More Fire Pictures of the Motel at Nimpo Lake.

This is about a remote area in west central British Columbia, Canada called the West Chilcotin. Surrounded by numerous glacial mountain ranges, alpine lakes teeming with wild Rainbow Trout, and full of wildlife. Living here goes from no running water or electricity to spacious log homes with all the conveniences and without the smog!
If you would like to see pictures of wildlife, mountains, lakes, exciting snowmobiling, events and more, and read stories like 'Lake Monsters' - just go into Archives on the lower left side of this page.
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19/10/2006 7:06 PM

Fast Dark

I guess that winter season is coming. You can't tell so much by the weather as by how early it gets dark in the evenings now. By seven in the evening we're well past dusk with only a glow of lighter blue left to the west. What you really notice this time of year is the difference between Vancouver and us. When the weatherman shows a live cam shot of the sky outside the studio in summer or even up to this past week, they're darker than we are. Yet already you can see the subtle change in just days where they are showing a slightly lighter and brighter sky than we are at the same time in the evening. They're only about 300 or less air miles south of us, but it still makes a difference when that old sun starts heading south for the winter.
It was distinctly cool all day because we had a breeze out of the west today. A big high pressure system is building off the coast and should bring us some nice weather for the weekend, hopefully with warmer temperatures. I would like to water the flower gardens in for the winter and the roof goes on the porch tomorrow.
Last year when the roof went on the garage, it dropped about six inches of snow the night before, making climbing around at that height a slippery situation. In fact, the snow was so snotty that one neighbour driving from the other end of Nimpo Lake to help with the roofing slid off the road.
Quackers (ducks) are doing the fast skitter across the water in the evenings now and the loons are still practicing their flying routines to strengthen their wings for hauling their heavy, ungainly bodies to the south. The number of songbirds has decreased dramatically with only the chickadees feeding ferociously at the bird feeder.
One duck likes to paddle around just below a small bank down to the water. Every once in awhile I'll look out the window and see one of our cats hanging out over the edge of the bank studying the water intensely. Soon, you'll see a tiny ripple and sure enough, a duck scoots out from under the overhanging bank and the cat tenses as though to spring. I keep waiting for one of those foolish felines to actually make the leap and take the plunge. It must be absolutely frustrating to watch a platter sized bird swim around only a few inches below you and the urge to jump on it almost irresistable. I'm pretty sure the duck knows it too. I keep waiting for one of those cats to make my day. I know it'll make the duck's!
We're definitely seeing a lot more woodpeckers now. Sadly, they're drilling away on the younger green trees that got hit sometime this fall with the mountain pine beetle. Obviously the beetles are still alive under the bark or the woodpeckers wouldn't be going after them. I guess spraying the trees didn't help them to fend off the attack nor did the spray kill the beetles after they drilled into the bark.
The guys knocking down the dead trees along all the power lines in our region are out here now. I don't know how long it will take them to do the job but I expect we'll be seeing them around for awhile. I spoke with one of them last night and it sounds like they expect to do a lot of hand felling of trees near the power lines so that will be very time consuming. It's good they're getting to the job now. A few locals with backhoes say that knocking over the beetle killed trees, stump and all, is easy. Maybe having such a dry year meant that the roots holding the tree in the ground have dried out that much faster and are very breakable. That means high winds this fall or winter could topple a lot of the beetle killed trees and of course those near power lines will continually take out our electricity.
Well, folks, I realize I'm apologizing a lot for not being able to write much now, but it really can't be helped.
I've got two computers staring me in the face here so back to work I go.

