferries running back and forth but, in the evening, I assume the demand is lower and one of the ferries was moored up. We got a good look at it as we came back from our dinner on a little ferry. I think these ferries have been designed for incorporation of electrical propulsion in due course.
