Sept 24th-Sept 28th
Kaslo, BC

S.S. Moyie in Kaslo, BC

A beautiful small town full of history!  We took a tour of the S.S. Moyie, the world's oldest intact stern paddlewheeler.  What a treat!  It's loaded with artifacts and kitted out to look as if you were stepping on board to head out on a voyage.  Wonderful museum - very informative!

Cedar Bay camp

We stayed at the Cedar Bay RV site - which is right on Kootenay Lake.  Nice site - full hook-up but no other amenities.  We were the only ones there which is a bonus - perfect time for camping out here!
We didn't end up going for a paddle here tho ... the wind kept coming up and as Kootenay Lake is 97 miles long, it can get pretty gnarly!

Museum at Sandon

Instead we headed out to Ainsworth Hot Springshttp://www.hotnaturally.com/our_water.php and soaked for a while.  What a treat!  Then headed back to the campsite to read and relax!
Sept 25th
Took a drive out to a cool ghost town - Sandon, BChttp://www.ghosttowns.com/canada/bc/sandon.html and toured the museum there.  WELL worth a stop ... it's a long, bumpy gravel road off the beaten path, but very cool.  There is still a mining operation up there but not much else.
Then back to the camp and out to the hot springs again!  Back at camp - dinner - campfire in a can - quiet - stars - beautiful night!
Sept. 26th

Bruce at beach on Kootenay Lake

Took a walk to the falls near here.  What gorgeous weather!  Sat on the beach for a while, then back to camp for some housekeeping.

Bruce at Kaslo Hotel and Brew Pub

Later we drove in to Kaslo to eat at this hotel/brew pub we'd seen.  It's got a patio overlooking the lake that looked to be a perfect place for a beer and some good pub food.  Well, the view is spectacular - no question.  Unfortunately, the brewing side of things wasn't 'up and running' yet, so we had some other local beer which was good.  The food however wasn't really that great.  But the view made up for a lot of it!  Back home to Dora and another episode of Eureka.  BTW ... if you've never seen that TV show - it's well worth a look.  Very quirky show about a town full of brilliant people who're always creating some kind of weird problems that the not-so-brilliant sherrif has to sort out.  Funny, gentle kind of humour.

Kaslo at night

Sept 27th
Decided not to head up to Nakusp.  It's getting colder up here in the mountains and there's not much more to do.  Decided to head back to Christina Lake where we know we can paddle, bike etc.  So Bruce drove while Linda white-knuckled it thru some of the most twisty-turny, dippy, bumpy and patched up roads in BC.  I think there was some good scenery out there ... but I was too busy hanging on for dear life to notice!  BTW ... Bruce is a marvelous driver ... I'm just a very poor passenger!
So we're back here at Skands at Christina - but someone else has scooped our perfect spot looking un-obstructed at the beach.  But we've got a good site ... still looking at the lake but a bit more treed.  If the other people leave tho ... we'll be over there in a flash!
So think we'll go out for a morning paddle, then perhaps some biking this afternoon!

Sept 24, Nelson, BC

Nelson city Campground

We pulled into Nelson on Saturday and spent 2 nights at the Nelson City Campground.  Right in the heart of the city ... not the greatest but we wanted walking distance to food and drink!
Spent yesterday driving to Trail & Rossland.  Nice drive, but forget visiting anything if it's a Sunday.  Everything's closed!
Anyway we walked around Nelson and the waterfront is quite nice with a path that goes a long way.

Nelson Waterfront walkway

Then Sunday nite we hit it big with my 60th birthday dinner at a restaurant called 'Bibo'.  What a find!  It was probably the best meal we've ever had!  I had Duck Confit which I've never had before and it was heavenly!!  I must learn how to cook that!

Dinner at Bibo

We're heading to Kaslo today and some more rural camping.  I'm looking forward to visiting the Ainsworth Hot Springs ... after all the wine last night I could use a long soak!


TTFN!

