I've lost count of the days now....

but, eventually, we left Kaslo and hit the road again. We were officially on our way home now, though we were going to take our time getting there. It was sad to leave our friends...and the bears...and the beautiful space they all share. We followed our friend's directions to see the Kokanee spawning and maybe, just maybe, see a Grizzly Bear feasting on fish.

It was a beautiful drive, and though we hung around for quite a while, we did not see any Grizzlies....maybe next year, eh?

We did see lots of Kokanee....

lots and lots and lots of Kokanee. Did I mention lots? Of Kokanee? Like, lots...a whole lot...a big mess of fish. You have no idea. None. Really.

Later, we found ourselves on this lovely lake, Trout Lake...on the northern end of it. It was quiet and coming on time to find a place to stop for the night.

So we made a couple of stops to check out the surroundings, and take in the last warm rays of the afternoon.

We found an old, um, driveway? I do not know what else to call it. Yup. Let's call it a driveway, okay? So we drove on down it.

And here we found ourselves a private campground...not meaning privately owned but just plain private. Room for us and us alone. A beach, a dock, a firepit, a picnic table made from salvaged wood....someone industrious spends good time here in the summer. We thank them kindly for all their labour.

There was the remains of this old rock cabin here, hence the driveway, I suppose.

And a little barn or shed tucked back into the woods.

Pretty cool.

Okay...look at this...can you see what I see?

Look hard. Can you see it? It's called remoteness. Isolation. Wilderness. Wildness. Clarity.
Breathe it in.

You don't get this everyday.

Savour it.

Taste it.

Not a single house, not a single house light, not one car, not a headlight, or campfire, or boat, or camper, or tent...well, besides ours.

What a way to spend the night. Really. I can't begin to tell you.

We've only got a couple days left now.

Walk with us? Kaslo River walk....

Climbing The Chagrin River by Mary Oliver.


We enter the green river,
heron harbor,
mud-basin lined


with snagheaps, where turtles
sun themselves--we push
through the falling
silky weight

bounding down
through the black flanks
of wet rocks--we wade

striped warm and cold
under hemlock
and white pine--climb

stone steps into
the timeless castles
of emerald eddies,

swirls, channels
cold as ice tumbling
out of a white flow--

sheer sheets
flying off rocks,
frivolous and lustrous,

skirting the secret pools--
cradles
full of the yellow hair
of last year's leaves

where grizzled fish
hang halfway down,
like tarnished swords,
while around them

fingerlings sparkle
and descend,
nails of light
in the loose
racing waters.

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.

Are you ready for day two?

Alrighty then, sit back and enjoy the ride. I wasn't sure how many photos Blogger would let me upload, but here they all are. Hedley named themselves after this town...this strange and wonderful little town...coming into Hedley, you could almost believe you were going back in time to another era. If the road wasn't paved hitching post to hitching post, that is.

Some of the houses in Hedley are, er, well, unique. It looks like some of the folks here used "found" objects and pieces of other places to build a home. It is a surreal little trip through the residential streets of Hedley, so if you are coming this way, take a little time to treat yourself.

This is an Osprey nest just outside of town. It was huge, incorporating twine and bailing wire and all sorts of materiel...just like the homes in Hedley!

This is Spotted Lake...an Alkaline lake in the interior of BC. There are a few of these scattered about around these parts, but this is the biggest we have seen, and the most colourful. Want to go swimming?

We passed through the Okanagan wine country, full of orchards and vineyards. We stocked up on fresh fruit and stopped at NK'Mip Cellars for a bottle of Quam Qwimt Meritage. Say that ten times fast! A special treat for the kitty sitter...

We went into Osoyoos for a quick tour of the town. It is quite stunning. We both fell quite head over heels for it and looked at the houses and properties around there...but it is a wine town and we are beer people.

On to Oliver, where we stopped to make coffee in the park...and then headed off to have lunch with Michael's brother and uncle at a little place with good beer...and presumably great wine.

Out of Oliver, the climb into the mountains starts almost immediately...the Kootenay mountains. It's wicked switchbacks and hair-raising drops along the roadside...but the views are stunning. This is looking back over Oliver and Osoyoos.

Who wouldn't want this as the return address on your letters? I wonder how many times the powers that be have had to replace this sign...

Couldn't resist.

The campground we intended to stay at was full. Not a big loss as it was a really large campground and if it was full, then that would have been WAY too many people for me. Further on down the road, we stumbled onto this little place...only sixteen sites in all and only about four of them taken. Our site backed up to the river and that's the sound we went to sleep with in our little orange pop-top tent.

Michael tried his hand at a little gold-panning. Nope. He didn't strike it rich.

But we planted some treasures to find so we wouldn't feel the effort was wasted.

So, that is day two...I guess I better start working on day three photos, eh?

(btw...one mouse less in the house, er, on this mortal coil, actually...only one? Holy cripes...I think I just now heard another trap spring....maybe two, eh? )

Voice of the Beehive...

have you heard of them? I don't have time to write a post cuz while we were out galivanting, mice moved in. Go figure. So....here is the first days travels to the lyrics of "I Walk the Earth" by Voice of the Beehive.... I walk the earth earth, my darling,
this is my home.


grab your pack, my darling
grab your pack and walk with me.
we will walk the road.
this road is all we need

i could be flat broke, or i could be a millionaire...

so take my hand

just take my hand,

and we will walk for miles .

i walk the earth, my darling,
this is my home
i walk the earth my darling,
this is my home

we may stay together,

but if we part,

i'm sure we'll meet again

so grab your pack, my darling,

and walk a road that never ends.

so take my hand, just take my hand,

and we will walk for miles

i walk the earth my darling, this is my home

i walk the earth my darling, this is my home

so take my hand, just take my hand

and we will walk together

i walk the earth, my darling

this is my home

i walk the earth, this is my home

i walk the earth, this is my home

and i walk (this is my home) and i walk (this is my home)

i walk the earth, my darling, this is my home

i walk the earth, my darling, this is my home

*Sorry about not writing the details but honestly this song has been in my brain since I downloaded the photos....nine days worth of photos....and I AM overwhelmed with trying to clean up the house, especially the kitchen, where the mice have established residence in our absence. Everything is out of the cupboards, stacked on every mouseproof surface and I am about to have a nervous breakdown. We were only gone 10 days! How is that even possible?

Kokanee

Kokanee spawn near Kaslo, BC. I am busy today and trying to find time to post some photos and such, but am running short...time is flying and fish are spawning. I want to get my pictures in order and don't want to rush through it. So, here is a little video we took to tide you over.

Just a preview...

cuz we just got home and there are so many photos to go through, words to choose, ideas to sort.... Oh my goodness, I can't believe we ever came back home.
Talk to you all tomorrow?

Lions and tigers and bears...

I was so close to real live bears last night!!!! Not in a zoo or anything!!!! Oh I can't wait to get home to my computer and show you all! Well, I can wait! Ha ha. Really I can.
I am beginning to wonder about living away from the ocean again. It's reallllllllly nice out here...really truly very nice....
I can see the stars.
I can hear the river.
I can talk to bears.
bye