Day three....a photo montage....

We were in the Kootenays...no longer in wine country, but beer country... somewhere that speaks more intimately to us. We arrived in Nelson fairly early and we decided to have a look around. This is a beautiful little city tucked onto the side of mountain with a big lake right at the heart of it. There is a lot of civic pride here, a love of the city from the people who live there. You can see it, touch it, feel it. A thriving downtown community carefully cultivated and tended lovingly. Coming from the southend of Nanaimo, we recognize what a real historical area COULD look like, SHOULD look like and CAN look like. It was a sobering realization. A realization that got us thinking about what it would be like to get out of Nanaimo altogether.

We wonder if we can give up the ocean to live in the mountains, if we are mountain people born in the wrong place, if we could manage a real winter in a cold and snowy place. We wonder. We like the idea of it, rolling it around in our palms like a smooth, warm stone.

A little light comedy................

And one more camp before Kaslo....

In the morning, we broke camp(I love saying that), and headed to Kaslo. Our good friends had moved there years ago and we had yet to get there once...or to meet their newest family member. We won't let that much time pass again.

We pulled into their yard and lo and behold.....more reason to think we are really mountain children displaced....

Here is the view from their backyard, minutes from town(an easy walk in the summer, a two minute atv ride in the winter). Our friends have a lovely home, don't get me wrong, but this is no rich person's mansion... "ordinary" folks can still afford a view here in Kaslo. Huh. Imagine that. That doesn't happen on this island much anymore. At least not around here.

It was good to be with our friends again. It had been too long. We settled right into the old hammock that used to hang in their yard when we all lived in Vancouver, a little nostalgic for the times when we all lived closer.

Then again, this view(with a Nelson's Paddywhack-IPA ) is hard to beat.
Whew. Stunning.

In the village of Kaslo, there is a lot of punch packed into a small package. There is all you could ever need-grocery store, restaurants, organic food store, coffee shop and bakery-and then some....like the Moyie sternwheeler here. She is beautiful.

There is no McDonald's, no White Spot, no Wal-mart, no Save-On Foods... just small independents making an honest go of it. This is my ideal sort of place to live, really.

It's a place we found friendly and open, the town and the people. We stopped for ice cream, played in the park with our friends' kids, we talked with some of the locals, never felt rushed on or brushed off.

In my life, balance has always been difficult to maintain, but it is what keeps me whole and happy. I think I am way out of balance here in south Nanaimo. I know I used to be happier more of the time. Here in Kaslo, it looks like I wouldn't be the only one seeking to keep things in balance.

The Labyrinth...I don't know the story of this...it's in the park in Kaslo.

It has a heart right in the centre...maybe it is what makes Kaslo so special.

We finally met the newest addition to our friends' family. Their other two had grown so much as to be nearly unrecognizable to Michael and I. All three were enamoured of Eem-er. Could not leave her alone.

She thought she was a super-star or something....she's missing Kaslo, too, I bet. Here in Nanaimo, she is just another part of the pack.

We miss you guys. Thanks for letting us share your space for a while.