Tag Archives: The Columbia River

Last Monday with Friends

Ken and Heidi flew to Spokane from Southern California to visit Greg and me at our home in Colville on November 1st and flew back home on the 4th.

The photo above was taken in Texas in 2023.

My friendship with Heidi started way back in 1969 while we were both in our college years. We attended the same Russian Baptist Church and were in Choir together. We were in the same high school but were not close friends then. The second year of college our friendship blossomed and we took a trip together to Michigan and the East Coast. (That’s another epic story) This trip was the first time ever that I was on an airplane. We were friends before we met Greg. Heidi got in a singing group that Greg was part of and I met Greg during one of their concerts. After we were married, Heidi lived with us in Huntington Beach for a time. During that time she met Ken. All this to say, we’ve all been friends a long time and have experienced lots of life side by side.

This photo above is from George Washington’s Mount Vernon home in the early 70’s.

Now we’ll jump to our time together just a week ago.

Heading out from our driveway we had a circular tour planned to give our friends a taste of what our area is all about. First stop, just minutes from our home,  Douglas Falls.

It was verified right away that none of us are good at taking selfies. (Where is Auntie Lolo when you need her?)

From Douglas Falls we continued into Colville and gave them a glimpse of some neighborhoods and the golf course where the walking trail is. On into town and to Main street for a little shopping in small town USA. Ken and Heidi made some purchases and we had some good chatter in both The Milk House and Barmans.

We drove the length of Main street continuing north through Kettle Falls to connect to State route 25 N. It would be about 40 miles to the Frontier Border Crossing into Canada and then just 10 miles further to get to our destination, Rossland B.C.

Along the way we had to stop for our friends to take in the mighty Columbia River. See that puff of cloud in the distance? I had to zoom in to get a better look.

 

Photos to document the sites we saw and who we saw them with.

We enjoyed all the fall color along the way, especially the Larch/Tamarack trees, below.

After crossing the border we were in the town of Rossland B.C. in no time finding a parking spot and doing a little exploring before enjoying lunch. First stop at the statue for one of the main things Rossland is known for, skiing.

From Rossland Arts Council:

Have you gotten a selfie with Olaus yet? Captured in many visitor’s photographs of downtown, this iconic statue has watched over Rossland since Winter Carnival 2013.

More information about Olaus can be found here.

This is how Rossland Tourism describes the town.

Rossland is located in the beautiful Kootenay Rockies Region of British Columbia, and is home of Red Mountain Resort and Big Red Cats, the world’s largest cat skiing operation. With the addition of Grey Mountain at RED Mountain we now have one of the biggest ski resorts in western Canada. Located on the Powder Highway, in the Kootenay Rockies, Rossland offers both summer and winter charm. An unpretentious community which still offers a unique and authentic experience to all of our visitors.

The raven sculptures in front of the library have a story to tell, too.

The Storytellers was Rossland’s first public art piece commissioned by the Rossland Council for Arts and Culture (RCAC). Installed in 2008 on the lawn of the Rossland Public Library, the artwork includes two abstract metal trees with five ravens perched among the branches.

Right next to the ‘storytellers’ was this beautiful mural.

“The local wildflowers and the big poppy symbolize peace and commemoration with the iconic local mountains in the background. This peaceful image is tied to the local area and its people,” said Toews. “Just as many gave their lives fighting for our freedom, a gift that keeps giving, the alpine meadow flowers bless us with their beauty year after year. At the first mountain frost the flowers give their lives as some Rosslanders did during WW1, WW2 and Korea.” 

The last art stop for us before we went to lunch was the ‘sphere of influence’.

Sphere of Influence rolled into the empty lot between Columbia Avenue and Sourdough Alley in spring of 2015, just as the snow was melting and the bike season was heating up. The large, airy bubble of repurposed bicycle parts has been demanding attention ever since. 

We missed taking photos of some of the other art pieces along the main thoroughfare through the town of Rossland. Maybe next time I’ll seek them all out. Here’s a link to the first time we drove through Rossland in 2019.

We had a delicious lunch experience at the Flying Steamshovel even though someone got locked into their stall in the ladies room and had to have an employee come and rescue them.

On the way out of town we stopped at the grocery store and made a few purchases.

