Roots Ainsworth, Slocan, New Denver

Day 4 Crawford Bay to New Denver

OK so Google says it would take me an hour and a half to get from Crawford Bay to New Denver. Try 8 hours instead.  It started when I made it to the ferry just to watch it pull away. Turned out to be the best thing that could have happened as it gave me an hour and a half to walk (more like lay) on the beach and enjoy the first warm sunshine of the trip.  The ride across was full of motorcyclists of all different types. Entertaining

The view from the beach

Two crows did their best to chase the osprey away from his perch.  No luck

At 35 minutes it is the longest free ferry ride in North America

I stopped at Ainsworth Hot Springs where we took the kids when they were little. Disappointing as they made it all modern and took away the charm.  Onto Kaslo where my Grand Dad met up with his brother after walking and riding the rails from New Orleans. They worked the silver mines together.  The lady in the Kaslo Info centre had lived in Slocan and wrote a book about the history. We had a long chat about her life and his then bought the book. 

The drive from Ainsworth to Slocan was beautiful. The road was mountainous and windy felt like driving in NZ except on wider roads but still no shoulders.  Fewer cars but cyclist and motorcycles love it. 

When I got about half way up the road to Slocan I almost turned back.   It had rained a lot and Strider was noisily complaining about the washboard and potholes.  However we persevered.  Slocan was a  big surprise, not for what it is, which is nothing much, but for the museum that was full of pictures of what it was.  I had no idea there had been 6,000 and the town looked rich and fancy.  The museum guy spent a lot of time telling me stories about the pictures and I got a totally different sense of why my Grand Dad went back year after year.  The work would have been brutal but the money good. At the mines they lived rough but if they wanted to go into town for the high life they had a lot to choose from in town.  The trains coming daily from Vancouver brought in the best in foods and everything else for living well.  I thought he had been living in a typical gold/silver rush town but this was a class above. The town burned down in 1907 was rebuilt on a smaller scale but when the easy silver ore ran out so did the people. 

In the picture bellow everyone was told to dress in their Sunday best and pose for the camer. The owner in the bottom left was opening his new luxury hotel and wanted this as an advertising shot. The road was also cleaned and raked. 

There are only a few buildings left and many of those are in serious disrepair. The best things to shoot are rusty

There was also an old trailer that had a beautiful mural painted on it

This is as good as I could get Sandon to look.  The creek has regularly changed course and washed away sections of the town.

The last time Sandon had a boost in population was when it was made an internment camp

I went on to New Denver to see the Japanese Internment Museum and Gardens.  I’ve read several books about that time but it was still very sad, especially for the old, sick and poor who stayd on in the Orchard camp in destitute conditions until they died. When the reparations settlements were made in 1988 many Japanese donated theirs to the development of this museum. It was the only internment camp that wasn't bulldozed down after the war. An attempt to erase what had been done.  

In the evening some quiet time to reflect on the day and my friends 

who have had their own losses

There are bear signs all over New Denver and tonight when I went for a shower I came out and there was a bear moseying along in between me and my van.  Luckily he just took a look at me and kept on going down the beach I had just left.  Good thing I'm not nervous. 

Fort Steele Crawford Bay

Day 3 Fairmont to Crawford Bay

Nice to wake up to not freezing, easy to pack up and get on the road.  It was a strange day full of low clouds, dark skies and the threat of big rain which was worrisome but the sky was sometimes spectacular. 

For awhile it cleared up at Fort Steele probably because I was so happy to be at the Fort named after Sam.  He has been my hero for years. The third to join the NWMP a leader in everything he did to establish peace, order and good government whether it was in Saskatchewan, the Kootenay's, the Klondike gold rush, the Boer War and finally WW1. Before I go on with too much detail there are several books written about him and you can find a quick summary on Wikipedia.  What Wiki doesn't capture is the respect people had for him. At any rate like any groupie I was glad to see his room and office and read in his own words what he felt about this part of the country.  Fort Steel boomed through the gold/silver rush and continued growing until the railway chose to bypass them and go through Cranbrook.  After falling on hard times it regenerated itself with tourism. 

In the early days a mix of soldiers, cultured opera houses, agriculture 

and industrial development 

The dregs of what was left behind is hidden from view except from the water tower

These are mostly for my horse loving friends and family

For such a small town there were a lot of churches first the Catholics, with the Anglicans hot on their heels and the Presbeteriens not far behind.  The Anglican minister took it as his mission to bring culture to the place and prepare students to be ready for University.

The most interesting thing I leaned today was that letters and other documents usually arrived all squished up and wrinkled. Sam had a letter press to make them smooth before he read them.  Who knew there was such a thing.

This sextant was used to survey the valley, sort out land and claim disputes, lay out towns and generally make the business of settling a new part of the country with good order. 

By the time I left the morning was long gone and I was lucky that the time change gave me another hour. There was a lot of delays along the Crowsnest and it took longer than I expected to get to Creston.  I was really tired and it was starting to rain for real.  tried a couple of RV places but the sites were small and unappealing so I pressed on up Kootenay Lake. It was a beautiful drive and without the clouds and good light it would have made for some great images. I found a lovely place on Crawford Bay.  

The lady at the desk said the bears are terrible right now, hungry, pooping everywhere and making it impossible for people to get out. Surprisingly, In spite of the fresh dropping next to my campsite I felt quite relaxed, about it  or maybe too exhausted to care. I went for a walk around the area and found a great mural and a pretty happy woman.  

