Wildflowers

I had never heard of Mount Revelstoke National Park, which is in British Columbia, but Bill wanted to venture there, so venture there we did. Our walk yesterday began with a 26 km (16 miles) drive on Meadows in the Sky Parkway, climbing 1600 metres (5,249') to the beautiful subalpine wildflower meadows. August is the peak blooming season for these lovely flowers.

Although common, the Indian Paintbrush is one of my favorites.

Once we parked at the top, we walked various loop trails to enjoy the views. It was a cloudy...the storm clouds were rolling in, but the mountains were as awesome as ever!

As we started the descent on the parkway, we picked up two young hitchhikers. They were "on holiday" from their jobs at a hostel near Vancouver, and were staying in a Revelstoke hostel for a few days. Philip, 19, and Lena, 22, were both from Germany and spoke English very well.

I asked them how many years they studied English, and they informed me that English is one of the 3 major subjects in Germany, along with Math and German, and they have it every year. Philip came to Canada with no job, but soon found the position at the hostel. He has been hired to work in Banff at a ski area, so he will move there in October and work through April. Lena found her job "by the Internet" and will return home next month to go "to university" to study...she hesitated, searching for the English words and came up with "dental medicine". "Dentistry?" I asked. "Oh, yes, that's it! Dentistry!" she replied.

I still can't get over how young they are and what adventures and experiences they will have before going to "university". Well, it's on to Bill's and my adventures...it's never to late to have them!