Kokanee Creek Park and Lakeside Park

The first couple of days during our stay on Kootenay Lake the weather wasn't forecast to be too great so we decided to head to the Kokanee Creek Park where we would be partially under tree canopy if it rained.

Kokanee Creek Park was created in 1955 and developed further in 1982 when they built a spawning channel next to the Kokanee Creek. This was created for the Kokanee (or Red) salmon who are a rare landlocked / freshwater breed of salmon. Each year 3 year old salmon come to these tributaries to breed and then eventually die.

A view of Kokanee Creek

Masses of Kokanee Salmon in the spawning channel



More fish and a few ducks down stream

Mum, Dad, Mojo and I at Kokanee Creek Park

After we had visited the spawning channel we walked along a trail upstream alongside the main creek. Mojo couldn't catch any fish but he managed to retrieve this stick

David, Mojo and I - thanks Mum for this picture

Views upstream

After lunch the weather had improved and showed no signs of starting to rain so we headed into the town of Nelson to Lakeside Park
View here of the 'Orange Bridge' carrying Highway 3A out of town, over the lake and up the North side of the West Arm of Kootenay Lake.

Closer view of the bridge.

Mojo and I at Lakeside Park

Nelson originally had the 'shortest streetcar system in North America' running in the early 1900's just three cars, numbered 21, 22 and 23 - to give the impression of a bigger street car system. They were replaced in 1949 with diesel buses but since 1992 the original streetcar 23 has been operational by volunteers in the city as a tourist attraction.

Lots of geese on the playing fields in Lakeside Park

There is even a free outside 'gym'

Views of Lakeside Park. Nelson makes excellent use of it's waterfront location.

Views back across the park.

For Mojo, after two good walks during the day, it was ended with a good snooze.

Trip to Nelson & The Kootenays

We took Mum and Dad away for the middle week of their stay to the Kootenays region of British Columbia. It's a large area but we had rented a house just outside the town of Nelson, approximately 700kms from Vancouver.

The house was a fairly rustic home, but had a big flat grassy garden..........

...the garden became terraced with some garden chairs.....

....and then lead onto this beautiful view of Kootenay Lake. The house had it's own private sandy beach at the end of the garden and easy, safe access for Mojo to swim and us to paddle (it was a bit cold for us to swim !)

Mojo particularly appreciated his own private lake

View along the lakeshore showing the private beaches of the other homes along the road.

Mojo posing in his new favourite garden

The lazy days of holiday were ended with some swimming in the lake. David throwing the stick for Mojo

Who obediently runs in to fetch it

And brings it back

Followed by a good shake

Lynn Headwaters, Dog Beach & Capilano Canyon with Mum & Dad

Adrians parents visited for three weeks this September. We took them away for the middle week to a house we had rented in the Kootenays (see next post).

During the first week we got a walk in at Lynn Headwaters completing the Varley Trail and then crossing Lynn Creek and returning alongside the river back to the parking lot.

As I had Mojo I didn't take my camera for these first few walks so it's thanks to Mum for these photos.

Dad, Mojo and I on the trail at Headwaters.

Crossing Lynn Creek

Mojo

Sunlight through the trees


Back home after our walk.

We also headed out to the dog beach at Ambleside when we needed to go to Park Royal and it gave Mojo a walk at the same time.
Mojo did lots of stick fetching, when he wasn't being distracted by other dogs to play with !

On the beach

David, Dad and I

Later in the first week we took a walk in Capilano Canyon.
While most of the forest at Capilano Canyon is new growth, there is still some old growth left, these trees are identifiable as they are usually huge with giant trunks

Mojo posing on a fallen tree

More old growth trees

Dad and I

The damp environment sees lots of moss growing on some of the trees


View up the canyon towards the dam which was only a trickle as we haven't had much rainfall

Small falls just south of the dam

Views along the canyon



The forest is a rich source of good sticks to fetch

Suite Improvements

It has taken longer than expected but we have finally finished the improvements to our suite.

We have decided to rent it out on a fully-furnished basis on nightly, weekly & monthly lets rather than longer term contracts. This gives us more flexibility and control over the apartment.

We redecorated it from top to bottom, new closet doors in the entry way, updated the hardware in the kitchen & bathroom and replaced the blinds with drapes.

We have furnished the apartment using a mix of our own spare furniture plus some new bought items. We bought this 3-seater sofa from Ikea and the TV was an excellent buy from Costco, a 32" LCD HD for $439. When we think what we paid for our LCD TV....... !


We have used our kitchen table & chairs for the dining area. If the rentals go well we will bring this back up to our house and buy something specifically for this area

The kitchen already had the fridge & stove. We also had kettle, toaster, coffee maker and so on from Tracy & Paul which they gave to us when they moved back to the UK.

This queen-size bed and bedside tables were also Tracy & Pauls.

Finally, the bathroom has been freshened up too

The suite now shows very well so we are working hard on giving it plenty of exposure on Craigslist and property rental sites such as vrbo.com. We will also advertise it in local hospitals and large businesses for staff here on a short-term, temporary basis.

Mojo, if you want Mum & Dad to come and visit you have to say 'please'

Beautiful Sunrise

A beautiful sunrise this morning over Burrard Inlet and the Northshore.

Thanks Mum & Dad for sending us this, thankfully we weren't up in time to see it !

New Car !

This weekend was an expensive one for us as we bought a new car to replace my Caravan. I had been browsing for a good year or so but it was only in the last couple of months we have been in a position financially to confidently take the jump, knowing the car would already be paid for !

We decided on a 2007 Audi A3 with 25,000kms. It is a 2.0l Turbo with S-line trim which is the sport pack. Needless to say it drives and handles rather differently (read-better) than the minivan it is replacing. Who knew cars didn't actually need to roll that much when cornering ?!

It is fully loaded with all the toys and with such low mileage should last us for a number of years.






Now we just need to sell the minivan. Do you know anyone looking for a low mileage 2003 Dodge Caravan ?

Sorry Mum, it's black so you'll forever confuse it with a hearse. It's quicker than a hearse though.

Feeling Small today!?

Mojo Graduates Kindergarten !

Last week Mojo completed the first of his 8-week dog training classes. This one was designed for young puppies (Mojo was only just young enough to enroll) and was called 'Kindergarten'. This level of training was simple, basic commands such as sit, stay, down etc All of these are commands Mojo has learned very quickly so to us the most useful aspect of this class was the social interaction with other dogs - they have about 20 mins free 'playtime' at the end of each class where they can run off leash and play with other dogs, toys etc. They also get to interact with with other dog owners and their children which has been terrific socialisation for Mojo.

The next level of class begins in September and is 'Beginners' where there is still social interaction but a greater emphasis on good obedience training.

Mojo Swims!

A couple of days before his op Mojo had his first real swimming experience at Buntzen lake. A really hot sunny day and he couldn't not especially as we got in to cool off & swim too.