We’re in Nelson. How we got here is our usual adventure – starting early in the morning, driving through a sun-splashed couple of hours and arriving in the city with the intention to unhook the hybrid from the SIGmobile in order to navigate Nelson’s hilly streets. Good plan. However, plan B kicked in when we found ourselves in the middle of downtown Nelson without having found a pull-out to unhook. No matter – just drive to the municipal campgound. That, of course, meant finding the campground.

We eventually did, after navigating a couple of back alleys and doing some interesting back-ups and turn-arounds. The aforementioned campground was less than ideal – and that’s being generous. Happily, there was no room and we headed across the bridge to the Kootenay Creek Provincial Park and Campground. And here we are in a sunny spot where the solar panels are working overtime.

After settling in, we investigated downtown. Nelson is every bit as charming and delightful as I remembered. Certainly one of the prettiest towns in the province.

We also drove through little towns on the way here that are among the nicest we’ve seen – communities we could live in. We talked a lot this morning about living here, buying property etc. etc. It wasn’t a particularly easy conversation but a good one.

As I said to Simon afterwards, I love him even more. Sometimes it takes courage to speak honestly. But the result, in my experience, is always good.

I think we have a plan and I think that together, we are going to make a good decision. Tomorrow we are going to explore some communities and have a look around.

We also bought a great hiking book today for the Kootenays. There’s a lot here – we just have to be able to access it. I think, with the help of this guide, we may just be able to.