PEI: Departure and Afterwards

 

We had to leave the Onley House by 10 am on our departure date.  The charge is an extra $200 for 15 minutes going beyond the limit.  We had the washing machine running and the dishwasher doing a load (as instructed) which gives the cleaner(s)? 6 hours to clean up and make all the beds before the next group of guests.  We very much liked the location of the house and I'd highly recommend it

for a large group of people.  It's pricey and at this point in time I'd say it was worth it.  The ADAM family was on the road by 9:15, believing that they were heading to Halifax and their flight the next morning.  Not to be!  They were cancelled by Sunday afternoon and were fortunate enough to get a rental to Montreal with a WJ flight to Calgary/Kelowna on Tuesday evening.  They got to see even more of Canada than the rest of us even if it was a long drive.  But they made friends and drove a guy from Halifax to Moncton who offered them $300 to take him because he'd just learned an Uber guy was going to charge him $500 for the same trip.  They took him.  We await AC to see if they'll pony up with money as promised.  BTW, they were reimbursed for their flight home at the time of cancellation.

Dave and I headed over the beautiful Confederation Bridge to spend time at a bird watching place in NB but by that time NB had closed all of its trails for fire danger and we didn't get to go far.  A great place to pull in for taking good pictures of the Confederation Bridge.  It's quite an interesting little stop for information about the local area but I was so disappointed in not being able to walk anywhere!

A part of NS, that Dave and I have never visited is the Parrsboro Shore so we headed out that way to take a look because we had arranged to spend the night in Truro, NS.  One place that you could walk was at the Joggins Geological Site with all of its fossils and it was quite busy there - maybe the only place in NS where you could walk around??  Considering the time that we spent in the Maritimes, this was probably the busiest place that we visited.  That fact would compete with our visit in the evening to the "tidal bore" in Truro.  We also stopped at the FORCE institute on the opposite Fundy shore that leads to the Minas Basin.   Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy is not currently producing tidal power - a great idea and it's stagnant at the moment, but I hope this is something that will happen in my lifetime.  There's a lot of current going through the Bay of Fundy and it ought to be utilized to produce power.

After another seafood dinner in Truro, we headed out from our motel, The Tidal Bore Inn,  to watch the "tidal bore" for the first time ever.  I've been hearing about it for 50 years.  It's actually quite interesting, it happens twice a day, and there were at least 75 people there watching it happen.  I took a video and plan to post that on u-tube if I ever figure it out and will post a link to it here.

PEI: LAST FULL DAY

 We pretty much went our own way in the morning of our last full day.  The ADAM family had booked deep sea fishing and had a chance to go out - Miro and Andrea each caught a cod so we had fish tacos for lunch  - delish!!  

I talked Dave into driving me to Park Corner so I could get another look at the home where L.M. Montgomery was born.  It was better than I remembered and had a replica of her wedding dress, the room where she was born was nicely arranged,  and the "nursery" looked very appealing as well.  She would have lived at this home for nearly 2 years.  I was interested in seeing that she was into scrap booking - flowers and fashion were favourite topics!  

Dave had found an interesting lighthouse that he wanted to explore and we walked down a red dirt road to get to it - it was driveable, but not easily.  I liked the rocky cliffsides at the point.  We didn't see much in the way of bird life, however.

The afternoon was spent at our favourite beach (MacNeill Creek) and 2 kids buried themselves in sand.  The NJ family felt that they needed to get on the road that day so they left late in the afternoon for points south.  Fortunately, there were no issues at the border, even with one Canadian in the car!  

Since the rest of us are all true foodies, we knew we had to get to the New Glasgow lobster supper on our last night together.  It was the only one open on this particular Saturday so we did wait a bit to get served.  But the space was really quite lovely and the food was great.  It was a wonderful way to end our last full day in PEI, 2025!  

