Friday, July 29, 2011 (Jimsmith Lake Provincial Park, Cranbrook, BC)

We woke to clear blue sky this morning...it was going to be a gorgeous day!  
 
We thought we would just stick around here and have a relaxing day today.  And other than a quick trip to Safeway, that’s exactly what we did.  I spent a good part of the morning uploading pictures and preparing yesterday’s blog to be posted.  By 11:00, I figured I had better get myself cleaned up and ready for the rest of the day.  While I was inside on the laptop, Steve was relaxing in his chair outside reading.
We spent the next couple of hours puttering around...Steve decided to clean the windows on the truck while I did dishes and straightened up inside and then relaxed for a bit outside.

This is a picture of our campsite...
That's me walking up the hill...Steve took it from our site...

After lunch, we made a quick trip into Safeway to pick up some appy‘s to serve this evening.  Don and Linda Frew, our friends from Trail, were going to stop by for a visit on their way home from Kimberley.  Linda’s Mom had just moved into a senior’s complex there and they had been visiting her.
I took this picture (on right) of Elizabeth Lake on the way into Cranbrook...
We spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing outside reading...ahhh...what a great day!


It was about 5:30 when we received a text message from Don and Linda...they would be here in about 20 minutes.  Don had knee replacement surgery just over a month ago and is doing well.  It sounds like his recovery is going much better this time than it did for his other knee (he had it done last January).

We sat around the campfire chatting with them for about an hour or so and then they had to be on their way...they still had a 2 ½ hour drive ahead of them.  It was great seeing them and come the end of September, we will see them again when we return to the Trail area.  Steve will be doing an elk hunt in that area while I fly home to Victoria.

We sat outside for a little while longer, enjoying the campfire and chatting and then decided to head inside.  We hadn’t done much today, but it had been a great relaxing day!

Thursday, July 28, 2011 (Jimsmith Lake Provincial Park, Cranbrook, BC)

The forecast was for a stretch of nice weather...and it looked promising as we woke to clear blue skies this morning.   I “slept in” until almost 7am this morning and Steve didn’t get up until after 7:30...must be the time change.

It was late morning by the time we headed out to do a little exploring around Cranbrook.  Our first stop was at the Visitors Centre which was back down at the highway where we had turned off to come to the park.

The Visitors Centre is adjacent to Elizabeth Lake in Confederation Park, a 5.9 hectare wildlife sanctuary...a popular birdwatching wetland and grassland habitat.  The park is within the City of Cranbrook parks system and features popular walking trails and birdwatching blinds. 
The Western Painted Turtle, the only native freshwater turtle in BC, is a common inhabitant of Elizabeth Lake.  There is quite a story about the turtles...apparently they needed to cross to the north side of the highway to reach their historic nesting sites which, of course, was very dangerous and few made it.  So to reduce the turtles’ need to cross the highway, volunteers built turtle nesting sites on the south side of the highway...thus increasing the turtles nesting success and longevity.  The Western Paint Turtle is considered a BC “blue-listed” species at risk mainly due to their specific nesting behaviours and habitat loss.
The couple at the Visitors Centre were very friendly and helpful, marking on a map where the local RV dealer was (a service of the 5th wheel is way overdue) and where the  Provincial Access Office was where Steve could renew his driver’s license (it expires on his birthday in August).
We thought we should get “business” over with first, so after finding the Access Office, Steve went in while I sat outside in the truck.  I was wondering where BC Assessment’s Cranbrook office was (BCA is where I retired from after 35 years in their Head Office in Victoria) so I thought I would look it up using the internet browser on my cell...hmmm...it’s somewhere on the street we are on.  As I looked up...there it was...right across the street!  Too funny! 
Our next stop was Runners RV Sales and Service.  We had done an Internet search of RV companies in Cranbrook and were surprised to find this to be the only one...which really surprised me because with so much outdoor recreation in the Kootenays, I would have thought there would be more, especially with Cranbrook being the major city in the region.  Consequently, we were a little sceptical on whether it would be the best place to have a major service done to the trailer.
We were pleasantly surprised, though...in addition to a huge sales area, there was a large parts and service department housed in a nice building that included a waiting area.  We booked the trailer in for an “18 point inspection” on Tuesday morning...hopefully they know what they are doing and we are happy with the work.
Okay...now it was time for a little touristy stuff.  It was just before 1pm when we arrived at the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel ( www.trainsdeluxe.com )   The Museum’s collection of deluxe railway passenger cars is recognized as one of the great railway heritage collections in North America.  It has the only surviving set of cars from the Trans Canada Limited, which at its time was the fastest train across North America.  The set includes the dining car Argyle, sleeper car Somerset, a solarium lounge car River Rouge, and a combination baggage and crew dormitory car.  
Inside...the lobby area...

We took the deluxe tour...a guided tour taking over 2 hours...and very interesting...




