Frosty December Leaves

December Colours II

December Colours

Clouds

Sunrise

A section of the Cross Canada Rail Trail above North Fork Rd., Grand Forks, B.C.

The hole in the mountain wall

On the edge of Observation Mt. is this small room cut into the rock and braced. I haven't yet found out what it is for.

Clouds

Gilpin Grasslands Hike

From the Gilpin Grasslands

Rosehips

The autumn harvest from hillside walks. Wild roses grow everywhere and the hips are ready for picking. I always tuck an empty bag into my pack and spend some time picking nature's harvest of Vit.C rich rosehips. My grandmother always had a pot of rosehip tea ready and the sweet fragrance is a lovely reminder of the spring roses.

Rock Piles

On this property on Spencer Hill, Grand Forks, B.C. are piles of rocks like this from land clearing. One wonders what they grew here. The land is sandy and hot. So much potential for more farmland.

On the Cross Canada Rail Trail

Railway leftovers

Old Feed Barn

Moonsnail

Clouds

This is an amazing cloud formation from yesterday morning. It continued in a zig-zag fashion overhead. It reminds me of an Aladin's Lamp with the genie coming out as a smokey vapour.

Below Cascade Falls, Kettle River

This is at the bottom of the Cascade Falls canyon. A fantastic place to swim and play in the summer. This is also where we begin the final tubing run down to another railroad bridge just before the river crosses over the border.

The foundation just visible in the upper right is from the former power house which was unfortunately demolished a number of years ago. It was a beautiful brick building which the owners had left to disintegrate and become a danger. When is was working water was routed from above a dam at the top of the falls around the river and down into the power house. There is a contraversial application to begin another power project here.

The Kettle River is one of two highly endangered rivers in British Columbia. Another controvery arising this year is the use of air boats on the river. Yesterday I saw one of these incredibly noisy aggressive boats tearing up the river interupting the peaceful and safe time being had by fishermen and swimmers. This has already been the impetus for groups to organize to make sure this beautiful B.C. river is not misused.

The swimming hole

The Bridge at Cascade Falls

The old railway bridge just above the Cascade Falls which is now part of the Cross Canada Railway Trail. You can see a couple of people beginning their bike ride (click on the photo to enlarge). There used to be a dam at this point and water was diverted to the old Power House Station just below the falls. Swimming above and below the falls is fantastic and one can float down the Kettle River from Grand Forks to here which is the site of an old mill called "Billings" situated a few miles before Christina Lake and just before the old town of "Cascade". I have done most of the float sections from the old townsite of "Carson" to "Gilpin" and have the last section to try. We do it in sections because the fist section from Carson right at the Canada/U.S. border to Spragett Bridge takes 3 hours at this time of year. We think from the Gilpin Grasslands to Billings will take about 2-3 hours, but this will be our first time.

Kettle River at the Gilpin Grasslands

Wonderful swimming in the Kettle River below the Gilpin Grasslands.

Wild Huckleberries

Wild Black Huckleberries

Chocolate Mousse