Views of Skimikin Lake and surrounding foothills.  

‎Fall is a great time to go camping so my husband and I are on a road trip and once again I find myself initially at Skimikin Lake.  The scene looks very different from when we were last here in May.  The temperatures are obviously a lot cooler and I am amazed how much the lake has dropped.  There is the odd remaining patch of wild flowers and the leaves on the trees and shrubs have turned to hues of orange, red and yellow.

 Even though it was a little chilly, I wrapped up and did some kayaking and enjoyed evenings around the campfire. I even captured a misty morning photo.

We were fortunate too that our daughter and family were able to join us on this part of the trip and celebrated our grandson’s 1st birthday.   What better place to do it especially as my daughter decided to do a cake smash and my grandson certainly made the most of that.

We then made our way across through the border towns along the Southern Kootenay area.  We always stop at our favourite coffee shop and bakery in Greenwood and I am always intrigued by the character of the historic buildings and homes.

It didn’t take us too long to reach Nelson and once again I was fascinated by the historic buildings and back drop.

We would have liked to stay longer but we found it difficult to park with the 5th wheel.  We did manage to take a stroll down the main street before heading to our next camping spot.  Just  outside of Nelson (about a 20 minute drive) we discovered the Kokanee Creek provincial park.  What a beautiful spot; plenty of places to camp and we enjoyed walks along the sandy beaches.  Up until this point the weather had been just perfect but it turned out to be very stormy on our one night stay.  By the next morning though it was crystal clear with blue skies and sunshine. 

We then ventured on to our favourite town in the Kootenays – Kaslo.    It is such a unique little town overlooking Kootenay Lake with beautiful views and quaint stores where most of the art and gifts are locally made.  I always manage to find a little gem in one of the gift stores and this time both my husband and I found some good reading material in the used book store that has been there for years.

Before venturing to another favourite camping spot of ours, we visited the town of New Denver.  The town has made an effort to attract visitors and I was amazed at the amount of gardens still in bloom.   As we have camped in the latter part of September I did find it sad though that a lot of the stores have already closed down for the winter.   In sharp contrast, all these communities in their day were thriving due to mining and forestry.  

Last stop of our trip was in Burton not far from the Needles ferry beside the Lower Narrows Lake.  We camped in a municipal site.  The town of Burton was moved as the land was flooded in connection with the Columbia River treaty.  When the water is low, particularly at this time of the year, you can walk out on the sand spits and still see the remains of foundations from the original town.   We awoke to some heavy mists which slowly dissipated as the morning went on.  It is such a peaceful, tranquil spot and rounded off the end of our camping adventure.  

Views of mist lifting along the shores of Burton.