Slocan Valley

I lost count of the days. Apparently the Slocan can do that to you. 

We left OK Falls mid-day. Spent some time bumming around the thrift store in Penticton. Found Juniper a sweet pair of kicks! 

We took the scenic route to Winlaw so we could take the Needles ferry. It's a small cable ferry and it was pretty fun. We saw an eagle land on a pole on our side if the lake before we boarded and it watched over our short journey to the other side. We were only about an hour and a half from Winlaw but we were tire so decided to camp at Burton Flats for the night. It was a beautiful campground overlooking, well... flats as the name suggests. Nestled in between the mountains we had a small fire from gathered dead fall and cooked some smokies for dinner and shared a bear then cozied in for the night. The best part is we didn't have to pay for the night because there were no envelopes for the deposit box and the park ranger never came by. When I woke up at dawn to pee there was a small herd of Elk grazing on the grass a few hundred meters from our van. 

When we first arrived we were greeted by Andrew and his many dogs, big and small. He showed us around his property, the clubhouse, the barn where we are staying and the yurt. He's a handy man for sure. The barn is absolutely beautiful. A small apartment hand built with lots of wood, a balcony and a wood burning stove. An outhouse and no hot water, but who cares! We nested down quickly and got it toasty warm and I never want to leave! 

We spend the first night in Winlaw at a cafe called Sleep is for Sissies, or just Sissies to the locals. There is an African drumming group and belly dancing. Apparently there is a large African dance scene in Winlaw. We meet Jen Green and her and Andrew's daughter Maya, who is 15, and Jen's partner Claude and have dinner. A local band is playing, some hippie chicks. Jen is ecstatic when she meets Juniper. She and Jon are old friends from Toronto, and she tells me about her love for Johanne and Earl Grey. I like her right away. She and Maya are going to be in Toronto mid May. I'm amazed by the amount of dreadlocks there are in this small town where everyone clearly knows everyone. Winlaw is a pretty freaky town, but I like a place where you're free to let your freak flag fly, so I won't say anything negative about the scene there. End of sentence, period. It's a good night and we rude home with Jen and Maya and Claude and snuggle down in our cozy apartment. 

The next day is like the first day of spring all over again. Andrew is cleaning up around the yard, Kathy his partner is arranging the patio and lawn furniture and Jon starts a fire in the pit near the main house. We're roasting one of Andrews chickens. It's seems Jon's destiny to cook on fires everywhere we go. We so end the day lounging on the grass and drinking a few beers. Andrew has 4 free roaming chickens, and it's pretty comical when they climb up on the deck and get shooed off again by Kathy. 

The next few days are kind of a blur. We do a lot of lounging, reading and building fires. We ride our bikes into Winlaw one day and have lunch and watch the Winlaw Theatre in front of Kaiyu's Cafe. Not really a theatre, just the goings on of the town and the locals. We check out the local thrift store, which is AWESOME! Probably the best second hand store I've ever been in. I find two items, both altered by the local designer and on consignment. We find a sun hat for Juni, and meet a puppy with a runny eye. We make home fry chicken poutine with the leftovers from Andrew's massive bird another day. 

On our second last day we do some laundry and meet Jen at her craft shop, Needle in the Haystack. It's adorable and super fun. Jen quickly sews our makeshift curtains together and we try and find a hat in her store to fit Juni's head. Amazingly and unfortunately they are all too small! (Juniper's was was in the lower percentile when she was born.) We part ways at the local grocer with plans to meet at Andrews for yet another roast chicken. Jon and Andrew get another fire going and Juni and I spend the remainder of the day in the barn napping. We have a fun and delicious dinner with everyone, and finish it off with some Coconut Dream dark chocolate ice cream! MMM! We hug and say goodbye with promises to see each other in a few weeks in Toronto. I insist they don't leave until we get there. Andrew builds a fire to keep warm for the night and We three retire to watch Game of Thrones before bed. 

We rise early the next day and pack the van and say goodbye to Andrew. He tells us he doesn't get many visitors and will miss us. Jon tells him he'll be back in June. As we drive away I realize I never considered how hard it would be to say goodbye to all our friends old and new along the way. We spend just enough time with people in their homes to really get comfortable and at ease with them and then it's farewell again. I am however very grateful we have people all the way across the country to receive us and wish us well on the next leg of our journey.