Nelson by Em

This is a lake on the way between Fernie and where we are now, can't remember what it's called but it was totally frozen and absolutely HUGE!

We're in Nelson at the mo, good-sized town which apparently has a reputation in Canada for the arts (don't mean to malign the good people of Nelson but so far we haven't seen much evidence....) and so far it's rained pretty much constantly!

John's already mentioned the dodginess of the road on the way here, very pretty but really, someone should have been watching the map an keeping an eye on the elevation...

And the following signs were not reassuring!

Speaking of which, here's a selection of road signs we've seen in Canada - they seem to be done in some kind of secret Canadian code, some we get, and some we just don't.

Ok....so should we accelerate?

Here it is - the wildlife through the windscreen sign!

Are you kidding????!!???

But you didn't say we were IN one!!!

What slide? Rock slide?? We slide?? Is it a suggestion or a warning??

Love the way they always specify the species. Like it would matter what exact kind of sheep came through the windshield.

I shudder to think of the the kind of crime committed in this rurality. There are only eleven and a half people in each town and they're mostly related.

And this one is not a road sign, but if I were a horse, and I was taken to the tack shop, I would wonder if this wasn't a 'kill two birds...' situation!

The town of Yahk. Seriously. There's a gas station, a motel/bar/hardware store (they economise on space here!) and an old stuff store. I was too slow with the camera to catch the sign for the next store along: 'Other stuff.'

What more do you need!

The campsite here in Nelson is pretty great, run by a nice old couple who have water, power, poo dumping, tv and are only two mins from town! (And it's only $20 a night, which makes a change from hotels ripping us off for $35 bucks just to stay in their bloody car park!!!! I hope the manager of the Travelodge in Fernie gets genital warts.)

We drove to the Ainsworth hot springs today, which is a high, narrow, windy cliff road over a lake. I'm not a fan of heights, John's not a fan of heights over water. We took it in turns to drive and cower in the back.

Yes, you heard me right, I drove!! And we continue to live!

Me driving. Apparently I made some odd faces. I was concentrating!

Just so you remember, this is what the van looks like!

And this is what the road looked like! (I didn't take that while I was driving, by the way. John took a break from cowering).

Luckily, we were sometimes stuck behind one of these. The sparks were a bit scary though!

I drove really well, and I will be doing it again soon! (So watch the international news.)

Here are a couple of shots of the lake road, including the bridge across - it's a beautiful drive if you can look at it.

We're going to stay here for a day or two more, then drive on, heading for Vancouver (for the seafood. I mean the view.) Meanwhile I'm enjoying the natural springs (the caves at Ainsworth were absolutely incredible. John said it looked like Aliens when the monster is born, but he has no romance in his soul) and kicking John's ass on a pool table.