Confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia at Castlegar, B.C.
September 7, 2010
Kettle Falls, WA
Here is a link to the 1,242 mile journey the Columbia River takes:
In 50 degree temperatures and rain we left Balfour and drove south following the west arm of Kootenay Lake with the Silkirk Mountains and Kokanee Glacier on our left and the Purcell Mountains beyond them. There was more housing, more traffic, and more commerce as we neared Nelson, B.C., a town proud of its heritage and historic character. At Nelson we crossed the bridge where the lake severely narrows and becomes Kootenay River. Now the Kootenay is poised to meet the Columbia 30 miles south at Castlegar.
Let me brag. I am such a good navigator and so proud of my skills. I took a local map and got us to Silkirk College in Castlegar where I could see there were hiking trails down to the river, and I was sure we would be able to see the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia from that point. Bingo! We pulled the truck and trailer into a far parking lot on the college campus, saw a break in the grass, inspected it and decided this was indeed the trail, and started walking. Bingo again! This well maintained path took us to the exact point where we could see the meeting of these two rivers not too far in the distance, and I was pleased all around.
Dale is a wonderful traveling companion, and some of our best travels have been road trips. He maneuvers the truck and trailer like they are ballet dancers, and he is patient and likes my mission(s). I understand him better and appreciate him more each day of our journey. We have our moments, however, but not today.
I’m beginning to think that headwaters and confluences are like conceptual art because the beauty, grandeur and understanding is more in the idea than it is in the tangible thing. At the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia there was no fanfare, no bright lights, no geological or historical markers, just the simple union of two bodies of water, but I was both exalted and moved to see what had become of the marshy, spongy, water I saw at Canal Flats. I was quiet and contemplative at the headwaters, and now at this major meeting place I was thrilled and breathless by the power the river had gained.
My sister and I both say that we are such sentimental fools that we even cry at grocery store openings. When we crossed the border back to the U.S. today the customs official welcomed us home, and although we’d been in a “not so un-American Canadian province” for only 7 days, my face got hot like it does just before I cry. I’m glad to be home.
Today’s Route:
Canada highway 3A from Balfour to Castlegar, Canada 22 to the border and it become Wa Hwy 25 that is a scenic highway along the Columbia River to Kettle Falls, WA
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