Kootenays

Leaving the Sunshine Coast with the 12:50 p.m. ferry i retrace my path back to the Kootenays. Actually it was only near Chilliwack after contacting an old friend in Creston and confirming that he was available the next day for a visit, that i decided to head back to the Kootenays rather then take the faster Trans-Canada to Calgary to visit my daughter, Ravan. The winds were with me and the traffic was light: i entered Castlegar after 9 o'clock.

I had another welcome visit with my sister, Katya, which included a fine morning walk down to the river with Grommet. While the Okanagan is a wonderland, the Kootenays is a paradise.

Katya and Grommet

Friday afternoon i drive the short distance over to Creston and book into an excellent bed and breakfast called the Hill House B&B (actually 5 km north of highways #3 and #3A junction) overlooking the valley. Without reservations i highly recommend this B&B which apparently doesn't get as much business as the B&B's located right in the town. NOTE: i received no compensation for this promotion :-).

Hill House B&B

This evening i visited Larry Rombough. I have known Larry since i was two years old and living in the town of Aultsville, one of the lost villages of the Seaway development. I haven't seen him for some 35 years. One of my earliest memories, from age three, is playing with Larry at his house when his large dog, King, attacked me gripping the top of my head and under my chin in his jaws. I was lucky that his brother Garnet pulled the dog off.

Larry took me to the top of a hill near the American border for a spectacular view of the valley, and talked about his love for the valley, the West, his mountain-trained horse, and the hunting and fishing in the area. He threw a couple of steaks on the barby. We talked about old times, the troubles we got into, our friends some long deceased, our earlier hunting days (including the time we tried to spit-roast a pair of blackbirds but couldn't bring ourselves to eat the cooked remains), old friends, girls and girl-friends, school days, St. Lawrence valley days, and lazy summer days. We plan to stay in touch and not let another 35 years pass.

Larry Rombough