PEI: North Rustico Spooning and Entertainment in Charlottetown

I'd heard about Brendon Peters on the CBC and sent him an email.  We could have a "spooning" session with him while visiting North Rustico.  It was a 90 minute workshop and we pretty much had it mastered within the first 10 minutes so I needed to save this situation quickly.  Fortunately, he could tell a story or two and I asked him to show us how to adapt playing "spoons" to modern music.  It was super easy and we had smiles on the faces of the girls when we did Taylor Swift's "Style" and Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA".  Another saving grace was the song from Anne and Gilbert musical, "You Know You're An Islander".  Having just finished reading Chris Hayes'  "The Siren's Call", I'd have to say that this activity was a perfect antidote to the attention propaganda that inundates our world today.  I found it to be a fun hour and a half and I'd say that 7/10 of us enjoyed it.  We all left with a set of "spoons" to play and Atley played every time we were "sitting around" at the house during the next 2 days.  I liked the atmosphere of a lobster shanty during our workshop and we sat on lobster traps.  

The kids very much wanted to go to a trampoline park - they'd been enticed by a trampoline in the neighbourhood that they were forbidden to use.  Parents decided this was a worthwhile way to spend time,  so off we went to Charlottetown to watch the kids play.  For me, that entertainment lasted about 30 minutes.  We drove into town to see if we could get tickets to the "sensory sensitive" performance of Alan Doyle's "Tell Tale Harbour".  It was easy to get in - a performance where you didn't get the complete show with all the special effects, but the stars of the show were there.  It was also "pay what you will".  There were quite a few kids and crying babies, but we did get to see one more show that was part of the PEI entertainment scene in the summer of 2025.  

PEI: The Lake of Shining Waters

 I know all of you Anne fans out there are familiar with the Lake of Shining Waters.  It plays a somewhat pivotal role in the life of Anne.   Now it is an amusement park complete with rides and water slides.  How did I ever manage to go to a place like that when an iconic name has been usurped for commerce??  Well, I did manage to go and I had a rather amusing time during my visit.

We didn't arrive until after 10:30, on the second hottest day of our time in PEI.  It is an ungodly hour to arrive because one is forced to wait in lines.  I was, however, pleasantly surprised that the cost was only $38/person (which included the horrific HST) and I know it was time for a "kids day".  One remarkable thing that happened is we found one of the last shady spots available in the entire pool/slide area and I grabbed a chaise lounge, moved it to the shade,  and sat like a slovenly queen for the remainder of the day.  

Did I see much of my grandchildren?  Not at all!  They had to line up (in brilliant, full-on sun) to take the water slides and their parents aided and abetted this situation by standing in lines to obtain "tires" for their slides.  I pretty much had a few hours to myself for my own amusement and people watching was terrific!  I also had my treasured copy of Anne of Windy Poplars if I ran out of people to watch.  

I hadn't been on a roller coaster for over 50 years and I did go over and do the ride with my grandchildren.  It was a rather short ride (probably about a minute) and 

still quite a thrill.  It was lovely to have Callie beside me.  The "boys" of course were at the front of the coaster.  Following that, I had my first "beaver tail" (or 1/4 of it) and that was a tasty treat.  I watched  my granddaughter Callie taste her first bite of poutine and the day flew by.  I even arranged to meet my college friend Lenore,  and her husband Roger,  at 4 pm inside the park - they'd just arrived with their 4 grandchildren.  We had an hour to share!  Texting really helps when trying to locate someone at Shining Waters.  

The rides at the park were fairly varied - there were lots I'd never seen before, but then I'm still living in the previous century.  And the "space" at Shining Waters (away from the water slides and the lineups!) was actually quite "green" and calm.  I rather like what they've done with it.  And if a person stays out of the "frey" among the slides and tires it has a rather pleasant environment.  I don't know what L.M. Montgomery would think, but she did have a good understanding of human nature and the natural world.  She might have actually liked it.  

