Pushed on to Creston

Left Revelstoke around 10am, heading south to Nakusp then on to Nelson.  Driving through a corridor of trees, I realized there are so many different shakes of green, from yellow green to a dark green that`s almost black.  I took the ferry from Shelter Bay, all of 10 minutes before heading south to Nakusp.

Even in overcast conditions, it`s always beautiful in Beautiful British Columbia.  Can you tell I have a soft spot for the province.

Before I continue on this leg of the trip, I wanted mention something.  You remember in an earlier blog, I talked about watching some First Nations men load a totem onto a flatbed truck for transport to a site that, previously, was a residencial school.  Well I stopped in at the tiny village just before Port Alberni and asked a young fellow if he knew where the site was.  Didn`t he drive me right to the spot.  I stopped for several minutes to contemplate and be silent. 

There it is, at the bottom is the wolf, then the orca, the woman and the eagle.  A permanent testiment to the power of the human spirit through creativity.

Meantwhile, back at the cafe in Ucluelet, I mentioned I was playing with words. 

The power of words or the baffoonery of them.  You decide.

My next stop was Nakusp, a lovely little spot with a well kept waterfront.  This is a funky little town with an annual music festival that draws quite a crowd, so I`m told.  For a small town, it`s a happening place.

There is a walk about on the water front and this lovely beach to the left.  This tiny dwelling seems precarious at the edge of the water but I bet it rocks the occupant to sleep every night.

    

This sign was inside the Middle Earth cafe.  Couldn`t resist taking the shot.  This noisy little fellow entertained me until I tried to move closer then off he went.

     

Someone in Nakusp has a quirky artistic flare.  This was a dinosaur made from a skull and wood.  There are a few lovely seating areas to sit for contemplation, reading or simply enjoying the spectacular view.

I walked along the waterfront and main street for over an hour, spoke with a few of the local population but mostly observed.  The town has a great feel to it.  I headed south again and stopped at one vantage point and grabbed a few shots.

     

I believe this is in the New Denver area but I could be wrong.  Specular vistas from this vantage point.  The 2nd picture is looking down, way below, at the tops of 30` high trees.  It was way up there.

I noticed I was seeing more animals along the road on this leg of the trip.  Hadn`t seen many at all.  Once I got close to Salmo, there were all kinds.  I was coming over a summit when I spotted something black in the distance.  And yes, indeedy I got my bear shot. 

It looks close because I am close.  A few hundred feet away but I felt confident because I scoped out to make sure he had no friends close by and I had a cement baracade AND I was within feet of my car. 

Saw lots of deer.  Unlike the ones in Alberta, this guys take to the woods instead of to the road when they see a vehicle coming.  I`ve had too many close calls with deer at night so I don`t the highways of Alberta anymore unless I can see what`s ahead of me.  I did see a moose on this side of the Salmo pass but unfortunately, he headed for the ditch by the time I pointed the camera and all I got was nothing.  Grrr.  Can`t get `em all.

So I thought I would have a day when I didn`t have a great encounter with a human as I have had so many since I began this adventure more than a month ago.  I was driving along and spotted some sheep in the meadow with young lambs.  Ah, so cute.  I turned my car around and headed back there.  I drove into the lane and was met by a rather large dog.  I stayed in my car and was going to pull out when I saw this fellow walk towards me.  `Don`t worry about him (or was it her)`` he says. `He`s just a puppy`.  I love dogs and that was all the assurance I needed.  I got out. He held his puppy back because he would have been all over me and I would have ended up on the ground.  Big puppy, sorry I didn`t get a picture or remember the breed.  Colin was the owner of the property, born and raised.  He was very welcoming and when I told him I was interested in getting some shots of the lamb (honest Colin, I really didn`t think they were goats.  The horns through me).  Well as soon as I approached, they all turned their backs and walked away.  Hmmm!  He fetched a bucket of chicken feed to entice them to return and still it took a few minutes before they all headed straight for us.  Well I got the pictures I wanted.

     

Momma with her twins.  Looks like hard work.  Another mother with her triplets.

This little fellow han`t been feeling well, according to Colin.  Not sure what the problem is.

Meet Colin, his daughter Calla (greek for beautiful) and son Ethan.  Like many people who live in these rural communities, they have to be good at a number of things to make a living.  Colin has a trade (electrical or mechanical, again can`t recall which), he`s a meat cutter and of course, he has his animals and land.  For fun, he competes in a sport known as Rock Crawling.  If you watch The Rick Mercer Report, you`ll remember when Rick and Newfoundland`s premier Danny Williams took a 4x4 with humungous tires and drove, very slowly over even more humungous boulders.  It`s a sport apparently.  Who knew.

And here`s the beast, cut back to the bone so Colin can rebuild it bigger faster and stronger.  Okay, not faster but definitely the other two.  Good luck and thanks Colin for the visit.  Nice meeting you too Calla. 

I did make it to Nelson, funkiest or funky towns but my has it grown.  There were lots of people there and I knew if I spent the night I would be even further behind so I took a quick tour around, found some interesting looking steets and left.  Decided to push on to Creston.  It was before Creston that I saw the moose.  I know it`s just a story without a picture.  Had to come over the Salmo pass before arriving and the road was clear and, for the most part, dry.   People gripe about the winter conditions still but my, it`s lovely up there.

The top of the Salmo pass

These mountain sheep look small and somewhat scraggily but its early spring and they`re shedding their winter coats.  The little ones were frisky jumping back and forth over the barrier, unlike the wiser adults who know to be cautious. 

Well, that`s it.  I gotta get going.  Got to bring Antonio (that`s my car, named it that because it reminds me of a giggalo, costs money but brings pleasure) to see Walt at a local garage.  Been smelling oil, so want to get it checked out before I hit the road.  Pat, Creston Valley motel manager assures me I won`t be ripped off.  Pat`s a wealth of info about technology and told me about an internet service he thinks will be useful to me while I`m on the road.  Thanks Pat, on both counts.