We headed home across the Border and we all noticed how both border crossings were with agents who seemed less than happy in their interactions with us. I’ve never had such sad encounters in all my crossing experiences.

Back to our country bungalow we introduced Ken and Heidi to our favorite game, Skyjo. It’s a game you can play and enjoy conversation, too.

On Tuesday morning after breakfast and packing up, we drove Ken and Heidi to the airport going on a scenic route which eventually had us meandering along the Spokane river.

Ken and Heidi had little sunshine during their visit with us but that is okay because they get plenty of that in Southern California.

We dropped our friends off at the airport and headed into Spokane to do a little shopping at Costco. After Costco we headed north on highway 2 for a late lunch in Elk. After lunch while traveling backroads back to Highway 395 we chuckled at this sight in front of us.

Hope those ties hold!

Thanks for taking the tourist journey with us!

The Left Coast Hodgepodge

Jo From This Side of the Pond has some beachy questions for us today.

1. Do you like the beach?

Yes, I like the beach. I like to walk at the beach, especially in the winter. I’m not a fan of heat and being overheated. I like to walk the pier, watch the waves and enjoy the cool breezes. We lived in Huntington Beach from 1975-1984. We lived in Ventura (which is a beach town) from 1984-1988. We lived in Camarillo, 8 miles from the beach from 2006-2010. While we lived in Camarillo we drove to Emma Wood State Beach most every Saturday morning to walk the beach at dawn. The collage at the top of this post include photos from Emma Wood.

How far do you have to drive to get to the nearest beach?

Since my definition of beach is related to an ocean we would have to drive over 450 miles to get to the Pacific Ocean.

If you are talking about a sandy or pebbly shore we could get to one of those in under 10 miles. We live close to the Columbia River, Lake Roosevelt and other lakes and rivers.

Your least favorite thing about the beach?

Getting sandy or sunburned.

Last beach trip you took? 

I flew to Southern California in June and stayed with my sister in Huntington Beach and enjoyed walking at Corona Del Mar and Huntington Beach.

2. Are you known for making waves or are you more of a ‘go along to get along’ kind of person? Explain.

Hmm, if I have to make waves I will but it’s not my first choice. When something goes against my beliefs I won’t compromise. I don’t nod my head or keep silent when someone presumes to speak on my behalf and what is said is not part of my convictions. I will challenge things said that aren’t the truth in proper settings, when it’s within my boundaries to say something and could make a difference.

3. A favorite song that in some way references the beach?

I’ll give the beach nod to our Marine son-in-law and all Marines!

A favorite book and/or movie with a beach-y setting? 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

4. Tuesday is National Simplicity Day…what’s a simple pleasure you’ve enjoyed this week?

The simple pleasure of enjoying my cup of coffee each morning and the pleasure of the morning unfolding.

What’s something you could eliminate from your life to make things simpler? 

Extra weight on my body. My current clothes would fit better and my movements would be easier. It’s harder to move excess weight around,

5. What’s something you love to do? Do you do it often? Why or why not? 

I love to plan a trip. I don’t do it often, maybe once a year or every two years. It’s fun to anticipate a journey or a destination that will be fun to experience. I find the more I research the destination the more enjoyment it gives me when we get there.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Two months from today, Lord willing, me and Dear will be in Oxford, England for about 12 days. I’m doing what I love and making plans for our days there. We will be staying in an apartment in Oxford (central) for 9 of the nights, 2 nights in a hotel in Woodstock, and our last night back in Oxford in a hotel.  When we had our trip planned in 2020 that got cancelled for obvious reasons, we were reimbursed for everything but a day tour we had booked with Go Cotswolds, a small touring company. We asked them to keep our money just in case we were able to return to England in the future. They were appreciative as they had to cancel so many tours and the more people that kept their reservations on hold allowed them to stay in business during the tough season everyone was in. We contacted them and they were so gracious to honor our two year deposit for a day tour. They are flourishing again in their business. We will hop on the train in Oxford to Moreton in Marsh and get picked up for a day in the small villages of the Cotswolds. Another tour we have on the books is The Kilns, the home of C.S. Lewis just outside Oxford. We will ride a bus to Headington for that tour. We are not renting a vehicle for this trip but depending solely on public transportation and our own two feet . Most of our sight seeing will be right in Oxford. There is so much to see in this compact city that we will be able to enjoy on foot from our apartment.