The Museum also boasts the restored Royal Alexandra Hall which was originally built in 1906 as he cafe of the Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg.  The hotel was demolished in 1971 but the dining hall was dismantled and stored in a semi-trailer for over 25 years until purchased by the museum and reassembled and restored.  Today it is rented out for wedding receptions and dinners...

Amazing woodwork throughout all the cars...

Here is a car that has not been restored yet...can you imagine the work involved?!!



The Caboose...


This car had been modernized in the 1960s/70s...all the beautiful wood has been painted over...
The galley...
And the engine...of course...

"Hotel-on-Wheels"...the sleeper bunks drop down and the seats also fold down into beds...




The left side of this picture is the restored original...on the right is how it looked when it was "modernized"...
The Ladies Dressing Room...

The inlays in the woodwork is just beautiful...


This picture shows all the different stages of remodeling the wood went through...all the different layers of paint over such beautiful wood!

There was a picture in the gift shop of the Nasookin on Kootenay Lake...the decks are now the house we took a picture of on way into Nelson...reference our blog Saturday, July 23...

A quilt made by the Quilting Club in Cranbrook...incredible...


It was almost 3:30 by the time we had finished the tour and also checked out the rest of the building that contained more history on Cranbrook itself.  We walked down the street to take a few more pictures...

The Cranbrook arches replicate an original set that straddled the highway from the 1930s to the 1950s....

The statue of the elephant was one of several elephants who escaped from a visiting circus in the 1920s, and the last to be retrieved after a period of wandering the local woods...

We arrived back at the campground shortly after 4:00...time to relax in our lounge chairs with a drink.  Unfortunately some clouds had come in...hmmm...I hope they don’t stick around....

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 (Travel to Jimsmith Lake Provincial Park, Cranbrook, BC)

Okay...this is how “Murphy’s Law” works...if we had left yesterday as originally planned, it would have been a rainy day; we decided that the better forecast was for today, so we decided to stay the extra day...well, guess what?  It didn’t rain (for the most part) yesterday...but it was socked in and pouring this morning...figures!

We pulled out of Pair-A-Dice RV Park at 9:00 a.m. and after making a stop at the Overwaitea and the liquor store, we were back on highway 3 driving through Creston....
We continued east through Yahk (where we stopped for propane) and as we carried-on we officially crossed into Mountain Time...so we actually did lose an hour today as we crossed into another time zone.
We arrived at Moyie Lake Provincial Park shortly after noon only to find the campground completely full.  The attendant at the entrance suggested that we might try Jimsmith Lake...so after driving the loop through the campground, we headed back to highway 3 and continued east.
As we entered the community of Moyie...
Moyie Lake...

Jimsmith Lake Provincial Park is 4 kms off the highway and just on the outskirts of Cranbrook. There were a number of empty sites available and we chose #10 which was perfect for us...easy to back into and had plenty of sunshine...yes, the sun was actually trying to come out when we arrived.

The best part is that we are close enough to Cranbrook that we can get a cell signal as well as Internet using the Rogers Stick...although it is a little weak most of the time. The unfortunate part is that we just couldn’t get a satellite signal...which I found very surprising. This site is much more open than our site at McDonald Creek but we were able to get a signal there but not here...I guess we were just lucky that the opening in the trees was at exactly the right spot there.  While here, the trees are much thinner...but just too many of them for a signal to get through. Thanks to my brother Dennis we have lots of downloads to watch plus a few HDPVR recordings.

After dinner, we went for a walk around the campground...and to the beach and boat launch area. 

Afterwards, we settled in to watch some recorded programs...and then it was bedtime...

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 (Creston, BC)

Well, we found out today that we got fooled into thinking that we had lost an hour yesterday due to a time zone change...not so!  We were going by the time on the TV...cable from Cranbrook...where it is Mountain Time.  I checked and the time zone change is just on the west side of Cranbrook...we’re getting close but not quite there yet.  Talk about confusing the whole body clock as we turn our clocks back an hour today!

