Bo and I were both feeling ill today. This morning we departed the remote wilderness campground at Box Lake, drove the dirt trail back to the highway, then north on Hwy. 6 to the small town of Nakusp, a lovely little village on Upper Arrow Lake. It seemed similar in size and feel to Keremeos. At Nakusp we refilled a propane tank, got some money from an ATM, refilled a water jug, and bought some groceries We walked along the waterfront walkway on Upper Arrow Lake. We drove around the municipal campground, then had lunch in a lovely municipal park where the annual Nakusp music festival is held each July.
We left Nakusp and drove north about 15 km. to Nakusp Hot Springs. What a lovely drive ! We didn't enter the hot springs, preferring to wait until tomorrow at Ainsworth Hot Springs. We drove back to Nakusp, then south on Hwy. 6 to New Denver, then east on Hwy. 31A to Kaslo. On the way we entered a couple of provincial parks to check out their campgrounds.
At Kaslo we checked into Mirror Lake Campground. We spent what little there was left of the afternoon wandering around the campground and lakeshore. For supper we had home made borscht and home made flax seed and sunflower seed bread, both soup and bread purchased at the New Denver farmer's market a few days ago.
Another day of clouds and intermittent rain ! ! ! I'm still sick. Bo isn't. Our plan for today was to spend the morning exploring Kaslo and in the afternoon head to Ainsworth Hot Springs. We didn't make it to the hot springs. Maybe tomorrow !
This morning, as planned, we headed into Kaslo for some downtown exploring. How fortuitous ... a parking spot right in front of the bakery. HA HA HA ! Fourteen bucks later ... ! We wandered around Kaslo's downtown. We browsed in The Live Art store, an artist's co-op. I bought a pine scented beeswax candle. I love beeswax candles ! We wandered over to the Langham Hotel. It now houses a collection of artists' studios and galleries, and the Japanese Canadian Museum. Yes, yes ... the Langham Hotel was another Japanese Canadian internment centre during World War II. It housed Canada's renowned scientist Dr. David Suzuki and his family when he was a little boy. We peeked in the open door of the studio of artist Robin Wiltse who does "felting", a form of fibre art. She invited us in and gave us an explanation and demonstration of felting art. Very interesting ! We strolled the length of Front Street and decided to have lunch at BlueBelle Bistro. Excellent food, ruined by bad service. I was so pissed off ! Soup and entrée arrived at the same time, after a very long wait. Soup cold ! Entrée hot. Sent soup back to be heated. By the time it returned, and I ate it, entrée was cold ! ! ! Tip zero ! ! ! ! ! Hope she got the message !
After lunch we returned to Mirror Lake Campground briefly. Sick Dan ! Decided to postpone trip to Ainsworth Hot Springs. Took Bo and headed for Fletcher Falls instead. Nearby, tough downhill hike to waterfalls on Fletcher Creek just before it spills into Kootenay Lake. Very pretty. Bo loooooves hiking ! Drove back to Kaslo and explored town and surrounding area by truck. Another lovely, little BC Interior town about the size of Keremeos. Went for a very short hike beside the Kaslo River but it was getting late in the afternoon and I wasn't feeling healthy enough to hike any more.
This morning we went into the village of Kaslo to run some errands. Bought some groceries ... and some fresh baking, of course ... and checked voicemail. I noticed yesterday that Landmark Bakery had free Wi-Fi so today I used it to check our Skype home phone number voicemail. Although that bakery is not where we bought baking today. Today we walked down to Kaslo Sourdough Bakery and bought sourdough rye bread and sourdough sandwich buns called wagels.
After lunch in the trailer at Mirror Lake Campground, we headed south on Hwy. 31 to Ainsworth Hot Springs, about half an hour away. We spent the afternoon soaking in the hot mineral water ... "taking the waters", as it's called in Palm Springs. We alternated between the hot "swimming pool" and the horseshoe shaped cave that is the source of the hot springs. Inside the cave the water is hotter than in the pool, and it drips down from the stalactite ceiling, creating a steamy sauna like atmosphere. Walking through waist deep hot water in a dark, steamy cave is a pretty unique experience !
I remain convinced that soaking in hot mineral springs provides long lasting relief from arthritis pain.
In the evening, back at Mirror Lake Campground, I built a campfire and we had a "weenie roast" for supper.
Wednesday ; Kaslo to Gray Creek
Another mostly cloudy day with intermittent light rain. Every day of our camping trip ... 10 days so far ... has been the same. This morning we prepared for departure from Mirror Lake Campground and headed south on Hwy. 31 past Ainsworth Hot Springs to Balfour where we caught the ferry across Lake Kootenay. The 45 minute ferry crossing from Balfour to Kootenay Bay is the longest free ferry ride in the world ( so they claim ). From Kootenay Bay we continued south on Hwy. 3A through Crawford Bay to Grey Creek where we stopped at Cedar Grove Campground, a Passport America affiliated campground. What a lovely little campground in a beautiful wilderness setting. With friendly owners. And a cute little dog. And a very reasonable rate. With good amenities. Full hookups. Free Wi-Fi.
