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Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

New Denver and Sandon

Before we left for BC, I read about various things to see and do and one of the things that caught my eye was a visit to Sandon – a ghost town relic left over from the heyday of silver mining in the area. The region was once one of the largest producers of silver in the west and a busy town with 1000’s of people quickly sprang up along the shores of Carpenter Creek. The mountainsides raise steeply up out of the valley and they quickly ran out of buildable land for homes and businesses and roads. Innovative thinking led them to put the creek in a flume – a four-sided wooden tube – and that became a main street of the town rather than a barrier. They also used it to dispose of trash and sewage. Imagine what the folks in New Denver, at the mouth of the creek, thought of that. Eventually the wooden flume failed and washed out much of the old town. Fire was also hard on the town and when silver prices declined, it was abandoned. During WWII it was used as a camp for Japanese-Canadian internees who were relocated from other areas.

Now the place is more of a junkyard with few intact buildings. Someone decided to store historic trolley buses from Calgary and Vancouver there. They presented an incongruous sight when we first arrived. We were puzzled til be found some interpretive signage. There is a nice museum in one of the old buildings and we enjoyed it, learning quite a bit about the place and silver mining in 1800’s and early 1900’s.

On the way to Sandon we stopped in New Denver and enjoyed their Saturday market with beautiful produce and lots of talented artisans.

 

In New Denver
Lovely market in New Denver
It is hard to picture this pretty big creek restricted to a flume
This looks like something from the ocean rather than the mountains
In the museum
Old building
Old train locomotive, partially restored
bolts
Fireweed and rust
This cat patrolled the main street through Sandon
Trolley in Sandon
More trolleys
Canadian Brill Car logo on the trolleys
An old train car
Sweet
An old neighborhood of Sandon where folks still live
Interesting, perhaps homemade, vehicle in Sandon

 

A Short Visit to Nelson, BC

For years, I have wanted to go to Nelson, British Columbia and on this road trip, I finally had the chance to see it. Boy, was I disappointed. Not because it lacks things to do or see or eat, but because the weather was hot and it was a tourist destination. It reminded me that I do not enjoy Winthrop, the town closest to where I live, in the summertime. Is that a bad thing for me to admit? I hope not. I like Winthrop during the fall, winter and spring seasons but between Labor Day and Memorial Day, it’s just too busy and often it is very hot. That’s how Nelson was the day we visited. Busy and hot. The people watching was interesting. We had a decent lunch. We found a good place for a beer. We probably could have found ice cream too. That’s all just the same as Winthrop. Being that it was so warm, we did not feel like searching for the interesting neighborhoods or finding the cool trails or even exploring the waterfront. I think I’d like to visit again – maybe in June or September or maybe even in winter. Many people were enthusiastic about the skiing in the region.

Here are a few images from the day.

Accordions seem popular in BC
There’s no place like Hume. Or so they said.
Nice flowers in the pub at the Hume Hotel.
Ken made a new friend outside a hair salon.
And more art, this time at the coffee shop, Oso Negro, I think was its name.
Nice water feature at the coffee shop
On the patio at the coffee shop
Nice art in Nelson
Later I saw her at the coffee shop where we had lunch
I’d like a yellow one, please

Gibson Lake

Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park is straight up in the mountains from Kokanee Creek Provincial Park. It is a long bumpety bump drive to get there through many kilometers of industrial demonstration forest. There was a warning that the road was not for low-clearance vehicles nor for the faint of heart. We took it slow since the boats were still on the roof of the truck and we did not want them to get jostled around too much. It was fortuitous that the boats were with us as the road ended rather abruptly at a beautiful high mountain lake – the kind that we generally think we have to hike many miles to see. We had intended to go for a hike to another lake but with spectacular Gibson Lake before us it seemed like the only thing to do was get the boats down and go for a paddle. And you know, Ken had his fishing tackle with him so he was sure to wet a line. He enjoyed catching cutthroat trout that he promptly released. I poked around the edges of the lake and found a Solitary Sandpiper in addition to the more common Spotted Sandpipers and I was surprised to find a Great Blue Heron. I just don’t expect to find them at an elevation of 6000′. I imagine it was migrating and maybe it was young too. I watched it hunt – poking its long bill into nooks and crannies – and it often came up with a bite to eat but I could not see what it was catching.

Finally we had enough of the water and thought we ought to check out the trail. It was 4.5 kilometers to the next lake so we put on our packs and started up. The mosquitoes were horrific. And it was late in the afternoon – already 4:00 – and we did not have more food so after a couple k of enjoying the views and the wildflowers, we turned back and returned to camp.

But the most interesting part of the visit may have been seeing cars surrounded by chicken wire! We both have lots of experience at trailheads and had never seen such a sight.

What on earth?
That explains it
How many beautiful places has my boat seen
GBH profile
Great Blue Heron preening
This butterfly was hungry for salt
Such an interesting stride
Heron hunting
Heron in the woods
Cutthroat
Do you think he enjoys this?
Fishin fool
View from my boat
Monkeyflower next to the lake
Pointed at a snow field
Fireweed along the trail
Fireweed
That’s as far as we got.
A long-stemmed buttercup
So pretty and dramatic
View from the trail

Kokanee Creek Provincial Park

We stayed three nights at Kokanee Creek while we visited Nelson and also Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. It is located on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake – a large body of water that reminds me of the reservoirs on the Columbia River. It may be historically part of a natural lake however it is now held back by a dam and dike system. Ken learned that it is known for very large trout or kokanee (landlocked) salmon. He fished two or three times and got one bite but was not able to bring it up to the kayak. I paddled across the lake early one morning when it was perfectly still and enjoyed the feeling of big water. It’s been a long time since I’ve paddled anything besides small lakes. But then the ski boats started up and they are a bit nerve-wracking from the low exposure of a sea kayak.

Kokanee Creek drains out of the Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park and is a pretty stream where the kokanee salmon go to spawn. We were a bit early to see them. Seeing lots of Osprey around, we figured that it would not be long til the fish went upstream. I spent some time wading in the creek trying to get the ‘perfect’ moving water photo. It probably still eludes me.

 

Some people have prayer flags at their campsite. We had drying towels
West Arm looking north
Looking south
Gnome afloat
Looking up Kokanee Creek towards Kokanee Glacier Park

 

Common Loons at Lost Lake

I have been visiting Lost Lake for many years and always it is the Common Loons that fill me with awe. Loons do not find much good breeding habitat in Washington and this lake has been a draw for one pair for as long as I’ve been visiting. Every year there is a nest and it has occasionally failed. Sometimes Bald Eagles snatch the young birds when they are out of the nest but still small. Last year the eagles got one. This year it looks like both young birds have survived, so far. They are growing fast with a diet of fish provided by their parents. They need to grow fast in order to migrate to bigger water for the long cold winter.

I photographed these birds from my boat, not paddling too close but waiting for the birds to get closer to me as I drifted. These birds are often observed from boats and the shore. They are also well-studied with researchers banding the young birds as soon as they are old enough.

 

One adult and both young
Sleeping young bird
This young bird displays bling – a band used to research the birds to learn more about where they go when they migrate.