When Shannon and Brandon mentioned they were interested in having their engagement photos taken up at the Myra Canyon trestles, we were super excited. For those of you unfamiliar with the trestles, they are a spectacular building feat of the Kettle Valley Railway that started in 1910 and was completed in 1914. Consisting of two tunnels and 18 trestles clinging on the sides of a massive canyon some 4100 feet above sea level, they bridged the gap between the West Kootneays and the Okanagan Valley, which allowed all the rich resources of the Kootenays to be carried into the port of Vancouver. The Myra Canyon Railway is known worldwide to be one of the most spectacular sections of rail due to the difficult conditions of the terrain. Long gone are the days of this railway (last train rode through in 1972), but now everyone can experience the beauty since they converted it into a provincial park. Unfortunately in 2003, during a huge forest fire, 12 of the 16 trestles burned down. However, they have rebuilt the trestles and reopened the park to the public in 2008.
We headed up with Shannon and Brandon on a stunning Fall day with cruiser bikes and picnic in tow and biked around the first section of the trail. We had so much fun and kept thinking “Why don’t we do this more often?!?.” It was like a little mini adventure and felt very Indiana Jones way up there with tunnels, railways, and…bears! Yes, we saw a cute little bear eating elderberries from a tree below us (see picture). This is the 2nd engagement session this year where we have seen a bear – oh my, this is the Wild West! After exploring we set up a picnic on the side of the canyon overlooking the valley to catch the last fragments of light. Shannon and Brandon, we had so much fun with you both biking around in the clean mountain air! We’re so excited for your upcoming wedding at Cedar Creek Winery and The Laurel Packing House in June! Woot woot!
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[…] we photographed their fun Myra Canyon bike adventure engagement session, which you can view here . Shannon got ready at her and Brandon’s beautiful lake front house in Okanagan Centre […]