According to the meetinghouse locater on lds.org, the closest meeting to Crawford Bay was in Riondel, a very small hamlet about twenty minutes further north on the east side of Kootenay Lake. The first meeting was Sacrament Meeting scheduled for 10 a.m.

We arrived about five minutes before the scheduled start time. There were three other cars in the parking lot, all pulled up under the trees behind where I’m standing to take this picture. We went inside and found a small chapel to the left with a fellow at the Kawai piano/organ, two women, and one other brother. A short time later another sister and another brother (unrelated to each other) showed up. That was the entire congregation: eight adults. According to the woman who is the Relief Society President, their normal attendance is eight to ten people, but the Branch President and his wife were out of town. Sacrament meeting ended about 10:50 and Sunday School started at 11 for almost an hour. Because it was the 5th Sunday of the month, Priesthood and Relief Society were combined. So, both Nina and I sat in the same seats for the entire three-hour block.

The members were very friendly and outgoing. The discussion in Sunday School and in Priesthood / Relief Society was lively and everyone participated. After the meeting, Nina gathered everyone together so she could take their picture on the front steps of the building. That picture will make it onto her blog or into her picture album at some time in the future. After the meeting we wandered around the grounds taking pictures of the wildflowers. Nina visited with a couple of the sisters for quite a while after the meeting as well. As best we could determine, there was only one couple there (we made the second couple). The other two brothers and two sisters were there by themselves.

This has to be the smallest Branch I’ve ever attended. I was in some smaller meetings in Vietnam, but those weren’t branches but rather Servicemen Groups. We had a great time and will long remember our visit to the Kootenay Lake Branch in Riondel, British Columbia.

After Church and lunch at our motor home, we boarded the 2:50 p.m. free ferry across Kootenay Lake and took a short drive north on the west side of the lake. We caught the 5:20 p.m. ferry back to the east side and came back to the motor home for dinner and to catch up on Internet things. I’ve downloaded my pictures and have put some more into the picture album. Tomorrow we’ll cross on the ferry once again and do some more sightseeing on that side of the lake including some time in Nelson, BC, probably the largest community in this region at about 10,000 souls.

We learned after arriving here that July 1st is “Canada Day“, somewhat akin to our Fourth of July. That means most businesses and such will be closed on Tuesday. We’re making some adjustments in our plans to accommodate that unexpected holiday.

Yesterday we drove from Heron, Montana to Crawford Bay, British Columbia. Our main route of travel was US-95 along the eastern side of the Selkirk Mountains up into Canada and then Route 3A along the eastern edge of Kootanay Lake to Crawford Bay’s Kokanee Chalets Motel & RV Park. It’s a very nice campground in a Very Rural area. We have been surprised at how completely rural this area is. Nice to visit, but I’d never live here. The campground has reasonable wifi, though, so civilization isn’t all that far away.

Yesterday our main stop was at The Glass House in Boswell, British Columbia. Check out the picture album for some pictures of a very quirky and unique place.

Now we’re in the process of getting ready to go to Church. The Church meetinghouse locator website tells us that there’s a Kootenay Lake Branch meeting in Riondel, British Columbia, about 20 minutes from here at 10 a.m. That’s where we’ll be.

I’ve put a few pictures in the picture album from Glacier National Park. We were there on Thursday, June 26th and Friday, June 27th, 2008.

No pictures because I haven’t downloaded them. It’s about 11 p.m. at night and getting to bed is a higher priority than a picture for some reason. Tomorrow likely will include some pictures. We spent the morning at Glacier Park and then drove back to Heron, arriving here about 5:30 p.m. After cleaning up and showering, Nina, Dawnmarie, and I went to a lovely little nearby lodge for dinner. The halibut was very good and worth ordering. The lodge is on the edge of the national forest and while we were eating a herd of elk crossed in front of the inn and a couple of deer were feeding in a meadow. A feast for the eyes as well as for the belly.

Tomorrow morning we’ll be on our way. As previously advertised, we’re headed around the Selkirk International Loop. We’ve made reservations at Crawford Bay for the next four nights. A few days vacationing on our own before going back home.

I’ve put up two movies that should work on your computer…. The first is of Kirk’s parent’s house and environs. To see this one click here. The second is on Kirk and Dawnmarie’s property a bit away from Kirk’s parent’s house. To see that one click here.  Download times are fairly lengthy for these short videos. Comments welcome!

Yesterday we drove up to the Ross Creek Cedars, an old-growth cedar forest that somehow escaped the devastating wild fires of 1910. As we approached the area, we were greeted with the sign on the left. Because I have already written about being “near the end of the road,” I was happy to actually find that there was an end of the road!

The cedars were quite spectacular and were discovered in the late 1950’s by a young forest ranger marking trees for logging. It’s since been made into a lovely place for families to visit and walk through. I took a whole bunch of pictures which eventually will be put in the picture album (the pictures are now there!)

Today is a quiet day and we’re staying around the area. Tomorrow we’re headed to Coeur d’Alene and the lake, Thursday and Friday over to Kallispell and Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park. Saturday we’ll proceed on our own way around the Selkirk International Loop.

I need to find a place that sells AA batteries. That sounds like a good purpose for the day!

Today is a partly cloudy day with occasional rain showers forecast. It will get up above 90 degrees today, an unusually high temperature for this part of western Montana. After getting up this morning, I took a few pictures. Clicking on them will show some additional information. Clicking again on the picture will show the larger view.

We’ve been here not quite twenty-four hours and I’m starting to wind down. This is a place where one can definitely do that. Will it be successful??