17/10/2006 7:05 PM

Goober Weather

Just a short note tonight, folks. I'm still hock deep in making calendars for my clients and since I don't get far from my office, I don't get to notice what else has been happening in the world, so there's not exactly a ton of stuff to write about or a lot of time to research anything. I did get to see the prettiest fox I have ever seen in my life today on a quick trip into Nimpo. It crossed the highway, went up the bank and stopped with its ears perked up and looking straight ahead. I'm pretty sure it was after something and if I'd had the camera with me, I think I could have gotten a remarkable shot because it was really posing. But since I didn't have the camera, I can only tell you that it was big, just about every color of the rainbow and had a big, gloriously puffy white ball of fur at the end of its tail. So there you go.
We've got a big, ugly weather system coming in off the Pacific again. I suppose Uber would suit but I rather like goober. It looks like rain for some parts of British Columbia and snow for the rest. I'm guessing we're in the snow part. There's fresh snow up in the mountains from the last system and since it's been colder than heck, I expect we're next.
I was talking to a friend in Saskatoon, (two provinces over for those of you that don't know Canada) and she said there was snow on the ground there and it was cold. The folks over there are not pleased! We've all been lulled into forgetting that winter has to come sometime because most of western Canada has been enjoying a long, warm autumn. But even as cool as it's been (it dipped to -8C or 19F last night) there were two fishing boats out on Nimpo Lake this afternoon. The trout have been jumping like crazy and I some envied those fishermen. Well, maybe not sitting on a cold boat seat freezing in the breeze but the opportunity was envious. The algae is fast disappearing from the surface of the lake and the Dean River is nearly clear of it. But then again, there was ice in the shaded bay just before the Dean exits the lake, so the algae doesn't have much hope of surviving the plummeting temperatures.
I just wanted to thank those folks that have written recently about the blog. I enjoy your notes and words of encouragement and your feedback is always appreciated!
Travelers are still kind of wandering around the country stopping at different resorts trying to find a place to lay their head for the night. I'll post a quick update here on accommodations available now and through winter in the Nimpo Lake area since the motel burned down. I'm still finding out about the Anahim Lake area. With a little more time in the future I'll set something more permanent up on the Accommodations web pages.
There are two gorgeous cabins available at Wilderness Rim Resort throughout the winter. The Waterfront has cabins available and while The Dean on Nimpo shuts down their cabins for the winter, they do have luxurious rooms available all year round. Vagabond, Stewart's and Rainbow lodges are all closed for the winter. I don't know yet about the status of Pine Point. If you would like really nice private accommodations on Nimpo Lake in the B&B form, the Timber Guest House operates year round. Nimpo Lake Resort has some accommodation available, while the Anahim Inn offers motel rooms. As I said, I still have to find out about other lodging available in winter in Anahim Lake such as Escott Bay and Anahim Lake Resort. Hope I didn't forget anyone.
Okay, that's it for today.

15/10/2006 7:45 PM

Moving Cattle

It's that time of year now when the ranchers start fall roundup. All along Highway 20 into Williams Lake on Friday we saw pickups with horse trailers parked all along the road where cowboys had off loaded saddle horses to go in search of cattle. A lot of ranchers in this country utilize open range through spring and summer but come late fall, the cattle have to be brought in. Judging from the number of truck and trailers around Riske Creek, several ranchers must work together for fall roundup. We saw a lot of cattle inside and out of the fence along the highway. The cattle know too when it's time.
Coming back from town we saw a young girl easing cattle out of the timber while farther down the road another cowboy, probably her father, with three herding dogs worked his way back toward her. While some provinces like Saskatchewan and Alberta utilize fourwheelers (ATV's) more for moving cattle, the cowhorse is still king here, mainly because of the brush and terrain. The Chilcotin is called Cowboy Country for a reason.
About all we saw for game this time going to town were a few deer. No bear or moose. It's right during the rut for moose so the bulls will be off in the meadows calling forlornly for cows and the bears are trying to get their fill of grub before denning.
We've had some awesome sunsets the last few evenings. Yesterday was our first dreary day in awhile and today was supposed to be the same but it wasn't bad at all considering the massive weather system blanketing the province. You could see that it was raining or snowing over the Coast Range all day but we came out dry again.
I was just thinking this morning about the lack of moisture we've had. Other than a sprinkle in August that hardly registered in the rain gauge and a little less than the inch of rain we had in the middle of September, we haven't had anything at all. Oh, besides the snow that we got when we got that rain. Vancouver is reporting only 4mm this month when normally they would have registered at least 60 mm by this time in October. I'm not sure what they got for moisture today but they were supposed to get rained on finally. Then there's the other side of the country where they're digging out from under a foot of wet snow. That's always the case though. When the East has lousy weather, we have clear sunshine. The opposite applies as well. In any case, I'm really enjoying the weather but we sure could use our fall rains. Just heard a huge flock of Canadian geese go over so maybe they know something I don't know.
Just an update on the Av gas situation for anyone coming to Nimpo Lake in a floatplane this fall. Wilderness Rim doesn't have much fuel left but they can give you a little fuel as long as you can get to the cement ramp. They've pulled their docks for the winter so getting close to the pump will be difficult. They hope to be able to continue to fuel planes next year but that will depend on whether the resort sells or not and whether the new owners are interested in continuing the service. If not, we're going to see if an alternative fueling stop can be set up.
This was just going to be a quick note because I have to get back to work. Hope you've all had a great weekend!

