Farmland & the Kootenay Rockies are the vistas we enjoy as we approach the Canadian border.

A beautiful day as we amble on the narrow Hwy. 95 almost at the border.

The scenery was gorgeous & green, green, green.

The highway & the mountains are closing in on each other.  A farmer’s work is never done.  The piece of equipment seen in the center of the photo was huge and, as you can see, was busy making hay rolls. Looks small against the incredible height of the trees & mountains.

Rykert Crossing, on Hwy. 1, is the border checkpoint we used to enter Canada.

The scenery is getting more dramatic.  Quite lovely.

Heading west on Hwy. 3.  The dark background?  Just another huge mountain rising out of this farming valley.

The road sign indicates that Castlegar is 127 kilometers, roughly 78 miles.  As we stare at the mountain in front of us, we realize this travel day will be more challenging than we realized.

More farmland, more clouds.

Healthy forests with a small stream following the road make for pleasant views as we begin our uphill climb.  This highway is in good condition and makes driving more of a pleasure than the challenge it can be.

We’re still climbing. 

Near the summit we got caught in a momentary, ferocious sleet storm. With a bit of the water left on the windshield, we got to the summit in time to see this chopper landing. Don’t know its purpose, but it was something to see!  We’re pretty close-no zoom used.

Oh, gee. Now we get to go down. 8% grades, 7% grades, 6% grades for miles. Now driving at a safe speed is a real challenge.  Gary was up to that challenge & got us safely down.  We had to do this again to get to Castlegar.

Our descent into Castlegar, a town of 7,900 people. .  In the middle, lower 1/3 of the picture there is a little blue color, the Columbia River, with a bridge over it.  That bridge takes people to the center of town.

A view of the Columbia River as we crossed the bridge seen in the picture above.

A little bit of downtown.  The big box store is at the other end of town. That would be the Canadian Tire Store.  For those not familiar with this chain, it sells far more than tires. Around it is the A&W Root Beer, some new bank buildings & a couple of gas stations. But, this is small town downtown.  A busy place!

There was a sand art display.  The top part of this is a parrot with his head turned around as he gazes at the danger below.

Soccer field sign. Surrounded by a creek, bushes & weeds and big trees along with some trash, I’m at a loss.  Some sunflowers would be a welcome addition to the landscape.

Killed in a mysterious explosion while traveling on a train in 1924, the leader of the Doukhobors was laid to rest in this concrete tomb.  A beautiful garden surrounds this site.  The Doukhobors were convinced that his death was caused by the government of Canada.  I imagine their conspiracy thoughts were a result of their former government & how it terrorized them.

The confluence of the Kootenay River (left) & the Columbia River. 

‘The Thirsty Duck’ is a very nice lunch stop.  Enjoyed a couple of meals there.  It is a nicely done up pub.  We also enjoyed the friendly service. Since we hardly ever go out for dinner, we have no idea what the dinner houses are like.

The ‘Brilliant’ Suspension Bridge, a National Heritage site, was built by hand by the Doukhobors in 1913 so they could get to & from their various enterprises without fording the river during all seasons of the year. It has just finished being rehabbed.

See caption above. Constructed of steel rails & wood planking, the bridge is open now only to foot traffic.

As we walked across a suspension pedestrian walkway, this creature was paddling madly across the water. After making several inquiries, we finally learned he was a muskrat.

These turtles were just enjoying the sunny afternoon. We watched them for awhile.  They moved their heads occasionally, but nothing more.  They were in the vicinity of the muskrat.

Our fishing guide, Rod, awaits his equipment ‘runner’ after getting the boat off the trailer. A warm, sunny day for a float. I’m in the boat as there were no single fisherman to share the boat with Gary. We’re starting the trip on the Kootenay River, just before the confluence with the Columbia.

This reminded me of scenes from ‘Little House on the Prairie’. It was actually shoreline as we began our float.

Gary is already fishing as Rod puts his oars in the water. Look closely to see his line flying through the air.

Just some scenes of the mighty Columbia River. Part of our float is next to Castlegar. Most of it is not seen, as the trees hide the town from us.

This young black bear is apparently an orphan.  He is really bigger than he looks here.  That boulder beside him is the size of a semi-truck. He has been ‘stalking’ a local man’s home for awhile. He originally broke into the home and was found sitting in the man’s favorite chair licking the arm. Hadn’t raided the kitchen yet and the man ran him off. Since then, the bear’s prints are being found in the flowerbeds & on the windowsills of the man’s home.

Wearing an inflatable life vest & my trusty sun hat, I take a moment in the shade. We stopped here to enjoy lunch while in the boat. Since no one in the boat could straighten out their legs (we’d been sitting for 3+ hours by now)Rod took us ashore for a brief stretch.

The Catch of the Day.  Rod poses the walleye for its picture. In spite of Gary’s protest that he doesn’t keep fish, Rod insisted on keeping this one.  He filleted it out & said we didn’t know what good eating fish were until we had walleye. This was the ONLY fish caught on this trip. Rod asked everyone on the river about their catch & they all said the same thing....’Nothing’.

The momma Common Merganser floats with her 4 babes. We saw a number of these ducks on the river.  In the picture on the left, she is agitated because we’re nearby. The redhead is their true color. In the picture below, their heads appear to have brown feathers, but they really are redheads and their wispy feathers really do flow behind, just as hair being blown by the wind.

The end of the very nice day.  We pull ashore as the light fades.

Lots & lots of motorcycles are on the road here, mostly British Columbia license plates.  The roads are just wonderful for wandering about on your bike. This is in downtown Castlegar.

A few pictures of Nelson, B.C. Located about 40 miles or so from Castlegar, we really would like to visit here for more than a drive through.

We couldn’t determine if this was an arm of the lake or the river feeding it.  Whatever it is, it’s sure stunning. Town begins climbing from lake’s edge and the residential area is above the town.  Steep lanes carry you straight up several blocks of homes.