Thursday, June 14, 2012

A Phone Call from Red Deer, Alberta.




Little did I know that my first rail trail I would explore would be one of Canada's finest.  I was lucky a good friend of mine has a great memory for it was he who suggested we do the trip.  First, a little background on how this trip all came about.

Sometime back in 1992 during Canada's 125th birthday celebrations the formation of the Trans Canada Trail was announced.  I remember an article being published in Canadian Geographic magazine about the trail and the maps that were included.  Mostly I remember the path the trail was to take across southern British Columbia, this was over the former Kettle Valley Railway, a line I always wished I had the chance to ride over but because of the discontinuance of  passenger service in 1964, I never did.  

Map Credit: Joe Smuin
A most valuable tool when exploring the KVR
Exactly when I told my friend Franco about this trail or about the Kettle Valley Railway I do not know.  Likewise, when I told Franco about the 2003 forest fire that destroyed 12 of the 18 trestles in the Myra Canyon, I do not know.  What I do remember is Franco calling me from his home in Red Deer and asking me when we were going to ride the bike trail through the Myra Canyon.  What prompted his call was an article he had just finished reading in the Red Deer Advocate, this article was about the reopening of  the Kettle Valley Trail through the Myra Canyon. 

The second and by far the most important factor in my decision in saying "yes" was the fact that Franco had just recovered from a bout of cancer.  I remember hesitating for a brief second before answering in the affirmative, I'll work out the logistics of the trip later I thought to myself.
In the middle of this raging inferno is the jewel of the Kettle Valley Trail, the Myra Canyon. Photo: Kelowna Courier 
In a matter of days I had a blue-print of the trip all planed out.  Because I had driven many miles all over British Columbia and Alberta I knew what each town had to offer in way of food, accomondation and other services.  All that was left for me to do was to run the itinary by Franco to see what he thought, what he might want to add or remove and to see if he could book the time off from work. 

Franco who is one of the most easy going person I know said everything was just fine.  He did ask if we could add our friend Larry(see photo on page 1) to the list. "Sure, no problem" was my response.





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