When Steve got up this morning, he suggested that we stay another night here.  The weather forecast is better for tomorrow and besides, it would give me a chance to get the laundry all done up.  Might as well take advantage of the facilities they have here.
Steve watched TV while I puttered around cleaning things up in the trailer and making trips back and forth to the laundry.  Basically, it was a pretty relaxing morning.
Just after 12 noon, we decided to go for a walk.  There weren’t any hiking trails around here so we walked along the highway to a strip mall where there was an Overwaitea Store, Liquor Store, Dollar Store, restaurant and a few other shops.  I picked up a couple of groceries (carried them in the backpack) while Steve went in search of a place to get his hair cut.  The sign at the entrance said there was one...he just had to figure out where it was.  I asked the clerk at Overwaitea when paying for my groceries where it was and went to meet him.
As it turned out it was in a lower part of the complex “around back”...and the only shop that had a business in it out of about a dozen empty stores. Before leaving, we met Albert, former president of the Creston ATV Club.  The salon is a family-owned business and Albert, his wife and son (who cut Steve’s hair) own “Hair’s Where It’s At”. Albert said to contact him if we come back this way and they will take us out quadding. Sweet! Nothing like having a tour guide to their favourite places when you don’t know the area.
We really didn’t do much for the rest of the afternoon...Steve flushed the black water tank then we tried sitting outside but it started to rain so we scrambled inside. The sun came back out...and the process was repeated...it’s amazing how quickly it starts to rain sometimes...no warning of a few drops...just an immediate downpour!
I was on the computer and Skype talking to the tech fellow at BC Backroads Maps trying to figure out the problems we are having with the recent update to the maps.  He ended up sending us a new “Unlock Key” but that didn’t work either so we’ll have to see how that all plays out once we hear back from him.
We had a nice chat via Skype with Steve’s uncle and aunt (Gord and Esther)in Edmonton as well as my brother and sister-in-law (Dennis and Suzanne)...had dinner...watched TV...and that was it for the day.  We are heading to Moyie Lake Provincial Park tomorrow...I hope we able to get a spot we can fit into...

Monday, July 25, 2011 (Travel to Creston, BC)

We were ready to hitch-up at about 9:30 this morning but unfortunately we couldn’t do anything until our neighbour moved.  They were also leaving this morning (thank goodness) but hadn’t hooked up their trailer yet.  It was a lady with her two grandchildren and her 93 year old mother...wow...good on her!  It wasn’t too long before she had hooked up and moved out of our way.  She actually stopped over in the parking lot to finish up.

We got the 5th wheel hooked up and after making a stop at the sani-dump, were on our way towards Balfour and the longest free ferry ride in the world.  When we got in line, we were told that we may not make the ferry that was just loading.  Of course, we didn’t...we were just too long but that’s okay, we will wait 40 minutes for the next ferry...it was also a bigger ferry.  We walked up to the bakery for a coffee and snack.



Steve took a few pictures while waiting...



We're the first ones to be loaded onto the ferry...

The crossing took 35 minutes and the ride was just beautiful.  Steve took lots of pictures...
 
This is The Duck & Dock Pub that we were at the other day...
The other ferry...
Beautiful Scenery...



As we arrive at Kootenay Bay...

We decided to go to Cedar Grove Campground...it was the only one that sounded like it might work for us.  But after pulling into the driveway and taking a look...there was no way that we would be able to get in...mainly because of the tree limbs overhanging the roads.  Besides, they only had availability for a couple of nights...they were fully booked for the long weekend that was coming up.  We managed to back out onto the highway while a couple of ladies from the campground went down to watch for traffic on a curve in the road...apparently people just come speeding around that corner and they were concerned...thank-you, ladies!
Our next stop was at Lockhart Beach Provincial Park.  This is a small campground...18 sites and didn’t expect to be able to fit into any of the sites but we thought we would take a look anyway.  After managing to back into a spot in the day-use parking lot beside the highway, we walked in to be greeted by a very friendly park maintenance fellow.  He said site 8 would work for us.  There was also a private campground just across the street that Steve thought he would take a look at.  So while he walked over there, I stayed in site 8 to hold it just in case someone came along and decided to take it. 
Well, the campground next door had one beautiful spot left along the waterfront with no services and could be too tight for us to get into. They had more sites across the highway...some with services but the road was badly overgrown. We decided on the provincial site but as Steve went to get the truck and trailer, he found many of the tree limbs at the entranceway were too low...sheesh...some of these parks really need to get a tree service to trim their trees!

At this point we decided to just carry on to Creston for the night and then continue onto Moyie Lake Provincial Park. It is about 20 kms outside of Cranbrook and being a fairly large park, we are hoping that we will be able to get a spot.

We stopped at a viewpoint...

Hmmm...are those storm clouds...
Valley at the end of the lake...quite flat...

We pulled into Pair-a-dice RV Resort & Campground at around 2:30...which we realized later, was actually 3:30 since we had gone through a time change.  We have lost an hour today.  After being assigned site #20, the lady from the office came running down when she realized that we might have problems due to the size of our truck...there were tree branches in the way.  She told us to take #22 instead so Steve manoeuvred into the large pull-through.  We have full hook-ups (the first time in over a month...since we left Oliver) and Wi-Fi...YAY!

While we were getting set up, it got quite windy out and then we started hearing the rumbles of thunder in the distance...a big storm was on its way!  

After dinner is when the storm really hit...rain, wind and lots of lightning followed by thunder. Glad we washed the truck! Then the power went out...no power, no cable...and no internet...sheesh!  I had been busy updating our blog so I thought I would try the Rogers Stick...and it worked great.  Ahhh...it is so nice to have service again!  The power wasn’t really off long and before we knew it, all was working again.
I am working feverishly tonight trying to get the blog totally up-to-date because who knows what tomorrow will bring...probably back to limited service as we head to a Provincial Park.  One thing we have noted with the time change is that it is now light out until after 10:00!