And a good time to arrive is late in the day (it closes at 6 pm), particularly on the hottest day of the summer.  My friend arrived at the perfect time - the lines were much shorter and it was their warm up act for a New Glasgow lobster supper!

PEI: Blueberries and Charlottetown

 

Readers can see from this photo that PEI looks dry!  This was our hottest day and we had plans to be in the city, but in the morning 8/10 of us showed up to a u-pick near Summerside to pick blueberries.  This is a family activity - we all seem to love picking berries.  Within 35 minutes, we had picked $70 worth of blueberries and took them back to the rental house.  They were gone by Sunday and we enjoyed 2 mornings with blueberry pancakes!  Despite the heat, these blueberries turned out very well. 

The afternoon in Charlottetown was hot but we didn't go in "early" and got the grandkids picture in front of Confederation Place where the discussion about forming Canada took place (it's had scaffolding around it for a few years now) and the kids very much enjoyed the Cows store across the street.  Almost everyone had ice cream - this family is pretty addicted to that product.  I can say no to much of it.

After a family dinner at a hotel across from the Confederation Centre and Art Gallery we headed off to our big night out to see "Anne and Gilbert" at the old Holland College theatre.  I enjoyed it very much, but it wasn't Anne of Green Gables.  This is the "sequel" and does follow the story line of Anne's life in college and her resistance to Gilbert's advances, and  of course the story has its happy ending like most of Montgomery's books do.

PEI: The Anne Story

 Our first day of "family time" in PEI was a visit to the Anne of Green Gables homestead and display at Cavendish.  I had not visited it since 1970 so things had really changed.  It was good to have "free" entry with the Canada Strong Pass.  I noticed that my grandchildren paid absolutely no attention to any of the displays about L.M. Montgomery and her story in PEI.  The played with the lego sets and visited with each other.  They did walk through the house (Callie had read the entire first "Anne" book and Abby had read a graphic novel of "Anne") and were able to figure out which room must have belonged to Anne.  To my mind, this room of hers was not in the right location but it did have the necessary props!

New to me was an opportunity to walk through Lover's Lane and through the Haunted Wood to the homestead where L.M. Montgomery was actually raised.  She walked through that Haunted Wood to visit her cousins who lived at Green Gables.  The grandparent's home is simply a foundation now but it was interesting to visit the post office in Cavendish where the story of the publication of the book was on display.  Montgomery never would have sent it off again if anyone in town had known that her book was rejected a number of times.  However, since she had taken over her grandparents' role as post mistress, she was the only one to know about it and it did take 6 inquiries before finally obtaining a publisher.   To me, this is hard to believe, but it was a different time.  While we adults toured the old sites around Cavendish, the grandchildren enjoyed chatting at a shady spot in Cavendish.  I loved getting reacquainted with the author's story and visiting some of the "haunts" that she so loved.  She describes the landscape well.  However, I'm sure she'd be upset to see the number of dead trees all over the Island now.  This has occurred because of hurricanes (particularly Fiona), bark beetle insects and climate change.  

PEI 2025: North Cape

 

In the many trips that I've had to PEI (particularly in the 1970s), I'd never been west of Summerside.  On our first full day on the Island, we decided to visit Cape North.  Here's a photo of the lighthouse and the field to the east of it has quite a few wind towers - I think that I counted 21 spread out over several kms.  And they do get wind.  The place was closed up when we arrived and a lot of the information about wind power was written up on boards outside.  The best thing about visiting this part of the Island is that we finally got to see some sea mammals.  The entire area had hundreds of grey seals and harbour seals.  The "cape" is where the Gulf of St. Lawrence meets the Northumberland Strait and there's a stretch of land that is walkable at low tide.  We didn't choose to do that walk, but we could see hundreds of seals in the shallow waters that surrounded the "peninsula".    Here's a photo of the "walk" at mid-tide.     

