Finally! The West Kootenays Sept. 5-13/2013

Riondel B.C. Arrow Lake

I was at Riondel probably
20 yrs. ago and it was this view
I remember. The colors at dusk
are unparalleled. We arrived about 3 PM and all I could do was quickly set up camp and place the lawn chair in front of that lake and wait. Beautiful. My holiday complete. At least once every trip I have to have a moment or two, a sense of peace, a space, some time with my church as I call it.....Eagle Knoll on Mount Revelstoke, The Great Divide Arch, The Dome in Dawson Yukon I have found such spots and this is another. Valley of the Ten Peaks or Larch Valley above Moraine Lake in Alberta is another. In fact that is where I want to rest when its my turn. Peaceful spots.

As with every blog, let me start again at the beginning of our  trip. I always seem to begin my stories with a favorite photo, not necessarily the beginning of our trip.
Our trip was delayed in June due to flooding so we left on Sept. 5th 2013. I love Sept. holidays as the campgrounds are not busy, very few bugs! and usually cooler weather. This year seemed to be a little delayed weather wise, a strange year to be sure so it was quite hot, our days averaged around +30. Thank goodness we were usually by the water and shady campgrounds!

  And it was raining again as we started off on our venture, undaunted the promises for better weather were there.

Blanket Creek south of Revelstoke B.C.

Blanket Creek just a few miles south of Revelstoke is our favorite spot for our first overnight stop.
 It is a quiet shady, lots of green trees with as you can see beautiful bark in the fall...I don't know if I have ever noticed these before . If you click on photos they will enlarge and you can see detail in the texture of the bark. Beautiful..... I don't know what kind of tree it is either.

We are testing out the van this year....what is gas costing us? how long does it take us to get to our destinations? (we know its going to be slower, not necessarily a bad thing) we already know the advantages of camping in the rain and the wind in a van compared to a tent!!!!!
So we are recording everything....how many hrs. to Lake Louise, Field, Golden, Revelstoke I know I know
I can hear you now....a little overboard       ;-)

One negative I have found with the van is the seating position both driving and passenger. The boot covering the motor in the centre consul is large resulting in sitting at a bit of an angle to reach gas and brake pedals. My first night out after a 5 or 6 hour drive I had a kink in my Butt (I was going to say back but that's not exactly the spot) To be honest I don't think I have ever had such a pain....I did not sleep at all that night and had difficulty getting out of bed even.....I was beginning to think I wasn't going to be able to continue the trip but of course did not want to ruin our holiday...So the next day we continued on to Nakusp over the Shelter Bay ferry. We shopped at our favorite Spiritwood Gift store and found some treasures. But I definitely was not feeling good....Our plans were to continue on to Nelson that day and I suggested or requested that we call it a day, stay at Nakusp hot springs and give me a chance to soak in the hot springs.....How good that felt. Cool mountain air and hot springs twice that day. Day pass so we went in the afternoon for an hour and then after supper before bed.....Another terrible night......
Nakusp to Nelson is only 195K or two hours, I adjusted my seat to a more upright, brought it closer to the pedals, and put some support behind my back but the road is twisty and very slow with the van I think it took us about 3 hours. My first stop was the pharmacy for some drugs!  Took some Robax for three nights and my ordeal was over........

 One of the nice things about camping is meeting great people for chats. A fellow from Texas camping next to us and an older lady in the pool all were saying "Have you seen the bridge"?  So we ventured over between swims to "See the Bridge" and what a beautiful bridge leading where? I have no idea couldn't venture further, maybe next time....

  Even the benches were made with care. cedar chips all around, smelled wonderful after the rain we had had....

Picture windows showcasing the view below

The Sun! casting shadows.

Cedar trees in the fall colors.

Well you can't call these spring crocus! but crocus they must be

 These beauties are at Nakusp Promenade along the lakeshore.
a variety of blooms year round tended by the town for our enjoyment.

We arrived in Nelson B.C. on Sat. Sept. 7th,2013 and headed for Kokanee Creek Campground just north of Nelson towards the Balfour ferry. 

Kokanee Creek campground

Enormous cedar trees throughout campground ensure shady sites. It had stopped raining and sun came out ! +30 temps for the rest of the holiday.

Long sandy beach, even a dog beach for Oliver to go into up to his ankles only!

Kokanee Salmon (a landlocked salmon due to dams in southern BC) spawn in specially built channels . 

One duck has found supper, he is dining on fresh salmon eggs.

I just happened to see a splash of white in the undergrowth along the salmon trail...
Some sort of a fungus but how bright and unique.


 

Forget me Nots and I won't

You can just imagine how many shots I got of this fellow, he did not co-operate fully, he walked in the pool and ruined his reflection, laughed at me and walked out of the pool. I think Ruth got the better photo but I'm not looking at hers!

What we do on holidays

These logs actually had seats hollowed out along the length to sit on....

Every dog has it's day ;-)

Birthday lunches at Duck & Dock pub Balfour Bay

 Walk in the shade after lunch

 Exploring highway north
towards Ainsworth Hot Springs
Balfour Bay area.

Farewell Kokanee Creek we will be back
thoroughly enjoyed. Took a day to do some shopping and snooping around Nelson need to go back there also.

Balfour Bay-Crawford Bay free ferry
on our way to Riondel B.C.
with a stop at Artisan Point on east side of ferry.  

After touring around all the wonderful little shops at Crawford Bay area and stopping for lunch, we headed to a little campground at Riondel. I had been there years ago with Elsie and remembered the view...rustic campground but the most hospitable host.... They even have WiFi.....
Another new thing the campground seem to do is charge up all the toys we now have. Camera batteries, IPads, tablets. etc....nice service....

Site # 15 Riondel campground, right on the beach! Some sites are back in the trees (hugh Cedar trees) which may be an advantage depending on the weather, but I needed to be right in front of that view with my camera...
 and my first couple of nights it was important to sit out all wrapped in our polar fleece blankets to watch the star show...I have to admit I never made it up toooooo late but did see the wall to wall stars over the water.....one of my favorite spots in the world.

I tried different settings on the camera to compare the differences.....what fun!

Our home made polar fleece blankie

Ruth has become interested in Zentangles....
so had brought all the tools to experiment.
We spent a warm sunny afternoon playing with it....
These are my first attempts and quite enjoyed....
It's easier than it looks....

Looks like Oliver quite enjoyed his time also....

The Riondel morning show!
Morning and afternoon light is always improved...but the color in this area is amazing.
Ranges from blues to purples...

Sailboat out in the middle of the mist.

Can you just imagine being out in this sailboat with nothing around...How peacefull.

The campground co-ordinator is trying to organize kayak rentals and trips to spots on the shoreline to picnic......

Ruth's great idea for a  photo.....

And Goodnight

Another adventure, another holiday, our first year of camping in Willow turned out great.
We drove home via Cranbrook and up #93 via Radium....
Which of course gave us ideas for next year....weekends, weeks....
We live in such a great spot in this world, so many choices.