Trip full of surprises

Darlene and I decided to go for a drive. The forecast looked fantastic and I was in the mood to head to the mountains. The planned destination was Invermere in the Kootenay valley, but after having a look around via Google Streetview, I decided that I also wanted something a little quieter.

Using Google Maps, I took a look across the lake at the Windermere area and spotted a nice shady park right on the lake with picnic tables, so I made a not of where it was and off we went. I asked Darlene which spot she wanted to visit first, Windermere or Invermere and she picked the quieter one. We made it to the park (see picture) and had a nice, breezy, relaxed rest there for a while.

Back to the car, the next planned destination was Invermere, but Darlene had spotted a garage sale sign on our way to Windermere, so we kept on eye out for it on the way back up the highway. We found it at the entrance to an area marked as Timber Ridge III. Just from the homes we could see from the highway, I could tell this was going to be a high end neighbourhood. We followed the signs and found the garage sale. It had some decent stuff and Darlene scored some very expensive clothes and very expensive perfume for a steal. While she was browsing, I started talking to the owner and asked him about the neighbourhood. His descriptions made it clear that this was a posh destination for Calgarians and Edmontonians alike and that homes sold very fast. I asked what the best way to take a quick tour around the area was and he said, "By golf cart!" He was tired of hanging around the garage sale so he asked us if we wanted to go for a tour in his golf cart. Of course we did.

He told us where to park the car so as not to be a nuisance (nobody parks on the street) and showed us how to walk through the pathway system back to his house and through his back yard. When we got back to his place, he already had the cart out and ready to go. We hopped on and we were off. The entire neighbourhood has paved pathways just wide enough for a cart weaving through the whole area. In fact, as we saw throughout the tour, getting around by cart along the paths is the easiest way to get around. So what is there to go and see along these paths? Beautiful forests, tennis courts, a community centre with a pool, a giant children's playground, hoodoos, and a private beach on the lake. You can only get to it by the cart pathway. He gave us a 30 minute tour at least, then brought us back to his place.

So lesson learned: If I had not checked out the best looking lakeside area via Google Maps, we never would have found the quiet park in Windermere, nor found the exclusive neighbourhood (Lakeview Meadows) and gotten a personal tour.