We started our travels today in, and after, some heavy rain falls but quickly the clouds cleared away and another nice summers day appeared. The road (we are traveling is the M52 which for the past two days was also called the Chuisky Trakt) continued to follow river valleys and wind between rounded mountains. As the day progressed we saw more signs of Russian tourism and Russians with vacation toys or camping gear on the tops of their cars.

Mid morning we stopped at a hilltop rest area to find a veritable market with many food and souvenir stalls. We sampled some of the savory pastries and immediatly felt "stuffed". One of the interesting souvenirs were socks made from camel hair - not our thing but interesting.


By mid afternoon we were traveling along the banks of the now very wide and fast flowing Katun River and the traffic and vacation activity was quite hectic, campgrounds, hotels, rafting outfits and even a small water park. We found an informal campground squeezed between the road and the river and spent the afternoon talking to our neighbours, cooking and watching the rafters flash by on the fast river.


So where does this river go? Tonight we are at an altitude of 1000 feet (300m) and the river (the Katun) is flowing past at a great speed, yet we are a very long way from any ocean. As best I can tell from the map it appears the Katun eventually joins the Ob River and flows north into the Ob Sound and the Arctic Ocean.