View back up our paddling route on the Columbia River from the Kicking Horse Ski Resort.
Our friends know the manager of the Kicking Horse River Lodge (soon to be renamed the Moonraker Lodge) so we were invited to stay there a few days and do a little paddling.
The lodge is a beautiful dove-tailed log building. A cut above our usual low rent accommodation.
The day we arrived they were having a Tarantula demonstration in the basement. Sure, why not.
The lodge's cook also runs a tarantula breeding business, as one does. They had an assortment of spiders on view and you could handle the gentler ones if you wanted.
To be honest I was more worried about being in a room with a bunch of strangers (all masked) than I was about the spiders.
Supper was tortilla Soup and beef pies at the lodge courtesy of Steve.
The next day we paddled from Parson to Nicholson on the Columbia, about 35 km. The scenery was incredible with mountains in every direction, but the current was very slow and it ended up being 5 hours of constant paddling. We were all pretty tired by the end.
Supper was burgers on the Wolf's Den's patio.
Looking for a little more excitement and a little less hard work, the next day we scouted out some easy routes on the Kicking Horse River. What started out as a scenic flatwater section braided through an open valley eventually narrowed into a lot more excitement than we expected with big waves and two big rapids. Fortunately we all came through upright.
All in all it was a great way to celebrate Leo's 69th birthday, and there was even cake! What more could you ask for?
Supper was on the patio at the
Island Restaurant, located on an island in the Kicking Horse River in downtown Golden.
Unfortunately no photos from the water as the battery charger from my waterproof camera has gone AWOL. I hope to post some later.
Full Disclosure: We got a discount on our rooms in the hope that we'll spread the word amongst our paddling friends.
