As we had a few days between the pet sit in West Kelowna and the one in Fruitvale, we returned to the mountains for refreshing air and interesting hikes. As we drove east, we were a bit worried as the air was rather smoky in the distance, but after a while, it was much clearer. For the first time we had to make a ferry crossing, free as it is part of the road system, that uses a cable on each side to pull it which runs under water.

When we arrived at the cabin, on the outskirts of the village, we were met by the elderly owner, Karl, and equally elderly neighbor who was out walking with his dog and cat. Yes, sure enough, as they headed home, the orange and white cat accompanied them. Karl talked with us a bit and mentioned a bear had been out front that morning. We never saw it, but that first night I was awakened by a large noise. In the morning I saw the small porch table by the blackberry bushes had been knocked over. A couple of days later I saw the cat sitting on the side of the road. As I talked to it, it meandered over, lay down, and let me pet it. Even though it rolled over on its’ back, the stomach was off limits.

The view from the front porch is a mountainous panorama which we enjoyed every day. Besides the few remaining blackberries the size of a small grape, were tomato plants along the side of the house. We picked a few and gosh, were they flavorful! Though the kitchen was small, the living room and bedroom were spacious. The bathroom had a Japanese washlet which was fun and brought back memories of our time in Japan. A heated toilet seat, spray, and a dryer make for a pleasant experience. As there was no detergent, I used my laundry egg for two loads of laundry. Having our own washer and dryer were a great amenity. The wifi wasn’t great. I had better luck with it than Bill, despite having twin iPads bought at the same time. He had to use his phone as a hot spot pretty much all the time in the cabin. While on the front porch he had better luck with the wifi signal being sent over from Karl’s place.

Kaslo turned out to be a pretty interesting village right on Kootenay Lake. There is a wonderful sense of community with people all knowing each other and folks sitting outside of establishments enjoying the sunshine. There are restaurants, a great grocery store, gift shop, outdoor clothing store, health stores, etc. From 1989 until 1957 there were some sternwheelers on the lake which carried passengers and freight. The SS Moyie is housed on the shore right in Kaslo and is the oldest intact passenger steam vessel of its type anywhere. We both felt we could spend several summer months in this cool village. In 2024 we are returning to Europe for six months and are strongly considering spending our six months travel in 2025 in Kaslo.

During WWII, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Canada declared war against the Japanese, Kaslo became an internment camp. One multi-storied building housed everyone, one family per room regardless of the number of members. Men had often been put in jail, yet they were never found to be guilty of doing anything illegal. The kids had a great time, though, forming clubs, swimming, etc. The building now houses a museum telling of that time with many photos and audio displays. Also in the building is another arts museum and at times there are films shown, musical performances, and even plays.

We took two walks, thankful the predicted high chance of rain turned out to be minimal and often the sky was sunny. Most of the rain happened overnight. We did the same trail but in opposite directions. It took us across a magenta wooden bridge at either end to traverse the river, and then up into the forest. At the upper section are some playful sculptures playing Hide and Seek. We photographed them all and then the next day as we did the route in reverse, I noticed one we both had missed the day before. When we got to the bottom of the trail Bill turned around to look at the signs and there was one stating not to go that way because there is an active bear! Oh, my! Glad we didn’t run into it unexpectedly! The next day we detoured around that area.

The following photos were displayed in a town building window on the Main Street. I found the information interesting.

The day we left we had several hours to fill before we were to arrive in Fruitvale. We decided to drive north a bit, along the lake with magnificent views of the mountains. Just a couple of miles from Meadow Creek is a spawning channel where people can drive along the twisty shaded stream and view bright red Kokanee, a type of fish. The channel is open to the public from 10-2 daily, unless there is an unusual amount of bear activity. Signs are all over warning of grizzly bears and electric fences keep everyone where they should be. Multiple signs say people are to stay in their cars. Close to the end of the drive there is a section without the fence. Suddenly, when we both looked forward after checking out the back of a sign, one, two, three grizzly bears dashed across the road going from the stream into the woods! It was a mama and two older cubs. That was pretty cool! As it was so quick we didn’t get any photos. We drove the circuit again but it seems they had been too spooked to return to the salmon feast that quickly. That sighting made my day!