In this town it seems everyone has a sign at the end of their driveway saying they are  an artist, potter, healer, soap or candle maker. It isn't a very expensive area but everything looks comfortable and I like all the art around. 

The Journey Through Sleet and Rain to Hot Pools

Day 2 Thompson Creek to Fairmont Hot Springs

Well maybe not so much. Last night was really cold. I bundled up in three layers under two down comforters and my usual pillows so I was nice and warm but when I woke up in the morning I was worried that the pipes had frozen.  I turned on the heater to warm the place up and luckily no problem but when I packed up and started the van the warning light was on for the two back tires. Since it was both tires I figured the cold must have done them in not a puncture. I drove to Saskatchewan River Crossing and luckily they had air.  It was really cloudy and dark especially to the south.  I asked them about the weather but they only knew from there to Banff and said it might have snow and ice at the pass but the sanding trucks would be out.  Not a big comfort but having been through that before I was ok with it although would have been more confident with my convoy. 

                  Num Ti Jau Lodge where we stayed when my son was 9 months old only the red            chairs seemed new 

At any rate the clouds stayed at bay and at Bow Lake I stopped to visit Num Ti Jau and walk around the lake having a great time taking pictures and knowing no bears would likely be up that high this time of year. On the way back I came upon a paddle boarder doing a photo shoot with his friend and he was glad to have me taking pics too.  Then along came a group of army cadets who had been training up at the glacier in snow almost as deep as their waists.  They were parked next to me and were glad to have someone to tell their stories too. 

Behind me the army cadets with full packs truged down from Bow glacier above

And in front of me the eternal paddle boarder

It was beginning to sleet so I took off and sure enough a big sanding truck was waiting at the bottom of one of the passes. I made it down to the Trans Canada. It rained hard until Radium. The forest fires a few years ago must have been terrible. The burns in places went on for miles and felt quit erie.

 I had forgotten what a steep drop it is from the TC down to Radium and the dramatic opening of the valley leading down to Fairmont

I am happy to be here tonight. Talk about one extreme to another. I liked the feel of Tompson Creek but in this cool weather power, internet and the hot pools are just fine.  It is also good to have family and friends be able to email and call to check in and let me know what is going on in their world.   

I did some homework tonight to make sure there are campgrounds still open on my route as just about everything on the way down was closed.  A dip in the hot pool and writing this in front of the fireplace at the Fairmont Resort is a great end to this literally up and down day.

BC Odyssey: Heading Down the Highway

Edmonton to Thompson Creek Camp Ground

It took awhile to get everything done before I could go.   I thought I had lots of time and it wouldn’t matter but…  I didn’t take into account how beautiful Hwy 22 would be and it just got better on Hwy 11 at Rocky Mountain House.  Along the way I got two phone calls, one from a grand daughter wanting to know if the two of us could go to Africa then a set back call from my security company that there was an entry alarm and did I want them to call the police.  The house looks abandoned with no Strider and no car in front of it so I said fine.   Then I lost cell coverage before hearing back. I was anxious wondering what happened and was so far up Abraham Lake I had given up hope when the phone rang.  My son and young grand daughter wanting to tell me of their adventures and check up on me.  After it was such a relief to find an email saying that there is a problem with the sensor, no break in. 

 I felt free to enjoy the views and reflections along the lake and grateful the traffic was so light I could stop just about anywhere. 

Well grateful there was no traffic until I got to my planned campground and found it closed.  I talked with an old guy by the gate and he said “Well maybe you could find a campground still open up the road but you know, nobody comes along her after the long weekend, everything pretty much shuts down”  Suddenly the lack of traffic felt ominous and having the road to myself not so much fun.   I found three campgrounds and sure enough closed or not a soul in them.  It was getting late and I was afraid I would be trying to get a room at the Saskatchewan River Crossing for a ridiculous amount of money.  Luckily I saw the sign for Thompson Creek and turned in.  It also looked like no one was here but then at the end I see a large trailer and a grizzled old guy hobbling along the road.  He is the camp attendant and tells me “For $27 you can get a wagon load of wood, water from the hand pump and old fashioned biffies”.  There are 50 plus sites and I see the other 4 campers all set up close to him. I make it 5. 

I went exploring and found one intrepid camper alone in the big loop on the far side of the bridge.  I was testing out two lenses but in my enthusiasm I knocked my good workhorse lens off the side of the bridge.  It landed 12 feet below half on a rock and half in the creek.  Feeling sick and sure it was done for I scrambled down the bank, pulled it out of the water and to my amazement the glass wasn’t broken and the cap on the back had protected the connections to the camera from getting wet.  I dried the outside off as best I could, hurried home and dried it some more.  Just to make sure not to put it back on damp I went for another shoot with the wide angle and tried to imagine how I would get by the next three weeks with nothing but it and a macro.  

The Infamous Bridge

When I got back with 13,000+ steps I tested my poor lens out. The picture below is not stunning but for me it is most beautiful because it works.  Hopefully tomorrow it will continue to work.    

The logs were too big for a fire and the temperature is dropping as the sun goes down.  It’s fine by me as I can write this, work on my images and re-discover the comfort in the familiar routines of living in a small space.  All’s well that ends well. 

Alaska Here We Come

So the Odyssey continues.  It seems my spirit isn't working on a time table and is still looking for adventure. My family has been wonderful in supporting me through my travels,  having great faith in me and been great cheer leaders when I might have faltered. 

They are literally on both sides of the continent and I thought a cruise to Alaska would be a great way to celebrate and bring us all together. Should you like to see how it all unfolded you can find us at kcodysseyalaska.blogspot.ca