fresh water again

[BrianWilliams]

Pals, I have been over-ruled.

Jeannie, the mutts and I will be off for another 2 weeks in August. My choice was Vancouver Island, with far-ranging ferry rides to Quadra, maybe Sointula; a ride on MV Lady Rose and certainly a Gulf Islands ramble at the end. Nope.

Jeannie is set on returning to Sandon, high in the mountains in SE BC, and not a noted ferry terminal. *sigh*

Clever me, at least I've plotted a course via Hwy 6 that will use the Needles ferry; and later she wants to visit Kimberley. Yippee! The Balfour ferry will shorten our trip.

[Low Light Mike]

Brian, I feel your pain.....

But Sandon is close to Slocan Lake, close to Kaslo (and the Moyie and the beautiful, natural Kootenay Lake), and you're also close to BC History re silver mining and Japanese internment camps and Sons-of-Freedom-children internment camps, and Nelson's elegant buildings and retro culture (people-watching on a street-bench on Baker Street is a good time!).

Think of the possibilities:
- You could take Virginia & Bo to pay their respects at Peter Lordly's tomb.
- You might be able to witness the handiwork of sweet old Mary Braun, if she's still alive and burning buildings.
- You could visit Bountiful, and find out what's really going on down there.

If you're staying at Kaslo, I recommend "Wing Creek Cabins", located just 10 minutes north of Kaslo. I also recommend the route north of Kaslo, to Duncan Dam, and past Trout Lake....the road is gravel, and ends up near Galena Bay ferry terminal. Trout Lake City has got some ghost-town charm, along with a strong contingent of Albertan vacationers for the summer. The Windsor Hotel at Trout Lake City has historical charm.

Enjoy.

[BrianWilliams]

... a little PS to that message: after we agreed on the trip today, Jeannie called a hotel in tiny New Denver to reserve a few nights.

Any older British Columbians remember New Denver in the late 1950's? I remember the name with fear - I was a Vancouver kid when I saw the name in headlines and heard it on radio news.

New Denver was the residential school for Doukhobor kids seized from their families and imprisoned there. Though I was a happy Vancouver Anglican kid at the time, the stories frightened me.

The idea of going to New Denver for a vacation still seems odd, and the village's reputation wasn't helped by Jeannie's chirpy exclamation: "Hey, they've got a 1940's Japanese internment camp we can visit."

Great. Jeannie and I spent a long, sorrowful day touring Dachau near Munich 20 years ago. She cried then, and I guess she will at New Denver.

[Low Light Mike]

My Mom taught at the residential school at New Denver in the 50's

She remembers the names of some of the kids, who were in the news in recent years with lawsuits.

She remembers the stories of kids disrobing in class, etc.....but obviously there were much deeper issues from that whole situation of a residential school.

Have you read Ms. Simma Holt's book? that has some interesting reading.

Yes, internment camps would be very sad, controversial, and maybe tough for us to understand "why" these days...

[Ferryman]

I used to vacation in New Denver. My Grandparents had a cabin bought a cabin up there in the 1970s, and then built one the year I was born, in 1988. The Japanese people that are there are very nice talk to talk to, and have lots of stories. New Denver is my favourite place in the Kootenays, because of all the memories I have there. My Grandfather also has alot of memories of being up there from about the 50s and up . Well hopefull you enjoy your trip Brian, and make sure you tour the S.S. Moyie.

[BrianWilliams]

Thanks, guys!

Sorry for cutting the conversation short - just after my last post, I had a connection problem.

The Trout Lake/Lardeau road is one tour I hope to make; thanks for the extra info. Nice to know, Chris, that you have a family connection with little New Denver, and some good experiences. I'm sure we'll like it fine.

We have been through New Denver a couple of times, on trips in and out of Sandon, but never stopped there. This time, we're staying in the town for a few days.

Last time in Sandon (Oct 2002) we found the whole surviving fleet of Vancouver's 1948 Brill trolley busses in outdoor storage there. This is one of 20 or so, along with a couple of vintage Calgary and Seattle busses:



We did visit SS Moyie at Kaslo, and we'll drop in again this time. I'm not too unhappy at being dragged back to the Kootenays. Except for our coast, it's my favourite part of BC.

We will look for Peter 'The Lordly' Verigen's tomb this time.

Yes, I have read Simma Holt's "Terror In The Name Of God" several times over the years. Though factually correct, I came to realize that Holt's tone was a bit shrill. The Sons Of Freedom sect of the Doukhobors was extreme, and their families and neighbours suffered too much from their arrogance.

In fact, last time we visited Brilliant (about 1990, I think) Mary Kootnikoff and her followers had just burned down the Doukhobor Village Museum near there. It's back in business now, so that's another stop for sure.

Any more tips, clues and suggestions are very welcome.

[Ferryman]

Hey Brian, you should take the Coquillhalla up to Kamloops, then over to Revelstoke (highway 97?) so you can take the Shelter Bay to Galena Bay ferry. The Ferry is part of the highway, so it's free. Then you end up by Nakusp, and head down the highway along Arrow Lake to New Denver, then over to Sandon. That way you'll have no choice, not taking a ferry on your trip. I remember back in '97 I did that crossing, and we passed a deer that was swimming across Arrow Lake, while we were on the Ferry. Anyways, hopefully you enjoy your trip, and I can't wait to hear about your latest experience from out there. I haven't been there since the summer of '02, so I'm getting anxious to get back out there. I love it out there.

[Koastal Karl]

We went though New Denver a few weeks ago on our trip. I think we stopped there and got gas at the crappy little Petro Can there, lol! A deer swimming across arrow lake huh?? We I forgot to mention on the Galena Bay ferry we had a few little riders onboard. There were two little birdies sitting right at the front on the other side of the gates. Someone told the ferry worker to move them or else they might of got squished when vehicles were offloading. A few littles birdies enjoying the ferry ride, lol!

[BrianWilliams]

Thanks, pals, for your additional tips.

Sorry, Fluge/HMCS Nanaimo for being a bit harsh in my fear of the New Denver school. People like your mom who worked there surely made it the best place for those kids. It's a shame that we had an attitude 50 years ago that demanded absolute conformity.

Or maybe not. Recent stories about Bountiful (the exploitative Mormon community near Creston) suggest that kids still need to be rescued from frightening cultish places.

Thanks, Chris, for the Galena Bay-Nakusp ferry suggestion. We did ride that route in 1990. This time, we'll probably not venture that far north (though Revelstoke has its 'Railway Days' festival on thru late August).

I can pray for rain in the East Kootenays ... aborting our Kimberley/Cranbrook/Fort Steele adventure, and forcing us north to the 'Stoke.

Nah, I'm looking forward to the excellent RR museum at Cranbrook, and maybe a ramble on to Fernie.

[Mike C]

Do you know when you'll be passing through Needles? Interestingly enough I'm on the Shushwap in the last two weeks.

[Mike C]

Hee, sorry, wrong route. Might you be using one of the following:
Adams Lake,
Little Fort,
Shelter Bay,
or Arrow Park?

[BrianWilliams]

We'll make the Needles-Faquier crossing late afternoon on August 19th, that's all I can be sure of.

I hope we'll have a chance to ride the Arrow Park ferry. There's a network of forest roads that lead to mountain trails on the west side of Upper Arrow Lake, and I'd like to explore them ... but -

The Slocan Valley alone, a tiny bit of BC, has SO much to offer. I bet we'll spend a week enjoying New Denver and Sandon.