Sept 21,
First of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORNE HOLLAND!!!
We're still here at Christina Lake.  Can't beat it for location, weather or peace & quiet!  We're heading out tomorrow tho - to Nelson, BC.
We took a drive yesterday for something to do - towards Grand Forks and Greenwood.  We'd read some interesting stuff about Greenwood and their ghost town and deserted mine and it sounded interesting.
After arriving in Greenwood we dropped into the Visitor's Information Centre to get directions.  What a hoot! 
We were met with a big smile and hello from a lovely older gal.  She wondered what on earth brought us to Greenwood and told us right away:  "There's no shopping here today!"  "Hmmm" we said "we really weren't interested in shopping so that's ok".  "There's no restaurants open today either!"
"Hmmm ... ok ... is there at least a coffee shop open?"  She looked genuinely confused and thought a bit.  "I don't think so".  Now ... Greenwood is small.  VERY small.  And the information lady doesn't know about a coffee shop?  And why is everything closed?? 
Finally she offered an explanation of sorts:  "Our water has been tampered with!!" Oh?  "Yes, all we can do is flush our toilets!!"  Seems like that would have been a good place to start but hey ... she was very nice and really sweet so how can you be grouchy with her?

Linda Prospecting

Okey-dokey.  What about Phoenix Road up to the abandoned mine?  We got a blank look, then she proceeded to rummage around in the pamphlets and produced one with a flourish.  "Here it is!!"  Ok ...not much of a map ... how do you get there?  After a puzzled look she started telling us to "go down the road and turn at the place where there's 2 stores for sale ... although there IS a lot for sale right now so you might not find it."  And:  " then go to the old smoke stack - but don't go in there - and then turn and go up that road on the" (here she proceeded to start turning in circles trying to figure out if it's right or left.)  Ok ... no problem we said ... we'll find it.

Water bomber

Well, we did but after about an hour of roaming around very BAD logging roads we found a memorial to the lost town and that was about it.  We had to ask directions from some German tourists in a camper for directions on the way down.  But we did see a momma bear and 2 cubs! 
We also find some spots where there was old tailings from the mine and I found some interesting stones ... copper?  Gold??  Don't know.
When we got back to Dora we had a good show of water bombers scooping water for the nearby forest fire.  They went all day and were quite noisy but entertaining!

Trestle on Trans Canada Trail

Bruce got out for some mountain biking and said it was spectacular - neat trestles and magnificent view.  Good thing I didn't go as it was close to 30C and the trail went up for about 2km before leveling out. 

Wonderful night!

That night was spectacular with our Campfire in a Can, a glass of wine for me, Scotch for Bruce and a calm evening looking at the lake and watching the bats do their ballets in the sky!

Sept 18


Arrived at Christina Lake on the 16th.  It's a small town between Grand Forks and Castlegar, BC.  Small now but we hear that in summer this place is polluted with people who occupy the zillions of cottages that ring the lake as well as the numerous campgrounds.  And it seems that they all have at least one power boat or jet ski.  Luckily the season is over for the year and it's pretty quiet. 

camp at Skands

We got a nice spot in Skands Court RV Park which is situated right on the lake.  As there's hardly anyone here we got the prime spot parallel to the lake.  So sitting outside under our awning is a wonderful unobstructed view!

Kayak God

The lake isn't as warm as Lake Osoyoos but they bill themselves "The Warmest Tree-Lined Lake" in Canada.  Hmmm.  It's sort of 'warm-ish' I guess.  But I must say it does feel good on these truly toasty days we're getting.  Yesterday we recorded a temp of 35 outside our mo-ho!!

Linda before she melted

We've gone for a few paddles and yesterday we tried to bike a section of the Trans Canada Trail.  Tried I say as it's not only quite rough (for me) but there's that 35C temp to deal with.  Bruce finally had to leave me in the one shady spot we found and bike back so he could rescue me with the car!  Nice try ... and it's a beautiful panoramic view ... trestles to cross and all ... but the heat is just too much.