  Dave managed to get back to the west and visited the Potato Museum in O'Leary but that is his story to tell. We chose to visit a provincial park for a beach walk and it was pleasant, but the mosquitoes were prevalent in the forest walk.  We also drove past the Stompin' Tom Museum in Tignish.  It's having a bit of a revival these days, too.  

PEI, 2025: Harmony House

 After leaving Pugwash and heading "north" we crossed the Confederation Bridge to spend 3 nights on the Island before meeting up with our family in North Rustico at the "Onley House".  We stayed in Rusticoville, a short distance away along the banks of the Rustico inlet.  That first night, we attended a musical entertainment called "Ladies of the Canyon", written by a young, local female musician.  She linked a number of songs together to tell the story of the early female (mostly) singers of Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles during the 1970s.    We both loved the performance, even though I was a little dismayed that we had to have a "back up" man on guitar.  Usually, the performers are all women in this show.  Each and every one of them had fantastic musical skills.  Any boomers reading this would enjoy the performance - and those who like that era of music.    Check it out here:  https://harmonyhousepei.com/

Thinker's Lodge: Pugwash, NS

 A year ago I had been to Pugwash to check out the Thinker's Lodge - it has interested me for a couple of decades.  We visited in June and it was not open to the public.  I tried best to arrange a day when I could have a tour and I had success.  For those of you who have never heard of the Thinker's Lodge,  I'm including this link for a short description: 

Thinkers Lodge National Historic Site

I very much enjoyed my visit to the "lodge" and I learned that this is exactly what it was - lodging for the people who came to discuss peace in a world with nuclear warfare.  The guide did provide me with lots of information at the entranceway of the house and then you are "on your own" travelling up and down 3 separate staircases to get to various bedrooms.  I was a bit dismayed that the very nice bedspreads on the beds all had labels with "made in China" on them.  But I did learn quite a bit about who had been there and the various conferences that were held in this tiny Nova Scotia town over the years.  The first Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs was held in 1957 and the location has changed throughout the world.   

In 1995 Jozef Rotblat, a scientist who left the Manhattan Project prior to its conclusion, and the Pugwash Conferences,  were awarded the Nobel Prize for their efforts to bring about global peace.  I believe Jozef stayed in the room pictured above.  

Krushchev met with Cyrus Eaton, the owner of the Lodge, when he went to Europe to attend one of the conferences.  Krushchev felt strongly that nuclear disarmament was an important issue in the world.  He and Eaton had a very friendly visit and Eaton, a dual Canadian/American citizen earned criticism for his "red" tolerance. 

The actual conferences took place in this building, about 1/2 km away from the Lodge.  The Lodge was the place where attendees slept and probably stayed up partying.  

The first thing you will see is the quotation on the upper part of the wall directly in front of you after entering the Peace Hall.  By the time the conference started, everyone attending would have heard the Russell-Einstein Manifesto that the two great thinkers issued about the critical issue of nuclear war.  Pugwash, NS has played a part in trying to make the world a more peaceful place.  

Visiting Two New (to me) NS Towns

We left the Annapolis Valley after a few days of visiting family and admiring the Fundy shore to head north towards PEI.  That was our major destination for a family holiday where we were renting a house in North Rustico and spending a week with "the cousins", etc. (that really means our grandkids and their parents).  

One place that I wanted to visit was New Glasgow, NS - thanks to Johnny Harris and Still Standing - who gave me the information about Viola Desmond and her contribution to NS and Canada.  Sure, I'd seen her picture on the $10 bill and I'd heard a bit about her, but New Glasgow honours this citizen for her stand against the establishment who refused to let her have a seat in a local theatre because of her race.  The rest is history.  Thank you, Viola.  

This is a photo of Viola's Way in New Glasgow, NS.  

Below is the "condensed" version of her achievement.  

