Driving to Fort Steele in the rain.

After we left Lake Kootenay it really started to rain.

here we are driving down to Creston.

There is an enormous Bird Reserve here and you can walk for miles in the reed beds. We did get to the first observation post, and there were warnings about moose and bear in the area, but the rain was coming down harder and we couldn't see a thing , so we drove on.

When we got to Fort Steele the rain had stopped and the sun peeked out agin. The Campsite was right outside the heritage Town and surrounded by mountains.


Just after the sun had gone down we were treated to a spectacular lightning show. Flashes lit up the sky all around, but the storms were so far away we diddn't hear the thunder. Finally at about 11 pm The storm really hit us Sheet lightning over head thunder and torrential rain. This is when we discovered the shower skylight was leaking. Could have had a power shower in rain water!
(Our Canadian Holiday pics start on Aug 24 so scroll down if you want to see them)

The Glass House

Whilst we were on the ferry some men on a golfing trip told us about The Glass House , so we were looking out for it. The House was built in the 1950's from embalming bottles, which apparently provides good insulation.It was an interesting sight but who would want to live in a house made from embalming bottles? As we left the house it started to rain and for the rest of the day , it was very wet, however this was the only really wet day of our holiday and we spent it driving to Fort Steele. We are now 1052km (658 miles) from Vancouver.

The Glass House Aug

This unusual roadside attraction was built from over half a million discarded embalming fluid bottles. In 1952, David H. Brown retired from 35 years in the funeral business. It occurred to Mr. Brown that there should be some practical use to put the bottles to. And, it was all started, to quote Mr. Brown, "to indulge a whim of a peculiar nature".

Mr. Brown travelled western Canada collecting bottles from many of his friends in the funeral profession, until he had acquired 500,000 of the square shaped bottles, weighing 250 tons in all.

The house itself sits upon solid rock. Built in a cloverleaf pattern with three main rooms, circular shape, 48 feet in length, 24 feet wide and with the upstairs room, it contains 1,200 sq ft of floor space.

Over 320 dozen flowers border pathways and entice visitors from the terrace over a bridge also built of glass bottles. A winding path beneath the bridge leads to the rocky lakeshore and a lookout called the lighthouse which offers a spectacular view of beautiful Kootenay Lake.

Crossing Lake Kootenay

After a day of rest it was time to start driving again. This is the ferry across kootenay Lake. it is the longest free ferry crossing in Canada and the trip takes about 35 minutes. As we waited for the ferry , the sun was shining .
Once we were on the ferry we were able to get a cup of coffee and then take photos of the lake.

During the crossing we had a sudden storm and the water became quite choppy, but by the time we reached the other side the sun was out again. However it soon became overcast and windy

Kootenay Lake is shaped like a bow and arrow, with the Main Lake (63 miles/100 km long in the North-South direction) being the bow, and the West Arm (21 miles/34 km long in a westerly and southwesterly direction from Balfour to Nelson) being the arrow. The Main Lake is broad and deep with the potential for substantial waves in a storm. The West Arm is situated entirely within the Selkirk Mountains, and is narrower and shallow, providing a more sheltered and pastoral visit, better beaches than the Main Lake, and a higher density of resorts and other facilities. Four parallel mountain ranges, running in the north-south direction, march across the southeastern BC landscape. The most westerly are the Monashees, followed by the rugged Selkirks, defined on their western flank by the Arrow Lakes, and on the east by the spectacular waters of Kootenay Lake.

Formed at an elevation of 1,736 feet (530 metres) above sea level during the Ice Ages, Kootenay Lake is fed by the Kootenay River from the south, the Duncan River from the north, and numerous creeks. The Main Lake is 5 miles (8 km) across at its widest point, with an average width of 2.5 miles (4 km).

Kaslo and the S S Moyie (Aug30)

The S S Moyie was the last Sternwheeler to regularly transport passengers on the Kootenay lake. She was built in 1898 for the Canadian Pacific Railway and steamed on the kootenay lake until 1957.She is now a tourist attraction in the little town of Kaslo. She is the oldest known surviving intact passenger Sternwheeler in the world. Hundreds of steamers similar to the Moyie worked on every river in the west from California to Alaska, Yukon and the North West Territories.She has been completely restored and is now open to the public. We spent a fascinating afternoon exploring her and Kaslo

S S Moyie (Aug30)

The paddle wheel

S S Moyie

Engine room

Steering Wheel

Detail from one of the windows in the dining room

Ladies Saloon

Gentlemans Room

Cargo deck and the Kitchen (below)