To Armstrong

Such a beautiful 
day unfolding - too good to
miss for a road trip! 

~carliewired

I took my sweet time over my coffee this morning. I thought I should really get going somewhere today. I'd hoped it would be the quietest day for traffic on a long weekend. I decided I would zoom over to Armstrong and its quilt store. I was on the highway by 9 AM.

I took Hwy 97, making a brief stop at Monte Lake's north end. I was curious to see if the use of the lake had changed after last year's devastating wild fire destroyed much of the community. Fisherman are still making use of the lake. The hillsides above the lake are scarred and black. The grass carpet at the bottom of the forest has returned, but the burned trees are not coming back to life. I wondered if any of this burned forest will be logged. 

Last week a mudslide came down off the hillsides and blocked the highway until it could be cleared. I could see the remnants today along the edge of the highway. To make matters worse, at the end of the week a semi truck and trailer went off the highway right into the lake. I saw the photos online of the truck with water right up into the cab. 

I turned off onto Salmon Valley Road as it's my favourite route into Armstrong. I was looking for barn quilts and I did find four on the way into the town. These are large painted quilt blocks that decorate barns and buildings. There is a map available for those interested in the "Barn Quilt Trail". Several people have blogged about this interesting topic. (Here's one.)

I found the quilt store open. They had a sale on today and I had my 30% off coupon in hand. I made quick work of my selections, then went looking for a snack to tide me over until I was home again. 

On the return trip I stopped to find wild flowers. I'm sure I've annoyed several drivers who were just bent on racing along. I was home just before 2. I really need a nap! 

We might expect a high of 30 C today with a chance of showers and a risk of a thunderstorm. I can see thunderheads building up all around the valleys.