I have to admit that I’m often a very distracted writer, and often drift off to do other things rather than getting on with the writing that I really do want to do. But when it comes to family, I cannot feel guilty about being distracted; time with them is just too precious. So my plan to blog daily about our wonderful trip to BC was soon, necessarily, cast aside. Now that I’m home, I will make a determined effort to post daily until we’ve completed the journey together.

Day Two

After spending the morning planning a patio project for a friend, we joined my daughter, Sarah, and her two children on a hike part way up Buchanan Mountain to “the bench”, overlooking Kaslo. I was reminded along the way that, although I may look fit, I don’t get enough regular cardio exercise. That wooden bench was beautiful! The view from it made the trek worthwhile.

Made It!

View from Bench

Along the way my five year old grandson discovered these huge lobster mushrooms, which we cooked up for dinner.

Lobster Mushrooms

cooked for dinner

Day Three

My other daughter, Ann, arrived from Vancouver last night and she joined us and Sarah’s family on a trip to the Meadow Creek Spawning Channel, one of many channels created to compensate for the loss of natural spawning habitat due to the building of dams, in this case, The Duncan Dam, about ten kilometers above Kootenay Lake.

The Meadow Creek Spawning Channel is located at the north end of Kootenay Lake, north of Highway 31 on the Meadow Creek Road.  It was constructed in 1967 with B.C. Hydro funds and was the world’s largest at the time, supporting a total of 250,000 spawning Kokanee. It produces between 10 – 15 million fry annually with mean egg-to-fry survival rate of 45%. There is fisheries staff on site during the spawning season, which is August through October.

Meadow Creek Spawning Channel

watching the fish

The water was red with fish.  There were signs warning of Grizzly Bears being seen in the area. We kept a close eye out, and didn’t stray from the paths, but there were several people sitting with cameras poised, hoping to get a shot of one.

From there we continued on to Duncan Lake for a picnic and kids’ fishing lessons on the beach.

Sisters sharing a moment

Lots of Drift Wood on the beach

The sky was clear and the sun warm. The “resident” members of the family took the opportunity for a swim, while the rest of us watched and relaxed.

On the way back to Kaslo, we stopped to let Ann explore the Marble Cave that we’d discovered a few years ago.

Graffiti cover walls of an old marble mine

A family dinner back at Sarah’s was a perfect ending to a perfect day.