We got situated in our site then had a late lunch. After lunch I finished getting set up in our site, raised the antenna, turned on the TV and ... WOO-HOO ! One channel ... and it's CBC. WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ! I get to watch the seventh and deciding game of the Stanley Cup finals tonight. I'm only interested in watching one hockey game per year, and this is it !
We gave Bo an overdue bath. Two weeks of Canadian wilderness camping, when he hasn't had a summer haircut yet ... what a stinky, filthy, little cur. With sticky tree things embedded in his fur. I downloaded and processed some photos then went to sit by the campground office to use Wi-Fi for a little while before watching the hockey game. The Wi-Fi signal doesn't reach the campsite we're in.
I watched the hockey game. Congratulations to the Boston Bruins on winning the Stanley Cup. From the perspective of one who has watched only one hockey game this year, it appears as if the better team won.
After the game I went back to the deck outside the office to continue to use Wi-Fi to work online until it got dark. When I returned to the trailer just before 10 PM I was appalled to see on the news that downtown Vancouver had turned into a riot zone following the hockey game.
This morning we drove a few miles north on Hwy. 3A to the community of Crawford Bay. It's a little village of artists and artisans. There's a lot of those in BC. A lot of Canadians ... like us ... who don't want to get a real job, head for BC. HA HA HA HA HA ! We browsed through about a half a dozen artisan shops including a blacksmith, a fabric hand weaver, a glass blower, and most interesting, a hand crafted broom maker. I bought a teensy little broom for cleaning computer keyboards, and another little broom for cleaning mushrooms. The brooms are quite expensive, although I realize that all hand crafted items seem expensive. When the cost of specialized and usually "natural" materials, and artisans' time and effort and skills are taken into account I realize that the prices are justified however. I enjoyed watching ... and receiving an explanation of ... hand weaving on a traditional wooden handloom.
We stopped at a local nursery and produce stand to buy some fresh produce. Gee ... living in the "Fruit Stand Capital Of Canada" we're a little spoiled when it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables. Back at the community of Gray Creek we stopped at the old fashioned General Store to look around. And ... I found something I've been looking for. A leather sheath for my axe head.
After lunch in the trailer I napped briefly with Sully then we set off on Hwy. 3A to the south for more exploring. We drove around the campground at Lockhart Beach Provincial Park, then parked the truck and walked down to the beach on Kootenay Lake. There was a lot of driftwood washed up on the beach. We found a few pieces of interesting driftwood that we picked up to take home and use for yard landscaping. Just a day after getting bathed, Bo waded into Kootenay Lake. Seems he and I are both in the dog house for that ! HA HA HA ! We continued south on Hwy. 3A until we reached the community of Boswell before turning around and heading back to Cedar Grove Campground at Gray Creek.
This morning we prepared for departure and left Cedar Grove Campground at Gray Creek and headed north on Hwy. 3A back to Kootenay Bay where we caught the ferry across Kootenay Lake to Balfour. Once off the ferry we headed south on Hwy. 3A to Nelson where we found our way to Nelson City Campground. We set up in our site, had lunch, unhitched, and headed downtown.
First stop was ... a French Canadian bakery. Well ... what did you expect ? HA HA HA ! Next was Kootenay Co-op, an eclectic "foodie" store filled with anything and everything organic / natural and mostly local. I felt indulgent and spent a lot. Shitake mushrooms, fiddleheads, exotic teas, locally made artisan cheeses, another beeswax candle ... ! We wandered around the downtown area browsing for a couple of hours. We drove around for awhile exploring. I stopped at an auto supply store and bought a part I needed to do a minor repair on the truck. I refilled Lanoire with diesel. We shopped at
Wal-Mart. While Joanne started the shopping at Wal-Mart, I did the truck repair in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The full time RVer's version of
multi-tasking. HA HA HA !
Saturday ; Nelson to Boundary Creek Provincial Park
7 years of full time RV'ing
WOW ... we are now 7 years into our 2 year plan. HA HA HA HA HA ! And while most people don’t “get it” ... what a privileged lifestyle it’s been !
This morning we departed the Nelson City Campground and headed southwest on Hwy. 3A to Castlegar, then west on Hwy. 3 to Grand Forks. We stopped at Cecil's Perogies in Grand Forks ( that doesn't surprise you, does it ? HA HA HA ! ) to buy some frozen home made perogies. AND ... some wonderful dill cream sauce to go with them after the owner gave us a sample perogy with her secret recipe dill cream sauce poured over it. MMMMM ... I want to try to replicate that sauce. And I think I've got a pretty good idea how to do that, even though the woman wouldn't give me her secret recipe. Like ... DUH ... ya think fresh dill might be involved ? And cream ?
We continued west on Hwy. 3 to Boundary Creek Provincial Park. After getting set up in a site I napped with Sully. We made a special "anniversary" gourmet dinner. Dandelion greens salad, baked salmon, new small potatoes, fiddleheads, Shitake mushrooms, all covered in Cecil's Perogies dill cream sauce. MMMMM ! ! ! After supper we spent the evening sitting outside by a campfire.
There certainly is a population explosion of deer in the BC Interior this year !
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