Arial view of Nelson BC

Kootneys British Columbia

Kaslo City Hall built in 1892 and still used. Made of wood from surrounding trees.

Hailies Cache Find

Leandra's Cache Find

Mountain Meadow

Babbling Brook

Kootney Lake

Creston Mountain

This week we left Calgary and went on a road trip to Kaslo. Kaslo has been called the quaint Canadian village similar to those found in Switzerland. Elegant Victorian homes, tree lined streets, mountain views and of course the beautiful glacier fed lake. This quaint little hamlet is nestled in between the Selkirk and Purcell Mountains. Its history is steep with mining lore. Silver ore created the boom that created the town. Later the thick forest sustained the town with the creation of the mill. Surrounded by wilderness and parks this area is finding a new found industry in the eco-tourism. Bears and Cougars abound. So BEWARE! We took to our new pastime and participated in 2 geocaches. A hike with a treasure at the end. The kids were thrilled. (Lea and I had fun also)

We ventured into Nelson to do a little bit of shopping. Nelson is known as the Queen City. It is situated on the extreme right arm of Lake Kootney. Silver and Gold were found in the area creating a boom in 1867. The town built its own hydroelectric generating system in 1895.

During the Vietnam war the draft dodgers made their way to Nelson and changed the dynamics tremendously with a more Liberal outlook and created major changes, culturally and politically. Today a resurgence of servicemen deserting the army to avoid Iraq have made their way to Nelson. Dredlocs are ramptant. Nelson is also well known for its alternative life-style. Hemp and its products are sold in many stores. The RCMP gave up in the 60's. Hence the term BC Bud or Kootney Gold. I am told very good quality.This was all part of the Liberal ways; with this came many wonderfully talented individuals with their artistic creations. One can find many beautiful pieces of art.

There is just so much to do in this area with so little time. A whole summer could be spent exploring and you would barely scratch the surface of things to learn about our past. We as Canadians need to read more about the past that have created our Cities and ghost towns and let our imaginations take us back to that era.