Chronology

1.  A Week at Redstreak

2.  First Night

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Day 2

The morning started out fairly cool. Roger had to wear his warm fleece pull-over, as the chill in the air was deep enough that you could almost see your breath.


But once we got warmed up a little, we started making plans for a day trip further south to explore more of Kootenay Country. There's so much more to the Kootenays than tourist towns; there are waterfalls, hiking trails in the woods, and much more, all of which nature nuts like me and Roger just love.  So, once I got some hot camp coffee into me and we'd had a bite to eat, off we went to see what there was to see.

Our first stop was Forester Creek, a river to us prairie folk but a creek to most British Columbians.  It was running hard, high, and fast, and it was absolutely breathtaking...


After getting our fill of this beautiful place, we headed on down the road... and to our surprise, we encountered a second, even larger creek, called Horsethief Creek.


"Horsethief Creek received its name from the exploits of an American and a Swede who, in 1885 it is said, rustled some ponies from a whiskey peddler. They were taken up to Fort Steele where, in the spree that ensued, the alleged thieves were discharged." (excerpt from "The Purcell Range of British Columbia" by J. Monroe Thorington; American Alpine Club, 1946; p.9)

We really enjoyed our visit to these two creeks, and we would have loved to have stayed longer, but there was more exploring to do, and the day wasn't getting any younger. So, we got back on the road, and continued our journey.  We gazed in wonder at the spectacular panorama of the Columbia Valley...


... we inhaled intoxicating perfumes emitted by several beautiful plants...


... and on the way back, at the end of the day, we were even fortunate enough to encounter two four-year-old muledeer bucks and a muledeer doe that was trailing them.


All in all, we had a fantastic day that was made all the more enjoyable by the bright sun and warm temperatures.  We were even able to visit one of our very favorite places in Kootenay country: Wasa Lake Provincial Park.  Roger went for a swim while I relaxed with a good book.


I did get a picture of what I think is the strangest insect I've seen in a long time.  It looks like a cross between a spider and a flying ant - it has eight legs, it moves like a spider, but the dang thing flies!


If you can figure out what the heck it is, please be sure to let us know, because we've never seen anything like it, and we're very curious about it.

Well, that's it for now, Campers.  We hope you're enjoying what we've been bringing to you.  Certainly, we give five pine cones to the areas we visited, simply because there's so much incredible beauty just waiting to be explored and enjoyed in Kootenay country.  If you have any questions about this or previous posts here, please be sure to post them in the Comments area, and we'll answer them as soon as possible.

Stay tuned, because there's more to come!