12/10/2006 10:23 AM

To Have Or To Have Not

There are tremendous advantages to living in the Chilcotin, but the odd time a little disadvantage pops up. Actually, it isn't always a little disadvantage. The lack of an electrical Lineman in this area can cause a deadly situation as manifested during the fire that destroyed the Country Inn two weeks ago. That's more on the level of a huge disadvantage.
It was our Anniversary yesterday and one of those little disadvantages became apparent. The lack of nice cards in this part of the country. You know the kind of card I'm talking about. Big fancy things with hearts or lace on the cover and flowery sentiments declaring your undying love for your partner on the inside. The kind that are so fancy and of which there are so many choices that you end up standing aisle of the card store dumbstruck trying to make up your mind. Some polite clerk keeps asking you if you would like help with anything while you stand lost in a sea of elegant prose trying to figure out which card would most suit your life partner.
It's bad enough that you are very obviously from the boonies. We don't dress for town in the 'town' sense of the word. No sir. Hiking boots and jeans and lots of layers because you left before first light from home when it was cold but the stores are so ruddy hot in Williams Lake by noon. You're usually on a dead run because there are so many stops to make whether fueling up, the printing shop, supplies for my graphics business, construction, plumbing, electrical or chainsaw supplies. Who knows what you'll need when you're in town? Then the final grocery shop that will carry you through with grits until your next trip to town six weeks or two months later. And if you're really lucky, you'll get to stop up at the fast food place for a burger you wouldn't dream of ingesting at home. No A&W, Starbucks, or Tim Horton's in the Chilcotin. Mind you, we now have enough RCMP members posted in Anahim Lake we should certainly rate a doughnut shop at the very least.
Back to the card shop.
The store clerk always seems to take more pity on me because she always asks me more than anyone else in the store if she can help me. I know she recognizes I'm from the Chilcotin and I've been in there enough over the years that I probably mentioned it at some point. I must look absolutely pathetic drowning in the heavy scent of candles trying to push my way through all the fuzzy stuffed animals in my desperate search for that perfect card. In fact, I'm often on the hunt for several cards for family and friends at Christmas time which means I can hardly breath by the time I get out of there. At least I know when that occasion is coming because of the three month advertising barrage prior to the holiday. I'm very fortunate to have a partner that reminds me of all the important occasions such as Valentines, birthdays and Anniversary because there is no way I would remember otherwise. I'm lucky if I can remember my own birthday much less anyone else's.
Unfortunately, I was only reminded a week or so ago that we had an Anniversary coming up but I haven't been out of the Chilcotin since the first week of August. We weren't going to be anywhere near Williams Lake until this Friday and somehow I didn't think I was going to get away with moving our Anniversary date up two days this year. What to do?
Well, this household is an odd mixture of the old and the modern. My answer was to make a card. Why not? They didn't always have those cloying scented card shops full of fancy cards and wrapping paper. People used to make their own cards! My product was kind of a pathetic looking thing but at least I got to type in my own thoughts and how I really felt instead of searching through hundreds of cards trying to find just the right sentiment.
Really, think about it. That must be a terrible job being the producer of sentiment for Hallmark. Can you imagine coming to work every day trying to be upbeat and happy and in love? You have to come up with so much hearfelt prose for so many cards each day or you get fired? I would have to put that job on the same lines as owning a poopy pumper truck that pumps out sewers. Just not quite my idea of a good job to have.
