Trip to Nelson on a Sunny Fall Day

Today's trip was to Nelson which is northeast of Castlegar. Lance photographed Granite Pointe and I took the car and explored Nelson. I was amazed that there were four dams between Castlegar and Nelson which is just a little over 20 miles. There is the the Upper Bonnington Dam, the Lower Bonnington Dam, the South Slocan Dam, and the Corra Linn Dam. The whole area is interwoven with dams and canals.





















Nelson has the reputation of being the town where a lot of draft dodgers came during the Vietnam War. It is considered to be a hippy, art town. I found some unusual churches.

The one on the left is an Angelican Church. The one on the right is a Trinity Presbyterian

The Court House in Nelson was covered by fall red ivy. Quite striking.

After exploring Nelson I went over their bridge and headed further north to Balfour. Balfour is the other side of the ferry from Crawford Bay which are both on the huge Kootney Lake. The ferry is billed to be the largest free ferry ride in the world taking 40 minutes to cross the lake.

It was a great drive and the weather was warm and sunny. On the way back I took a picture of the Blaylock's Resort. It was gorgous.

It is Hard to Catch Dragonflies & Butterflies

Dragonflies and butterflies always seem to allude me. Lance managed to get a good dragonfly picture at Christina Lake Golf Course yesterday. They are so cool.


He also got some great deer pictures. A group of them gathered at an apple tree on the course.

Today he went to Balfour Golf Club and saw some huge mushrooms. Any of you mushroomers out there know what they are?


And, nearby was a Salmon Spawning Channel.

Traveling Gnome Finds Friends

When I would head up to my friend Gretel's home to work on her books, I would call and say I was on my way. It got to be a joke about the "traveling gnome" was on her way. So, after we set out on the road she gave me a traveling gnome.



He joined our white tiger on our dashboard.



Well, the good news we are not the only one making friends along the way. Our traveling gnome has been warmly greeted by five gardening gnomes here at the Castlegar RV Park.

This gnome is named Dale. He looks surprisingly like our park host Dale.

I told Gretel about our traveling gnome's new friends. Suggested we need to name our traveling gnome so he does not get mixed up with other traveling gnomes like that guy on tv. Anyone got any ideas?

Back to the States

Yesterday we decided was the day to go down to Colville, Washington, so we could renew our rv license tabs (Whew! That was a big chunk out of our budget!). They expired this month and we did not want any complications at the border when we came back in October. Castlegar, BC is about 20 miles from the border so this was the closest we were going to get.

We headed first to Trail, BC which had a "one of the largest fully. integrated metallurgical smelting and refining complexes". It was my first time to see such a complex. It was huge. Apparently, zinc is one of the metals they refine. They had funny looking tubes sticking out of several of the large warehouses. It appears a lot of people are employed there from the huge parking lots.












I love to take photos of the scenery because it is always different. A different type of tree or bush or flower. I also find it fascinating to take pictures of barns. They are the only structure I have seen that is allowed to get old. I love their character. Between Castlegar, BC and Colville, WA there was an unusal amount of such barns.

This does not look like a barn but it definitely qualified for an old building with its own character.










I am also drawn to take pictures of churches. They are always different and beautiful in their own way. This is the First Congregational Church in Colville, Washington.



Well, do we have a deal for you. Lance is prone to make a sudden left or right turn to a local golf course. This course only costs $2 for 18 holes. Cannot go wrong at the Pend Oreille Golf & Country Club just outside of Kettle Falls, Washington. The tee boxes are astroturf and greens not really sure??? However, according to their rules: "Sweep each green before leaving it. Place drag out of way on far side of hole."

Further down the road is Crystal Falls. Lovely.....

All in all our trip was a pleasant one with the sun coming out not to mention a great lunch at Ronnie D's Drive-In. Apparently, it has been voted the best fast food restaurant in Colville. It was good. http://www.ronnieds.com/

Trip to Christina Lake

Ever since I bought a book on birds of North America we have seen more books. Does that mean if I buy a book on money I will see more money?????

Well, in this encounter we knew exactly what they were. There were about seven wild turkeys on the road to Christina Lake. They seem to be in a hurry. Do you think they knew Thanksgiving was just around the corner?

It actually snowed on our way to Christina Lake and stuck at higher altitudes. We do get nervous when we think we are not leaving until 10/2.

The terrain here ranges from the mountains with thin high mountain trees to rocks to praire like grass covered hills.

After visiting the golf course in Christina Lake we continued up the road for a few minutes to Grand Forks. It is famous for its Russian population and Russian food. Borscht anyone?

Found the Bridge to Nowhere

Got a closer look at this bridge as well as did some research on it. It is called the "Brilliant" Bridge. Also, we drove by it yesterday and discovered it is not walkable -- with big holes in the walkway.

I could not believe it when I saw it. This bridge actually ends on both sides.




Actually, when I got a closer look it seems this may have been a FOOT bridge...oh well, thought I had found the bridge to NOWHERE!

Is it an Eagle or a Vulture?

Lance thinks its an eagle. I think it is some kind of vulture? What do you think????

According to the Castlegar BC Chamber of Commerce: "From Castlegar, the Columbia River flows south to the USA. Castlegar is the focus of no fewer than 9 dams controlling the water flow and generating electricity for all North Americans. Hence our claim that Castlegar is the best "Dam" city in the world!"

Castlegar, BC - A Town On the Columbia River

Our trip to Castlegar, BC was significant because it was Coralee's first experience with driving the motorhome down and down and down and down a mountain. The brakes started to warm up. SCAREY! There were about 8 or 9 runway sideroads -- does that tell you how long it was?

We stopped for about an hour, had lunch, regrouped and decided to remember Kevin's advice -- go real slow -- like the truckers do!!!!! No problem after that.












Castlegar, BC is built in a valley with the Columbia River running through it. A huge bridge brings the two halves together.











Fall is really upon us as I am sure it is where you are too. The trees are brilliant with yellows, oranges and reds. And, the air is crisp and clean. Ready to head south for more warmth. Beautiful though.