Saturday is going to be a calm and sunny day, so we settled the dogs into the garage (they like it there...it's heated and they get big beef bones besides), fill up the gas tank, get some treats and take off.
We take our time heading for the town of Nelson, BC by following the great Columbia River to one of its sources.
Just a few miles into Canada, near the town of Trail, we finally find an opening to photograph the fog that was lying on the water for the last 20 miles.
This is where the Columbia River flows south towards the US and after the Kootenay River, (third largest tributary of the Columbia) joins it.
On our way we spotted this barn on the outskirts of Salmo, BC. I had to turn around to shoot this and as Donna can tell you, I usually have power lines, too cloudy or the sun at the wrong angle most of the time and it is red...got lucky here.
One of the many past times in winter for many Canadians is of course, ice fishing on a lake.
Cute little town 20 miles (excuse me, 33 km) south of Nelson, is Salmo, BC.
Salmo is very small and as you can see quiet, even on a Saturday afternoon. We did stop at Granny T's Bakery for a few cookies to hold us over till a late breakfast or an early lunch in Nelson.
Made it to Nelson and we shopped a bit before we had lunch. Nelson has a college and ski resort (Whitewater Ski Resort) and I had asked the waitress if Nelson was a college town or just a town that had a college. Donna and I both went to Chico State in Chico, California and in the 70's it was considered a college town...now Chico might be thought of as a town with a college. Well, the waitress thought about it for a moment before stating "Nelson is a town with a college rather than the other way around".
College or no college, Nelson was a bustling town at this time of year with a heavy snow pack on the mountain and a crisp -6C temperature. Shopping was interesting but expensive for us retirees, the early lunch was very good though and affordable.
At least the Canadians drive on the correct side of the road...:-)
Just a little north of Nelson, on Kootenay Lake, was a sight that caught us by surprise. The S.S. Nasookin started life in 1913 and considered the largest lake boat operating west of the Mississippi at that time. Retired in 1947, part of the vessel was skidded onto shore and reborn as a rock shop until the 1980's when it was then converted to a private residence and what an awesome home it is. Check out the living room...cool!
Kootenay Lake is huge, running very deep into Canada and the river is a prime source of water for the Columbia. I was told most of the water is glacier fed which means in a few years it might be bone dry! (just kidding, I hope)
Even though the ski resort is 10 miles away these look very much like ski condo's while overlooking the Kootenay Lake.
Just outside Nelson, near the ski resort, is the Nelson Nordic Ski Club with over 30 kilometers (yea, we're in Canada) of groomed trails. Winter fun that is reasonable compared to Alpine skiing.
All the rest stops we passed on the roads were closed for the season but we did find these great looking outhouses in the historic town of Ymir, BC. Ymir was originally a gold mining town but now seems to be a snowmobile hot spot.
Main street Ymir on a busy Saturday afternoon, even slower than Salmo.
There were many empty trucks and trailers lining the mountain side of Ymir and all looked to have held snowmobiles. We could not see or hear them but figured they must be on groomed trails, miles up the mountain.
My brothers and sisters keep reminding me that I am married to a saint, but for Donna to put up with all my u-turns, backing up or just plain constantly stopping every 100 yards to take my next award winning photo, well I guess I am....blessed.
I'm super charged by wolves and coyotes while Donna is a moose person. I love moose too and was thrilled to catch sight of two moose just a mile or so from the U.S. Border...so these must be Canadian moose, right?
The two moose...I swear there were two...I didn't just take a couple of shots of the one, because it is my understanding that males loose their antlers at the end of January and unless these guys were premature...well, they are girls. They were on a logging road that is closed and seemly headed for State 31 but spooked them back into the woods eventually. It really made the "whole" day seeing bullwinklete and bullwinkelchick so close and upfront.
Nelway is the Canadian side of the crossing.
Metaline is the U.S. equivalent at the same crossing. It was nice that the lady border guard did not frisk us or impede the journey any more than necessary. We had told her we saw some moose back up the road and she replied that one nearly caught her truck grill last week.
One last, off route wildlife exploration, that reminded me of something someone told us months ago when they found out we like traveling on dirt road...carry a chainsaw, you never know when you might need it!
Night all...have a great year.
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