Then we travelled on to learn a thing or two about Pictou, NS, a town that I really liked the look of.  They had a "thing" for Middle Eastern cooking, too, because there had been an influx of Middle Eastern immigrants in the past.  We did end up eating seafood and had the best "fries" of our entire trip.  I loved the "forbidden" walk that I completed because of the fire bans - walked along a paved trail in the harbour with beautiful views and a lovely setting sun.  Bah Humbug on trail closures!  

Summer in the Maritimes!

 We just spent nearly 3 weeks in the Maritimes, visiting both Nova Scotia and PEI.  Ironically, in BC we are having the "best summer ever" with very few fires, mostly reasonable temperatures, no smoke, and somewhat regular rain.  It's been delightful.  Meanwhile, the rest of Canada has been hit with fire after fire and NS is no exception.  One frustrating thing we discovered on our last day in the province was that the "woods were closed" and this basically meant not being able to walk on ANY trail anywhere.  I walked in Pictou, NS on a lovely paved walkway along the seashore but it was officially closed.  Fortunately, I was not "caught" because hefty fines had been issued for violations.   The one stop that we made in NB, at Cape Jourimain had also closed its trails and that place is worth a visit.  It's at the junction of the Confederation and the province of NB.  A great place to get a good picture of the bridge!   Too bad Google won't allow me access to my photos at the moment!

The Confederation Bridge from Cape Jourimain, NB.  

Dill Pickles in July!

For the very first time in my gardening life I actually made dill pickles in July.  I have NEVER done that before.  It's always been an "August" thing for me.  We've had such good weather for growing vegetables and my cucumbers have loved their "new" spot climbing up where the grape loves to hang out.  It's meant considerable trimming on the grape plant, but the cukes are very happy,  as are the green pepper that adorn the space in front of the climbing cucumbers.  One troublesome issue,  as the weather gets hotter,  is that the peppers are not getting watered because of all of the foliage on the cukes.  First world problem, I think.

I've been very negligent with my blog, as usual, and today I totally forgot to get a picture of my 3 jars of beautiful dills which should be ready for consumption in about a month.  So, readers, you'll just have to imagine how fine they look!

More Adventures in Teslaland!

 This past Thursday we took a drive over to Nakusp to check out its beautiful gardens and to do a short hike near the town.  Both were very good.  We also had lunch at the Alpine Hut drive-in which is delightfully old-fashioned and relatively inexpensive.  I was able to find a lime smokebush at the Heritage Nursery and that was a good find, in my opinion.  I didn't know they were so "common".  Another task we hoped to accomplish in Nakusp was to try out the new Tesla charging station - the first fast charging station we've seen in any of the interior valleys outside of the Okanagan.  

When we got to the station I was unable to unplug the charger and there was a QR code on it that said "follow instructions".  Doing something with the phone did not help.  There was another fellow charging in this spot and we asked him about it and he'd never had to do that before, but he took a picture of the code and his Tesla seemed to accept it and released the charging cord.  That didn't happen for us.  As Dave was driving away from the station, I noticed the guy waving at me across the street.  His plan was to just give us the cord he used after he unplugged and we would charge.  It was a good plan but then his Tesla completely seemed to seize up and he couldn't get it to do anything.  Meanwhile, Dave walked down the line of chargers and found one that released the cord.  This guy had to reboot his car before it would respond and he could drive away.  He said it had never happened before.  Is there something spooky going on at the Nakusp fast charging station?  Or, is this just another adventure in Teslaland!!?

Garden Touring in Summer

 Kaslo had its annual garden tour yesterday and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.  The sun shone, but not too hotly, the wind did NOT blow wildly , and everyone's garden was in a perfect place of growth and beauty.  It's a tough job picking a 
"day" a few months prior to the tours.  Last year, we had it a week later and it was terribly hot.  That is one reason we moved to early July.  The time was also rearranged to avoid the heat - starting at 9 am until 2 pm - and that was a good move, but not necessary on this particular day.  We even supplied "misters" at various gardens but we didn't have to use them.  And in our area, the rains came, providing a lovely 10 mm the night before the tour.  

