My summer vacation

Last month, we took the entire month off and headed up north to British Columbia. The hiking adventures will and have been documented in stand-alone posts but I thought I'd gather up the loose ends of the trip to beautiful Rossland in British Columbia and post them in this missive.

The Columbia River, at Trail

After hiking up Bear Creek Mountain with Jim, we left Yakima and headed up to Spokane. On the way we broke up the trip by cruising the Wild Horse Monument overlooking the Columbia Gorge in central Washington. The monument is a collection of metal horses, collectively known as the sculpture "Grandfather Releases The Ponies" which while growing up, was time for us children to leave the room in a hurry.

Horsies!

Horseshoe Lake at night

In Spokane we camped at Horseshoe Lake and I had fun despite having to spend an entire day with Dollie's family. And if any of the inlaws reads this:  relax, I say the same thing about my family. And if any of my family reads this: I didn't know  you had Internet. When evening fell we launched a firework over the lake and then spent the rest of the evening searching for Maggie as her little dog brain can't handle loud explosions. I finally found her walking along the road about a mile away.

The Columbia River

In Rossland, British Columbia, we enjoyed a super hike on the Seven Summits Trail. We also ambled around Nancy Greene Lake, named after a local skier who won a gold medal in the Grenoble Olympics. It was a short and pleasant walk that didn't quite rise to the level of "hike". Other activities we partook of while in Rossland were daily afternoon dips in the Columbia River where retired miners recounted old mining stories, a bike ride in Trail, a car tour up the Kootenay River to Nelson, and a visit to a winery that had a red wine to die for.

All the Rossland fun would not have taken place without our host Sabra and her cohort Scotty. We are absolutely indebted to you two.