Linda at Christina Lake

Today we drove into Castlegar to see what we could see and had a very nice and interesting time at the Doukhobor Village Museum and The Railway Museum.  Had lunch at a Greek place sitting outside.  Very pleasant but noisy!  Man there's a lot of noisy trucks and motorcycles in Castlegar!!
Back home to Dora and sitting outside.  Picked up some Scotch in Castlegar so may sit out and use the 'campfire in a can' sipping a wee dram tonight.  It gets cold at night so might just be the thing!
Bye for today!

Sept 15th

Bruce squeezing his tomato!

Started the day with a nice bike ride into town.  Stopped at a pretty cafe and had some coffee in an outside patio.  We then scoped out the town to try and find a possibly Mexican restaurant for dinner that night but no such luck.  You'd think with so many places here called 'Casa Del so and so' and 'Costa del so and so' that there'd be something resembling Mexican but not so much. 

It got pretty toasty today - around 25C or so - so mostly just lounged around campsite.  We then biked to the fruitstand for veg and fruit for the next few days.  Lots of local produce to choose from!

Back 'home' with our goodies

The wind picked up hugely just around the time we were going to head out for a late afternoon paddle so instead we battened down the hatches and secured the mainsail etc. for a long nights' buffeting.

Tomorrow we'll head out for possibly Christina Lake ... not too far from here.  We'll see how that goes.  Good night for now!

Sept 14th

Linda

You sure can't beat the weather here ... hot in the day and nice and cool at night.  We got out for a couple hour paddle yesterday morning - the lake was mill-pond calm and not a cloud in sight.  Certainly not as much to look at as paddling in the ocean, but then there's the bonus of not having to deal with currents, tides etc. which I like!  I think that we'll probably head out again this morning as the afternoon might be hot enough to be a 'beach day'.  The temps are expected to reach 29C - but it usually gets hotter than forecasted!

Bruce in his ww boat

It really feels like you're in a desert here (which you are!) except for this beautiful lake.  We're in the heart of the fruit growing area of BC ... we can walk to several fruitstands and are enjoying eating MANY local peaches, nectarines, pears, plums, cherries and of course the veggies are good too!
We're starting to look at where to go next.  We thought originally of Nelson/Nakusp etc., but there doesn't seem to be many RV parks around there.  We found that Christina Lake - near Castlegar - looks pretty nice so may go there first.  It's not far from here which is nice. 

Catching up ...
Sept. 9th

Bathing beauties!

After picking up Mary & Steve, got to camp around 2-ish and sat around in the sun and played in the lake.  It was up to 31C so that felt good!  The lake is very shallow and that works for me as I can walk forever and the water is no higher than chest height!
We decided to go out for our anniversary dinner tonight as the weather's supposed to turn snotty tomorrow and we really wanted to sit on the balcony.

Happy 17th Anniversary!

We took a cab to Burrowing Owl (no one wanted to volunteer to be the designated driver!) and it was a perfect evening!  The weather was absolutely perfect, the wine was amazing (Cab/Franc) and the food was wonderful.  We shared some appies, then main courses of either halibut or steak.  Couldn't have been better!  A superb anniversary ... happy 17th!

Sept. 10th
Had an ok sleep ... Dora is quite tight with 4 people.

NK'MIP Desert Cultural Centre

After a light breakfast we walked over to the NK'MIP Desert Cultural Centre which is quite lovely.  There's quite a walk around the desert with lots of interpretive signs etc.  Then we got to see the snake show which was cool.

Grasslands Protected Area

Back to the mo-ho for an appie lunch then off to the Grasslands Protected Area.  A VERY bumpy, un-marked road leads you to the most amazing place.  Beautiful grasslands where you can get out and walk forever it seems!  It was quite cool and windy tho so didn't stay too long.
Back home to steak & pear/pecan salad for supper.
A 'rousing' game of dominoes and early to bed.