Maybe that's why Leanin' Tree cards are often so nice. They're usually blank inside.
Anyway, I'm supposed to be the 'computer whiz' in this house, (Yeah, right.) but it was my partner that was smart enough to think of sending me an E-card. Two in fact. Beautiful little things with nice sentiment and music and everything!
Now why didn't I think of that? No, I have to struggle late into the evening trying to set up a card on my computer that I could print out, then run downstairs and sneak the finished product onto my paper cutter.
If I had half a brain, I would sit down, write out a list of all the occasions for which I need cards, and buy one or two years' supply ahead. But I just don't think I could stand being in that card shop that long nor could I stand the clerk's pitying looks for that length of time. Besides, I still haven't found the huge, gorgeous white Christmas Card I bought in town for my sweetheart two years ago. It's in this office somewhere....
We've all spoken to our local store owners in Nimpo Lake and Anahim Lake about the poor selection of greeting cards, but as they've stated, they just have too small a turnover of cards because of the small population. The big card companies want them to buy a minimum amount of stock and that just isn't affordable so they can only bring in a limited choice in cards. It's always kind of funny if you go to someone's house for a birthday or anniversary dinner. The recipients of several cards will often receive at least two or three cards that are of the same design. Not much you can do about it. It's just one of those things that you accept about the Chilcotin. One of those 'have not' things that really isn't all that important and that no one really sweats. Still, like postcards, there might be a potential market there if a person could find the right cardstock to print on and felt capable of coming up with those heavy duty card sentiments...nah, bad idea. I'll just stick with the status quo.
Yesterday was another beautiful day on Nimpo Lake. We mixed and poured the cement for the porch's basement floor yesterday morning. Come to think of it, that's the second Anniversary that we've been pouring cement and embarking on major construction on our property. I'm not sure what's up with that.
I know that we've been way too busy to go fishing and that's too bad because the trout fishing is excellent.
Nimpo Lake has a bad algae bloom right now. All the lakes in the area usually get it in the Fall but it's really nasty this year. There might be several reasons for it and we've all been doing the guessing game.
We had a rainy summer last year which washed a lot of nutrients into the lake. The fish were really big and fat last year, but it might have put a lot of food into the lake for algae as well.
This summer was hot and dry and the lake level is at a record low.
We've had beavers damming up Nimpo Creek which flows into the lake on the north end.
We've had no rain to freshen the lake or wind to turn the water.
Last, but not least, there has been very little pine pollen this year because all the mature pines are now dead. Usually the lake is covered in yellow pine pollen at a certain time of the year and perhaps it changes the chemistry of the water or maybe it just prevents sunlight from reaching the algae at a critical time. Like I said, it's a guessing game. I just hope that the lake returns to normal next year and we receive our normal rainfall.
There is a C.A.T. shareholder's meeting at the Nimpo Lake Community Hall tomorrow night at 7:00 for those of you that are out of town but that read this blog. The meeting is on very short notice and is not a vote but is still a meeting that should be attended.
There may not be an article tomorrow because we have to go into Williams Lake and that usually shoots down the whole day. With the meeting tomorrow night I don't think I'll have time to write anything but I hope to see you all back here on Saturday!
(Jeepers. This was supposed to be just a little short blurb on greeting cards today and I just realized it's turned into a book. Sorry about that folks!)

