Best Places to Visit in BC, Slocan Lake

The Slocan region of British Columbia's
Kootenay district is steeped in history.
Known as the "Silvery Slocan" this
region was part of the silver rush during the
1890's to 1900's.
The Slocan River drains Slocan Lake,
which flows through the Slocan Valley
and in turn meets the Kootenay River a few miles
above the confluence of the Columbia River.
I know, it's confusing. The map here might help
out.
Once you visit this area it all starts to make
perfect sense.
During the 1940's, Canadian
people of Japanese descent were
interred in the north end of the
Slocan Valley. Amongst them
was David Suzuki.

Valhalla Provincial Park lies to the west of
Slocan Lake. The Valhalla Range offers incredible
mountain vistas and scenery.
With the abundance of wild life,
drop dead scenery, and even
ghost towns,
the Slocan Valley could take a lot
of further exploring on my part.

Hedley, British Columbia

One of the most amazing weekend trips
in British Columbia is to Hedley.
Hedley is located 38 kms (24 miles)
from Princeton along the Crowsnest Highway.
Known for it's gold, Hedley
is nestled at the foot of Nickel Plate Mountain.
There is a Mining Museum here that is
worth a wander through.
Though tours of the Mascot Mine had closed
for the season when I was there,
it is definitely on my to do list for the coming year.
As I wandered through part of our British Columbia
heritage, I was trying to imagine
what the miners and their families had to face
in the early days of Hedley, all in the pursuit of
the yellow fever called Gold.
For centuries before gold fever,
the Snaza’ist mined ochre and chert here.

The whole Similkameen Valley is full of secrets and legends
waiting to be discovered. Renowned for its wineries,
one of the few Aboriginal vineyards in the
world is located in the valley. Called
Nk'Mip Cellars (pronounced in-ka-meep), the
band has a long history of growing grapes.

I am discovering more and more about
British Columbia every day, making her truly a
great lady worthy of the time spent to know
her beauty and myths, mysteries and adventures.