The food hub is trying to partner with the arts council with some success at this event.  This year, we had music and poetry at the community garden, painters "en plein air" in a couple of gardens and one spot where art materials were left out for people to "do their thing".  Some gardeners had paintings out in their gardens or attached to buildings.  One garden host had her paintings for sale and she sold two pieces of work.  Doctors Without Borders will be happy as she donates to this organization when she sells her work.  Another artist sold her first pieces of work.  We had various artists from Kaslo create our "garden tags" to indicate who had purchased a ticket and this was a unique and wonderful keepsake from this year's tour.  Next year we need to have the artists identified on the back of the tag.

 All in all, the tour was a complete success and my photo of one gardener's creative work even has me in the picture!  It was a very good way to raise money for our local food hub.   

48 Hour Holiday

Earlier in June, we took another mini vacation, heading north to Revelstoke.  We love to take advantage of the cheap Seniors rates in the provincial parks and the weather was pretty darn good.  We spent one night at Blanket Creek Provincial Park where there is plenty of good walking (all flat) and the location is well off the highway.  The next day we checked out Begbie Falls and went in via the "climber's route".  I was somewhat amused to get 10 minutes from the falls when we encountered a GOOD gravel road into a BC Rec Site that was 10 minutes from the falls.  We got a good 90 minutes of hiking with some up and down hill work.  It was nice to be able to hear the river all the way!  

We then went to Revelstoke for lunch where I, ironically, could not buy a Begbie Kolsch at the pub (Begbie is the local craft brewery), but I enjoyed lunch all the same.  The skies had cleared completely by afternoon and we really enjoyed riding the Illecillewaet River trails and found all sort of good biking, both paved and unpaved.  The trails were in excellent shape.  By good biking, I mean flat and relatively straight.  Then it was off to Martha Creek to spend the night in a newly renovated campground.   The following morning we checked out the Revelstoke Dam, built in the early 1980s.  It has room for expansion!   We returned to Kaslo via Highway 31, always an exciting drive, mostly on gravel and largely in wilderness.   It makes for a great loop route in the beautiful province of British Columbia.  

Sunflower Sisters

 

This is the latest "coffee place" in Kaslo.  I wrote about going out for coffee last year and it was at this exact place in its previous incarnation.  This year, a couple of young Quebecoise women are running it (they are identical twins) and it has had a good upgrade,  to my mind.  The owners are providing coffee cups, plates, cutlery that are recycled from thrift stores or relatives and it gives it a good "green" vibe.  They are offering small quiches, pastries, muffins along with a variety of drinks - want to try a "beet latte"?   There are now more tables outside and it's been a popular place to stop.  My biggest concern is the location at the junction of Highway 3A and the main drag of Kaslo.  The motorcycles that go past that corner are alarming and annoying.  I frequently work at the community garden across the street and I know about the noise.  Not conducive to conversation.

BTW, I didn't become a coffee drinker in 2024.  It's a social thing to do and I like it.  I don't have time for it and after my winter diagnosis of further arrthymias I've basically cut caffeine out of my life.  But I think I'm okay for a beet latte!

Twenty Four Hour Holiday!

 We just came home from a 24 hour holiday today!  After having friends join us for tea in the afternoon (who had an excellent time at the Creston Birding Festival), we left in our camper van for Summit Lake Provinical Park, located part way between New Denver and Nakusp.   It was a very cool night and we didn't have much luck with birds, but there were a few around.  Very frequent heavy showers had discouraged some campers, but plenty of fishing folk partially filled the campground.  Birds sited were:  common mergansers, one pair of shovellers, a few bufflehead (one male surrounded by females), a bald eagle, a loon, and several Canada geese.  We tried out the new awning for the camper van and it seemed to work effectively.  I was able to read while outside, but it was too cool to stay out for long.

