Day 11, Wednesday September 21st

Grand Forks to Kaslo, via Castlegar and Nelson along Kootenay Lake

After leaving our very comfortable motel apartment, we visit what remains of the Doukhobor Village.

In 1912 Russians started their own community here, with a flour mill, a school, farms and houses for communal living. The location is beautiful, the main house looking out over Grand Forks from the foothills of the mountains. The land is hilly. What is left now is the main building which one hopes to restore and make into a museum if there are enough funds. The bare ribs of wooden and weathered sheds are scattered across the fields, decomposing bales of hay still inside. Rusty tools and agricultural machines lie hidden in the tall grass. Wooden children’s toys, a cart, a small type of skelter, stand on the veranda of the main house, deserted. In front of the house among the waving grasses a selection of old chairs.

Next to what is to become a heritage museum, a woman greets us, Mrs. Sirotskoye. Apparently she is important in the Doukhobor community and has married into the community when she was 17. She has lived here all her life and tells us a lot about her history, which is the history of the community. It is in fact sad, and interesting as well. She gives us directions so that we can see the man-made lake, the former schoolhouse and the mill. The Canadian government forced the children to go to the Canadian schools, so that the school was abandoned. It is now a heritage museum. Tolstoy visited here as well.

We end all morning exploring the sites and feeling a sadness for a way of life that has forcefully disappeared. There is still a meeting house, but people no longer live a communal life and are spread over the town.

We set out for Nelson and have a break in Castlegar on the way.

Nelson is a time warp. We are thrown back into the sixties. There are hippies all over the place, young and old, in the most amazing and outrageous outfits. There is an artists market on today, which adds to the colourful atmosphere. Beads are sold, arty things, there are palm readers and health stores. One woman sits behind a stall with beautiful enamelled metal pots, which turn out to be decorated urns in which you can keep the ashes of your loved ones. She seems quite cheerful. Is it easier to die when you know you’ll end up in a colourful, hand decorated urn? I forgot to ask her if you can order one in advance. The wide high street has outdoor cafes and flower pots. It is really bright. A photographer would have a field day here, taking pictures of all that is going on. The second hand bookshops are quite attractive, and have the effect of a magnet on each of us.

We drive on along Kootenay Lake, a beautiful road which follows the lake, towering above the lake at one point and going along its banks next. We pass the hot springs and go on to Kaslo.

This is a real Wild West town, with just one main street a few blocks in length where all life is concentrated. There are health stores, art shops, cafes and restaurants. There is only one big hotel, built in colonial style, and one motel where we find the last unit for three! It is basic but clean and very quiet.

The hotel was used during the war as an internment camp for hundreds of Japanese. We wander off take pictures of the steamer which took passengers who came to the area by train. There were no roads, and one could only travel by rail and steamers. Originally a mining town known for its silver mines, it is now a sleepy town.

The steamer has since been moored forever and turned into a museum. We find a nice bistro where all of Kaslo seems to gather. After three frugal nights with home-heated microwave meals I enjoy a nice, hot buffalo chilli with a Caesar salad and hot garlic bread.