Sept. 11th

Bruce with our 'booty'

moocher dog

Lake Breeze

After we all got up and at it ... began our drive to Kelowna to take Mary & Steve back to the airport.  Along the way we took a detour up to Naramata to do some wine tasting!  We visited Kettle Valley Winery, Red Rooster, Hillside Estate and Lake Breeze - where we had a very nice lunch.  We were joined by the owners dog who proceeded to mooch from one table then the next - but he was VERY cute!
Then off to the airport and a very sad good-bye to Mary & Steve!

Sept. 12th

Bruce on the canal bike path

A 'domestic' day today.  Laundry, cleaning, in to town to pick up a part for our bike rack, a stop at a fruit stand for dinner 'fixin's' then home for lunch.  After that we went for a bike ride along the canal and had a great time.  Would have been greater if I'd have remembered to put on my padded bike shorts tho - OUCH!!!
The weather is beautiful again ... not so hot ... only around 22C which is perfect for me!
Bruce is out paddling on the lake right now so time for me to relax and read a bit!
 

Sept 9th
Good Morning!
Well, got in to NK'MIP campground around 1-ish yesterday.  It was jammed full to the brim - and they have over 400 sites!  There is some kind of dog show going on which I think accounted for some of the problem.  We ended up with a lakefront site ... but holy cow!  It's not what I remembered.  It was filthy!  There were actually 2 potatoes under our picnic table, lots of cigarette butts, bottle caps, and various other debris.  Quite noisy - lots of parties and lots of kids playing on the big sand hill behind us.  We had to keep our windows closed to get any sort of quiet.

We spent most of the day yesterday shopping for essentials that somehow got missed in packing, then groceries and cleaning Dora.  She's small, but still needs cleaning and try as we might we tend to end up wearing our shoes inside.  Bruce got out for a bit of a paddle in the lake just to cool off as was 31C!

Had a pork chop & corn for supper, some wine looking at the lake, then after dark inside for an episode of our show.

Off this morning to pick up Mary & Steve at the Kelowna airport which is about 2 hours away - so better eat my cereal and get going!

Sept 7th

A nice, relaxing kind of day.  We took a very pretty walk around the 'scenic waterfront walkway' downtown.  Not a huge walk but nice views and interesting reading the legends along the way to learn the history of the area.
Started to get hot so we grabbed some food - visited the Cheesmonger http://www.cheesemongersshop.com/  which had an amazing variety of cheeses and sausages.  The staff is super friendly and we were offered many, many tastes of cheese.
Once we loaded up there we headed to the basically only grocery store in town and picked up a few more things.

Friday nite appie nite!

Back to the campsite and put out our lounge chairs and read, caught up on email etc. while watching the river and hoping for a bear sighting (didn't happen!).  Towards dinner time we broke out some Corona's and got out the Scrabble game for a rousing contest!  (Don't know who won as we started talking to the neighbor and never did finish ... but I was ahead!)
Then got out our wonderful cheeses etc. and had a nice, Friday nite appie nite with some wine we'd brought from home - a nice white Red Rooster.  It cools off pretty quickly so we were inside by 7:30.  Watched an episode of Eureka and snuggled in the bed for a pretty good night's sleep.  We're off to Osoyoos tomorrow so early to bed!

RESTAURANT REVIEWS

1.  Cafe Christa, Leavenworth, WA
http://www.cafechrista.com/

Very friendly staff, nice atmosphere.  We made a reservation but really didn't need it ... although by doing so we got a table at the windows which were open and looked over the town.  Since it was a beautiful evening that worked out well.
Extensive German menu which is, I guess, what everyone is looking for in a 'Bavarian' town!
We each had 2 drinks and there's a good variety of local wines and some good German beer.
We opted for the dinner for 2 which was enough to feed 4 (well, we're not large eaters so perhaps that doesn't work for everyone).  It was all very good except the apple strudel for dessert.  Kind of a gloopy sauce poured over it and made it kind of soggy.  But other than that ...  well done!