10/10/2006 7:21 PM

Spectacular Autumn

Our Chilcotin Fall has been a lot like the Energizer Bunny. It just keeps on going and going. Not that I'm complaining. No siree, Bob! It could be like this for the rest of October and I would be one happy camper! The last couple of days have been clear and sunny and warm and the evenings have been just breathtaking. I didn't get any pictures last night because my camera was out in the truck, but a fellow that lives farther down the lake emailed some pictures from his end. You can bet I got some pictures this evening though. Fish are jumping and plopping back into the water all over the lake. There are a few fishing boats out there and apparently the fishing has been phenomenal this week. The water is dead calm and with our warm temperatures of today it would be quite pleasant out on the water. I just heard a loon call, so they're still here.
Tweedsmuir Air pulled their docks and the last floatplane flew home Sunday. A sweet little yellow and white floatplane landed today and cruised into the short arm. He didn't stay down for long though and neither have any others that have landed lately. There just isn't any source of fuel for them here anymore. The Waterfront no longer refuels and the Wilderness Rim Resort owners have left and aren't selling Av gas this fall either. It seems a shame that with Nimpo Lake's reputation as a floatplane base it would be so difficult to get fuel here now. We've put some thought into putting tanks in and offering fuel to planes on the lake because we'll be building a big dock on the protected side of our peninsula. But it would be such an environmental nightmare, even with the new type of above ground tanks, that we just don't want to go there.
Another dock went by the point on the way to the back bay this afternoon. Our neighbour has a good sized boat and his dock isn't huge, but it still takes quite a while to move such a lumbering beast with the barrels under it for that distance. Everywhere you look you see signs of people getting ready for winter which might be laughable anywhere else, but here we could easily wake up to two feet of snow any time now. Or our great fall could continue. You just never know in this country. Always expect the unexpected in the Chilcotin.
I remember one year out here just about this time of year. Cow moose season opened on the 13th of October until the 15th right during the rut. That was when there was still an open season on moose here and I was going to be taking my Mom hunting. We were ready and raring to go. We woke up the next morning to between two and three feet of wet, sloppy snow. It was deep enough that I was pushing it up with the front bumper on my four wheel drive truck that had really tall tires on it. No one was going far, that's for sure.
Rollie over at Pine Point asked if he could borrow my truck to take some hunters out in the back meadow.
He had several hunters that I think were from Germany. One of the outfitters had taken them up and dropped them off at hunt camp up in the Itcha mountains and left them there for nine days without bothering to check on them. Bad weather had hampered their hunting most of the time and they had run out of food. The outfitter had taken them for a lot of money and then pretty much left them to their own devices. Rollie flew them out after hearing their story and put them up at his lodge for the remainder of their stay and promised to take them hunting if he could. The surprise dump of snow made it next to impossible to fulfill that promise. I took a couple of Rollie's hunters out into a back meadow on foot while my mother took another. It was difficult to wade around in the bush in that much snow without snowshoes, especially since it was such heavy, wet stuff. We just got tired of slogging it out there.
Rollie was driving my truck, probably one of the few available that would go any distance in the bush in that kind of snow, and even so, it was hard going. He and his three hunters finally got fed up with all the snow and had my truck back by noon. By that time the snow was starting to melt but it meant that without a freeze, it was going to be impossible to take my Mom into all my secret hunting spots. The moose were safe from everyone that year!
That's why you don't bet on anything in this country. Especially the weather!
We watched the weather tonite and there's a huge high pressure system over British Columbia holding some really big ugly stuff just off the coast a few hundred miles. I don't know what kind of weather is in that long line of heavy cloud following the jet stream to the north, but when it hits the coast of Alaska you can see there's some pretty severe thunder cells up there. We're supposed to start getting some of that when the high pressure system starts to break down about Thursday. That means we have until then to finish getting cement poured for our porch. Then the dirt has to be backfilled against the walls and a floor put on the porch (which will serve as a roof for right now). Once that's done then the weather won't matter so much but it would be nice if it didn't get too dirty in the near future.!

