Tubing near Spences Bridge
The tubing trip was awesome -- a lot of fun. It was really hot, especially on Sunday -- on the drive home, we passed through Lytton, and it reached 38 degrees. I think Lytton is supposed to be the hottest place in BC, even hotter than Osoyoos.
One thing that was a little bit scary was that I fell out of the tube at one point and couldn't hang onto it (usually, you just hang on, and climb back in). It took a few seconds to surface, but it felt longer, like 15. I was both calm and scared at the same time -- I guess because I have had other experiences that felt the same before. I fell out in slow motion, lost grip of the tube, and then I wasn't surfacing, and thinking, "I sure hope I surface soon or else I'm going to have to take a breath of water." I remember my head hitting the bottom of the tub though. When I finally surfaced, I knew I would be fine. Actually, in retrospect, I felt strangely calm.
My next thought was that I lost my sandal, but I should get to safety first. I was part of a "molecule" of 5 tubes, and my molecule-mates yelled to me to swim to Rob, who was close by - but upstream. In retrospect, I should have swum downstream to catch my tube.
Anyway, while this was going on, my tube had separated from the rest, along with my sandal and a cooler -- somehow it was one girl who was a really good swimmer who managed to retrieve everything...after that Pete stayed close by to keep an eye on me and show me how to stay in the tube even in the rapids.
On the drive back, we played tourist. We stopped at Alexander Bridge (built in 1926), which is the old crossing over the Fraser, before the TransCanada was built, but it was the Othello Tunnels that really amazed me. They are just outside of Hope, so I've driven past it dozens of times and never knew it was there. A short walk takes you through a series of train tunnels that were part of the Kettle Valley Railway with pretty cool views of a deep, narrow canyon between each tunny. I highly recommend it if you have an hour to spare on a trip that takes you through Hope. The only cost is $1 for parking ($3 for the full day).
One thing that was a little bit scary was that I fell out of the tube at one point and couldn't hang onto it (usually, you just hang on, and climb back in). It took a few seconds to surface, but it felt longer, like 15. I was both calm and scared at the same time -- I guess because I have had other experiences that felt the same before. I fell out in slow motion, lost grip of the tube, and then I wasn't surfacing, and thinking, "I sure hope I surface soon or else I'm going to have to take a breath of water." I remember my head hitting the bottom of the tub though. When I finally surfaced, I knew I would be fine. Actually, in retrospect, I felt strangely calm.
My next thought was that I lost my sandal, but I should get to safety first. I was part of a "molecule" of 5 tubes, and my molecule-mates yelled to me to swim to Rob, who was close by - but upstream. In retrospect, I should have swum downstream to catch my tube.
Anyway, while this was going on, my tube had separated from the rest, along with my sandal and a cooler -- somehow it was one girl who was a really good swimmer who managed to retrieve everything...after that Pete stayed close by to keep an eye on me and show me how to stay in the tube even in the rapids.
On the drive back, we played tourist. We stopped at Alexander Bridge (built in 1926), which is the old crossing over the Fraser, before the TransCanada was built, but it was the Othello Tunnels that really amazed me. They are just outside of Hope, so I've driven past it dozens of times and never knew it was there. A short walk takes you through a series of train tunnels that were part of the Kettle Valley Railway with pretty cool views of a deep, narrow canyon between each tunny. I highly recommend it if you have an hour to spare on a trip that takes you through Hope. The only cost is $1 for parking ($3 for the full day).
posted by Karen at
8:03 p.m.
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