Bruce & Linda at Christa's

Major food

2.  The Sonora Room Restaurant at the Burrowing Owl Winery, Oliver, BC
https://www.bovwine.ca/the_restaurant.html

A perfect evening

On a slight hill overlooking the valley and vineyard below, Burrowing Owl is the perfect place for a special lunch or in our case this time - dinner.
We were fortunate to get a table on the patio on this warm, late summer evening and the view and ambiance was amazing.

Menu

Appies

The staff greeted us promptly and were most friendly.  We ordered a bottle of their Cabernet Franc to start the evening and then ordered some appies.  We got a cheese plate which featured 3 local cheeses and a variety of crackers, fruit, nuts and a chutney which was amazing.  Our only 'complaint' was that we had specifically asked not to have any goat cheese on the board but we seemed to get one anyway.  It was good, but we could have done without.  We didn't complain as it was eaten by those of us who liked goat cheese anyway!  We also had a vanilla bean cured salmon which was ok but we found a bit salty.
For the main course 3 of us chose the special which was a wonderful Halibut dish with roast veg., while one of our company chose the steak.  The Halibut was cooked perfectly and the veg were amazing.  The 'steak' person said his was also very good.  We ended with another bottle of wine, then coffee.  A perfect evening that will be remembered a very long time!

Bruce at Kaslo Hotel

3.  Kaslo Hotel and Brew Pub, Kaslo, BC
This is a newer building but designed to fit in with the look of the rest of the town - like an old heritage hotel.  Very nicely done.  It's got a patio in back that looks across Kootenay Lake and that's what drew us in.  That and the Brew Pub thing!
Unfortunately, they were still 'setting up' the brewing thing, so we had to choose from some other local beers and they certainly fit the bill.
The food was mediocre - I'd ordered the ribs which were advertised as 'fall-off-the-bone tender' and was assured they indeed were.  They weren't.  They weren't tough ... just not what I expected.  The bbq sauce was ok but felt like it'd been added as an afterthought so didn't really permeate the meat.  The sides were not great - the roast potatoes had been cooked LONG before and were dried and tough.  The veg. were simply large chunks of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots steamed slightly.  No other sauce or seasonings and they were pretty bland.  Bruce ordered Caesar salad and wings.  The wings were - ok, and the Caeser ok as well but with way too much dressing.  Service was ok.  But the view sure goes a long way towards making up for it.  The inside seating was clean, but looked like a big hall - it needs some cozyness to make it more appealing.  And yes, their bathrooms were amazing!

4.  Bibo, Nelson, BChttp://www.bibonelson.ca/bibo-nelson/

My 60th Birthday at Bibo!

This place was a true gem!  We celebrated my 60th birthday there and it was amazing!  We thought to sit on their balcony, but the tables and chairs didn't look appealing so we opted to go inside.  The inside was very cozy with exposed brick walls and a large fireplace.  We were the only patrons for most of the night, so it felt very private.
The menu is small, but well thought out.  I ordered Duck Confit with risotto (cause I'd never had Duck Confit) and Bruce got the Angus steak.  Both were cooked to perfection and I think it was the best meal I've ever had!  The staff were knowledgeable about the food and wine and very attentive.
There's a small but nice wine list with several BC wines to choose from.  Very High Recommendation!

RV PARKS AND CAMPGROUND REVIEWS

1.  Wenberg County Park, Stanwood, WA
http://www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Parks/Park_Information/Park_Directory/Community_Parks/WenbergCountyPark.htm

It's a small park, off the beaten path.  Shady, wooded sites and close to a nice lake with a beach only a few minutes walk away.  Clean, fairly private sites with full hook-ups.

 Washrooms ... clean but very VERY basic, cement floors etc.  Shower takes 'Washington State Tokens' whatever they are!  I give it a 'two roll' rating!













2.  Icicle River RV Park, Leavenworth, WA
http://www.icicleriverrv.com/

Located on beautiful Icicle River, this RV park is very clean but very crowded.  You're pretty much cheek-by-jowl here.  If my side window could open I could touch the rig next to me.
However it is very quiet and the river is pretty.  It's only 2 miles into Leavenworth and so is very convenient if you want to drive in for exploring the town or for meals.
The washrooms are VERY clean and quite deluxe for a campground.  Tiled floor and walls with one regular and one very large shower - complimentary!  I give it a 'five roll' rating!

