The boy comes for a visit on Wednesday, he's on a short break from planting. Dinner, steak and potatoes, the steak a ribeye, expensive, big, and I'm not particularly a fan. I prefer tenderloin. More discreet portioning sizes. The boy (Man)(Son) is doing work where quantity matters, so I have to accommodate.
Thursday, for lack of other plans and pandering to his interests we head in a roundabout way to Rossland. Thrift shops in Salmo, Fruitvale, Trail on the way. Nothing found.
In Rossland we stop at the Ferraro's for their much hyped sandwich. Beef dip. Cut into 4, I only need a quarter. And he's impressed. I offer another but - well, he's considering it...
There's a play - matinee - "Gold Rush Fever", a burlesque/vaudeville style performance at the old Miner's Hall, we're tempted to go, but he's just back from the Edinburgh fringe and considering the 90 minute run time and probably empty theatre (making an early escape impossible without being rude) we give it a pass and check out the Museum instead. I've never been.
The show - I didn't see, but I've seen enough. Maybe it was great, but it was a calculated gamble, and on a more leisurely day or with visitors not so savvy I might have whittled away the day but the boy's a little too bright for this. And don't throw up a small community burlesque against the Edinburgh Fringe. Unless it's Nelson.
These museums, all of them the same. The mining history, artifacts, equipment, the people that did what, etc, etc. "Nancy Greene" - whom he knew from Sun Peaks (and the legend is no longer the reality), well, it's again the dull repetition of things I've seen a thousand times before only because of my interest in the local geology it's a bit of a "MUST DO". He's kind in that he humours me in this.
They have a hall with mineral specimens, more just rocks, and mostly from places all around the world. Which does me no good whatsoever, I'm looking for local minerals, gems, gold ores. The rest are irrelevant. There's a beautiful quartz spray or cluster, from Riondel, the mine there has long been closed and while I've combed the tailings - found some points, but nothing like this, and it inspires me to visit again. The entrances have all been sealed, but there has to be a way underground some place...
And then I find the cabinet with the local specimens. One cabinet, small. Visible gold in Granite and Quartz, enough visible gold to realize that I need to metal detect the area, these pieces would sound, and a pound of this would yield an ounce.
Then there's the ore, a coppery-gold-shining-chalcopyrite blend that contains both gold and copper, looks spectacular but not the bonanza I need. I'd still take it.
Then towards home, Nelson, and just out of Rossland he's realizing the folly of leaving that second sandwich at Ferraro's only I've planned an Elk Bolognese for dinner still another one of their sandwiches would not go amiss...
We rediscover Peter Caine, who has the most amusing videos about his Bigfoot experiences, listen to him like an audio podcast while eating dinner, he'd fallen off my radar for a bit then began showing up on Facebook. The man is Legend.
Then to the Royal (Pub, Nelson, BC) where we have a couple of drinks before I abandon him. Thursday night, Line Dancing, sure, it's Country and Western but he should check it out. Without his Pa.
Which he does and I next see him Friday late morning for coffee before heading back to Fernie. And he has no words, still shaking his head at the night before, he showed up, took part, still incredulous, this town, it's like shooting fish in a barrel. True.
And he's back to Fernie and that night I get the call, I've misread the schedule and end up being an hour late for work. Which brings us into ordinary time...