Trudy and Dale Buxton
Biggar Independent
After a brief stop in Salmo, British Columbia, we continue our way north on Highway 6 towards Nelson.
Travelling through the mountains is very peaceful and the scenery is spectacular, at least for a guy who lives upon the flatlands of Saskatchewan, travelling in the mountains is always an experience.
We happened by the community of Ymir, tucked away among the Selkirk Mountains. Ymir is one of those booms to bust communities from the gold rush.
Ymir was named after the frost giant in Norse mythology and at one time Ymir was a bustling community of over 1,500 people with a hospital and several hotels that were needed for the stream of prospectors looking to find their riches in gold.
All that remains is a population of about 250 residents and some buildings that are very well preserved from days gone by.
Today Ymir relies on tourism and outdoor recreation for its income.
Welcome to Nelson, British Columbia, the capital of the cannabis culture. Long before the federal legalization there was already a movement in Nelson, with the help of the hidden valleys and laid-back culture.
Nelson was named in honour of Lieutenant-Governor Hugh Nelson when the community was founded in 1889. Today, Nelson is known as the Queen City for its scenery and arts and culture scene, the current population of Nelson is around 11,000 people.
Nelson was the place for the first hydroelectric plant in B.C., producing electricity to the growing city way back in 1896. It is home to over 350 beautifully restored heritage buildings, mostly built in the late 1800’s. A lot of these buildings are located in the historic section of the city on Baker Street.
Nelson was the first to have a streetcar system in B.C. and in the summertime visitors and still ride a vintage 1906 streetcar along the waterfront.
Nelson has also been the home to several movie backdrops including the 1987 comedy Roxanne starring Steve Martin that was almost filmed entirely in Nelson.
NHL legend Steve Yzerman was born in Nelson along with many other NHL stars that have called the bustling city home.
Nelson is a great place for sports, especially in the winter where you will find many into snowboarding and snowmobiling into the mountains. Along with all the arts and culture activities around the city Nelson is a great place for other recreational activities including skiing, rock climbing, and bike riding. Just a short distance from Nelson is the Ainsworth Hot Springs which features a unique underground horseshoe shaped cave.
Despite Nelson’s smaller population, it has been noted that it has more restaurants per capita than any other B.C. city – or for that matter, more than San Francisco.
It was lunch time, so we found a great little lunch stop. “Waits on Nelson” served up a really good meal. The atmosphere was fantastic and the service was just as good. What a nice stop.
Nelson is definitely a place that we will have to return to and discover more hidden gems, but for this time we must move on and head north on Highway 3A, which is a route along the Kootenay Lake.
Stay tuned next week as we explore places like Balfour and Kaslo.