3.  NK'MIP RV Park, Osoyoos, BC
http://www.nkmip.com/

Our campsite

This is one huge park!  The day we arrived it was crammed full - not only a weekend but they also had a dog show in progress - a ton of sites were taken up by 'dog people'.  After Sunday it quieted down a bit but there's always lots of people coming and going.

garbage at site

Lots of lakefront sites and some more in-land in the trees.  Not a bad place but could use some maintenance here and there.  Our site was filthy when we arrived - cigarette butts, bottle caps, various garbage and POTATOES under the picnic table!  Not sure if this is normal or what but we ended up cleaning the site ourselves.

Restroom

We were a bit disappointed as we thought there'd be free WI-FI but we had to pay and it's only good for one computer.  And that took us a bit to get set up - the front office staff aren't too helpful.
There's showers (pay), clean restrooms (I'd give it a '4-roll' rating) and laundry facilities which could also use some cleaning and a few amenities like somewhere to hang shirts etc.  There is a convenience store although I've never seen it open ... don't know if it's only during the summer.
It was pretty quiet during the night - after the first night when it was so crowded - and the location is great on the lake.

4.  Skands Court, Christina Lake, BC
http://www.christinalake.com/skands/

campsite from lake

Skands is located right on a small beach on Christina Lake.  The sites are treed and all have their own picnic table.  The sites near the lake only have power and water.  If you want a full hook-up you have to be in the 'other side' of the campsite which seems to be full of long-term rigs.  But they do have free dumpage for stays of 2 days or longer and their showers are clean and hot so it wasn't an issue for us.  We managed almost a week without having to dump!
The campground was very quiet but this is September - I hear in July and August it's PACKED and very noisy.

From our site to lake

John, the manager was very helpful and lent us a couple of books that showed what to do in the area.
There's boating of course, and the Trans Canada Trail is close by for hiking and mountain biking.
The rest rooms are clean but pretty bare bones.  I'd give it a 3-roll rating.



5.  Nelson City Campground, Nelson, BC

Nelson City Campground

What can I say?  It's a campground in the middle of the city.  But it is walking distance to shopping and restaurants which is what we wanted.  It's quite small, but has full hook-ups, showers, toilets, laundry etc.  Very clean and well managed.  it has room for larger rigs as well as tents.  I didn't use the washrooms, so can't comment on those - but the laundry facilities are very clean.





6.  Cedar Bay Campground, Kaslo, BC.http://www.cedarbayrvpark.com/

Cedar Bay RV Park

Situated on Kootenay Lake, this campground caters to self-contained, adult-oriented visitors.  There are no toilets, showers - or WI-FI!  Nice treed sites and just a short walk down to the 'beach' - which isn't really a beach but more like just a rocky shore where you can launch your small boat.
It's clean and was pretty much deserted when we were there - just the way we like it!  It has room for big rigs and there are picnic tables and firepits.

Sept 6th
Thankfully things did get better!

Downtown Leavenworth

We're in Leavenworth now and what a beautiful spot!  It's amazing tho how many people are here ... all 'old farts' like us traveling when the kids go back to school!
The campground - Icicle River RV park - is nice ... right on a river (Icicle River ... what a coincidence!) but we're jammed in here pretty closely.  If I could reach out the window right now I could touch the rig beside us.  Luckily we're only here one more night then off tomorrow to Osoyoos.
It's hot here ... I'd have thought in the mountains it'd be cooler but not during the day.  The forecast is for temps to 29C today!  If we're going to do anything we'd better do it early!

Linda getting 'misted'

Dinner at Cafe Christa's

We treated ourselves to a nice dinner last night at a German restaurant.  Some good local wine and good dark German beer and it was very nice.  I think we'll do a bit of a  hike this morning then some winery tours this afternoon.  Much more relaxing!