Single-handedly solving nothing
On our first visit to Slocan, we discovered a creamy secret. Mountain Valley Station, the unassuming local gas station, bottle depot, courier depot, U-Haul depot, and convenience store serves ice cream. And not just any ice cream. They serve the biggest ice cream cones I’ve ever seen in my life. Seriously. They even warned us … Read more
Driving through the Slocan Valley, it’s hard to comprehend how big the 19th century silver/lead boom was in these parts. This is even more true when strolling around the ghost town of Sandon. And yet Sandon was once the terminus of not one, but two railroads built to remove ore from the nearby mountains. Those … Read more
The Kaslo and Slocan Railway, also known as the K&S Railway, hauled ore, freight, and passengers in various configurations from 1895 to 1914. The 45.4km line connected the lake port village of Kaslo with the silver boomtown of Sandon. Those glory days are long gone, of course. Kaslo no longer operates as an industrial port, … Read more
Silver boom towns just don’t get the love that gold boom towns do. Compare Sandon, B.C. with Barkerville, B.C. as exhibit A for my argument. Both are 19th century boomtowns that became ghost towns. Both are linear, creek-side towns in the foothills of nearby mountain ranges. Only one, however, has been rebuilt and operates as … Read more
Canadian history has a knack for occurring in the middle of nowhere. This is particularly true of New World colonial history which is, to be fair, not all that surprising. In some cases, however, like the Fort Walsh National Historic Site, that history remains in the middle of nowhere. Okay, that’s a little hyperbolic and … Read more