From the hot Okanagan to the beautiful Kootenay District...This

Today did partially mimic the trip last October, at least the first part from Keremeos to Castlegar.. We crossed the Okanagan early in the morning, but instead of the main highway, we followed the old highway 3A which wound through the river valley amid fields of orchards and vineyards...a peaceful quiet Sunday morning with no-one else on the road...

But first, here is the scene outside our camper before we left the campground...

 

And then the old highway 3A

And then some bags of fresh cherries, nectarines and Red Haven peaches. 

 We stopped in Castlegar which had tree lined streets...

Victorian homes....

 

And a 50s restaurant. Looks can be deceiving because inside it had Borscht on the

menu. That is because the tall strapping fresh-faced young woman waiting on us 

is Russian, Doukhobor to be exact. These communal living Russians with their

own version of Christianity, arrived in Canada in 1899 and about 10 years later

moved westward into this part of BC. They tried very hard to protect their religious

customs, and engaged in a long and protracted fight with the provincial government.

Those days are long gone, but many of the restaurants in Castlegar and Grand Forks

have signs that proclaim they serve "Authentic Russian food". The Borscht was very

good by the way...

  

 We are now deep into the Kootenay District and we follow and cross a number

of finger lakes stretched between mountain ridges. This one was dammed up during

WW2 using Doukhabor men as labour, because they were exempt from military

service during the war.

 

 We reach the bustling centre of the Kootenay District, the city of Nelson which was

founded as a mining town. Today it is an energetic, flourishing urban centre with

a number of very impressive historic buildings and it enjoys an amazing position

at the southern end of Kootenay Lake.

  

It actually sits on a bend of the Kootenay River. Beyond the bridge is Kootenay Lake,

A long snake-like lake that twists and bends and is peppered with all sorts of floating craft,

swimmers and paddlers. It is a very popular recreational area.

  

 The main street of Nelson is busy with cafes, shops, tourists and residents.

 

This is the old Court House, a very imposing building built in the baronial Scottish

style.

 

 We cross the bridge to the far side of the lake and continue driving up the lakefront
for about half an hour.

 

Nelson sits on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake...the main north-south lake is 104

kms long.

And we are on its shores tonight, tucked into a pretty little spot with a marina
and treed camp sites...tomorrow we take the ferry across the lake to the east side and
continue on through the Kootenay mountain range...