In the morning, we had another look around the campground for birds and then headed to Nakusp for a walk along the promenade and then up to the hot springs for a dip.  It's a small pairs of pools but it was quite lovely as the clouds began to dissipate and sun prevailed.  We visited the Heritage Nursery in Nakusp and bought a barberry for the Trail residence.  After lunch back at Summit Lake, we then headed towards New Denver, stopping for a walk at the Snk'mip Marsh.  Disappointingly, the birds we mostly observed were mallards, Canada geese, robins and fortunately, a lot of rough-winged swallows!    And the best place to visit of all, was the Kohan Garden in New Denver.  The photo shows why!

SPRING, 2025

 I feel that it's been a slow spring this year, but there are always delays to every season during the past 2 decades.  We had a week of spring in late February when it poured rain and ruined the snow.  I'm going by the skunk cabbage, or as Patrick Lane called them,  swamp lanterns.  We have a large patch at the end of the Pine Ridge Road and they usually bloom the 2nd and 3rd weeks of April.  This year, it's been the third and fourth weeks of April.

Yesterday, we had our first warm day.  I had a lovely drive to Trail and many trees are in bloom.  Hiking up to the Bluffs, it was actually HOT on the exposed part of Trail that faces south.  One delightful thing in my yard was the nectarine tree in bloom.  The peas, onions, garlic, and sweet peas are all growing and the next planting should begin in another week.  Tulips that are protected from the deer are doing fine.  Very happy to see my Pasque flower has finally found a place to be happy.  

Earth Day 2025

 I just returned from an hour's litter picking along 1.3 km of roadside in my local area.  It's a mix of good news and bad news.  I managed to do each side of the road in 50 minutes but I am leaving all paper products, heavy items and I don't scramble in and out of ditches any longer.  I am feeling my age!!  Two and three years ago I know that it took me a couple of hours to complete that much of the road so the amount of litter is perhaps less.  The most encouraging thing is that I think I only picked up ONE styrofoam container.  But there's still tons of paper drink containers with their vile plastic lids.  Let me vote for a party who bans the use of "take out drink containers".  I don't think it would take long to convert people to "carry your own container" if there was no other choice.

I've been cleaning up cans on this stretch of road for the past several years.  I get started just after the snow leaves.  It was just as plentiful this year as any other.  In fact, it may even be worse.  I've converted Dave into becoming a "can picker" and I am dismayed to say that he picked up 140 cans on 2 sides of the highway over a 2.5 km stretch.  Litter bug, Litter bug, shame on you! 

BC Parks and Recreation Recreation Sites

 We've stayed in plenty of recreation sites over the years and last week, during our trip "west" to Keremeos we ended up at the Red Bridge Rec Site on the Ashanola River.  This is located on a FS Road that used to lead into Cathedral Provincial Park, a place we visited many, many years ago.  

This particular site is very nice, although its appeal is somewhat dampened by the huge fire that swept through the region 2 summers ago.  The campsite is now pretty much surrounded by dead trees, but the grass looked lush and inviting on our recent visit.  It allows the rock cliffs to be the major feature.   There had been some attempt to take down some trees and clean up parts of the campground, but lots of work still needs to be completed.  We had a fire in the firepit and managed to get one campsite looking quite good.  I wished that I had brought a rake!  

My main complaint about these sites is that they are "user maintained" which means the "user" is supposed to take their garbage and recyclables with them when they leave.  I find it rarely happens.  This campground had one site which had a large pile of garbage in it and perhaps the intention was to "clean it up in spring".  I do hope it gets done.  I collected 9 recyclable containers left in firepits because people won't even put these into their cars and give to a charity group who are fundraising.  The amount of litter that gets left around by humans is disgusting.  My other complaint about these sites is that they can become "party places" and it isn't long before they get pretty much "trashed" - literally and figuratively.  BC has such beauty - why can't we learn to treat that beauty with respect and kindness?