09/10/2006 8:22 PM

The Service

There was a Memorial Service today for Tom Simon at the Catholic Church in Anahim Lake. There were a tremendous number of people in attendance and besides family that came from elsewhere, there were folks from Anahim, Nimpo and Charlotte Lake. The tea at the Nimpo Lake Community Hall drew a huge number of people as well. I'm glad so many members of the communities have thrown their support behind Tom's family. Tom got a good Catholic send off but from my point of view, I just hope he has a good journey with lots of adventure wherever he's gone to.
That has brought up the discussion of a graveyard. Nimpo Lake doesn't have one and somehow hasn't needed one for all the years the tiny community has existed. It would seem that most of the folks that have lived in and loved the country have been cremated and their ashes scattered wherever they've chosen prior to death, whether that be over lakes or mountain ranges or high alpine meadows full of wild flowers. I understand that it's illegal to scatter people's ashes over the countryside but some laws are just meant to be ignored.
I'm not sure what folks have done that have buried a family member instead. I suppose the Anahim Lake or Tatla Lake cemeteries have been utilized or folks have taken their dearly departed back to wherever they may have come from originally. I know that Tatla Lake has a beautiful old cemetery that sits up on a hill and overlooks the Tatla valley and the saw-toothed Coast Mountain Range that soars up majestically at the foot of the valley. What a view! I guess if you have to be dead and buried that's a good place to be. There's some pretty neat headstones up there, many of them native and one even made from a set of moose antlers. A Chilcotin headstone, if you will.
I suppose a graveyard for Nimpo Lake is something to think about but we'll have to put our thinking caps on and pick a few good spots before bringing it to the community for discussion. Can you imagine the hoops we'll have to jump through with all the ruddy levels of government to put in a cemetery? It's one thing when a graveyard has been in existence for a long time before the government got such a stranglehold on everything. Even the bureaucracies don't want to deal with a bunch of teed off bereaved, but a new graveyard with no history will be another matter entirely.
The benefit dinner for Art and Mary at the Chilcotin's Gate Restaurant went well and pulled in around 2000 much needed dollars for them. They were managing the Country Inn Motel when it burned down a week and a half ago and were so busy making sure no person or pet were left in the motel and helping the owner get some of his stuff out that they lost everything. In fact if Ted, the owner, hadn't reminded Art to get his car away from the motel, it would have burned as well.
A lot of people turned out at the Thankgiving Dinner and paid by donation and a lot of local folks as well as some of the businesses in Williams Lake donated Turkeys and foodstuffs to the cause. Art and Mary are in search of a new job and we all wish them the very, very best.
The Chilcotin's Gate Restaurant will probably be shut down at the end of October. The fellow leasing it this past year wishes to move on and Cindy, the owner is taking schooling and doesn't have time to run the restaurant. It may be sold as a bible school but I think the entire community would like to see it continued as a family restaurant. So if there's any of you that live in the city and would like to get away to a new life overlooking a beautiful lake and a range of mountains, this restaurant is the place for you! It can be a little quiet in the dead of winter but it does a lucrative business the rest of the year. Come buy a restaurant and join the rest of us in the Chilcotin!

08/10/2006 10:39 AM

The Rest Of The Story

Okay, now where was I? Oh yeah, the marijuana grow-op. Well, it turns out that the rumors were all true. Actually, there's been a lot of laughter in the community since a whole bunch of pot plants were found in the Kleena Kleene garbage dump this year.
Quite a few people have been over to see the large metal building that was supposed to be a 'karate' school and have all said that there was no question that pot was being grown there.
Allegedly, the new purchaser was going to buy the lodge from the guy who owned it with the proceeds from the pot grown in this building. Part of the stipulation of the sale was that the building be erected by the owner and his staff over the summer of 2005. The 'purchaser' then left his Vietnamese wife in charge of the building whenever he was back down on the Coast. No one was allowed access to it, including a neighbour that was shoved backwards away from the doorway by the owner of the lodge when he knocked on the door of the steel building.
Now the story gets a little fuzzy. I don't know if the one con man conned the other con man, or exactly what happened there. Apparently said 'purchaser' came and removed all the lights and other fixtures for a successful grow-op from the building this summer, but whether he removed a whole lot of pot and sold it down in Vancouver and left just some of the remnants or poorer quality plants for the lodge owner to get rid of or left the whole lot, I don't know. The Cops and other folks that saw the plants at the Kleena Kleene dump site claim there were several hundred thousand dollars worth of pot laying there. Somehow, I doubt the one con would have let that much money slip through his fingers. I have also heard that he screwed the lodge owner over and backed out on buying the place. Which certainly makes sense if all he ever intended to do was grow the plants, haul them to Vancouver, get his money and leave the lodge owner standing with his pants down. Like I said, the con man conned the con man.
Pretty sneaky when you think about it. You convince someone else to put a building up for you. Install all the grow lights, etc. and grow hundreds of pot plants on their land. Then you come in, take the plants, make the profit and have taken very little risk. If the police had come snooping around with a search warrant, the owner of the lodge would have been charged and presumably done the jail time and lost any assets or property the courts chose to impound. And for all that risk, he didn't even get the money he was supposed to for his place. He ended up losing it anyway this summer to the Bank and the previous owner.
Two questions left to answer. Why didn't the police bring a search warrant to the property and go through the building after being informed by several people of their suspicions? Their answer was that they couldn't do that on rumors alone. Bull! The police raid grow-ops on a daily basis down in Vancouver on rumors alone. They encourage the public to come forward with any information or tips that might help them to bust these grow-ops and meth labs. But not here. Here it would seem they would much rather sit in their warm little offices or set up useless, repetitive road blocks instead of stopping an insidious black disease from taking hold in our community. Fortunately, there has been a complete changeover of RCMP members in Anahim Lake this summer and we can only hope that they will have a different view about doing their job than the old crew did. The other bonus is that now community members know that this actually happened and will be far more vigilant about informing the police and putting pressure on them for action on 'rumors' alone.
The best thing of all is that the law in British Columbia has just been changed and now BC Hydro can legally inform the RCMP of unusual power usage.
I wrote the articles that I did back in December last year in the hopes of pulling some worms out of the woodwork. It worked well. What didn't work was that I got conned too.
Within a day of publishing the article I got a call from this 'Shawn' person wanting to know why I was calling him names. Actually, I wasn't referring to him at all, but rather, the lodge owner who obviously had been monitoring this page and passed the information on to him. We had a long talk on the phone about the 'rumors' I had written about and he agreed to meet with me when he next came up to Nimpo Lake. (He didn't. I actually finally tracked him and his family down at the restaurant in February but was satisfied at the time with his sincerity.) In the meanwhile, he gave me a long cock-and-bull story about how much he and his new wife and the kids from a previous wife, loved the Chilcotin. How his new wife was from Vietnam but that no one would treat her well in Vancouver but she liked it up here. He told me that he wanted to start up a 'karate' school for kids from Vancouver and that's why he had the lodge owner build the steel building. With no windows.
This 'Shawn' was convincing enough that I sympathized with him, told him that I would remove the accusatory articles for now, told him the community would be happy to welcome him, his wife and family as long as he wasn't trying to pull a fast one. That we would not tolerate a commercial grow-op in the community and that we would find out if he was trying to build one. Well, he did and he may or may not have gotten the proceeds from it. But it certainly will not happen again. Rather than have the live-and-let-live relaxed attitude that everyone in the Chilcotin has, I think we'll all be a little more vigilant from now on. The only other problem is that now the new owners of the lodge are now wondering what they can use the steel building for. Sock hops, anyone?
Oscar, (named for the Sesame Street character that was always grumpy, and for good reason) from up at the restaurant has generously given me permission to print some of the photos he took the night the Country Inn Motel burned down. He had been sound asleep in his trailer behind the restaurant when the cook finally managed to get him awake and convince him that there really was a fire next door. His pictures show the motel burning, roof collapsing and the beetle killed trees are beginning to torch. That's the sign for the restaurant that you see on the left of many of the pictures. Rolling over the images gives the explanation for each. Thanks for the pics John!
Last week's articles, including the explanatory prelude to this one can be found at October Week One

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