| A little further down the highway is Spirit Lake, a small park with a hiking trail. After the somewhat overwhelming indoor experience of the Kaay Centre (which to my surprise included a first-rate cafe/restaurant featuring nouvelle cuisine and local ingredients), we were glad to get outdoors for a while. The entrance to the park is decorated with a formal archway featuring Wasco, a legendary sea-wolf-dog creature. Wasco has particular local significance because he's said to show up (like the Loch Ness Monster) in Spirit Lake just up the trail from here; legend has it that he has a secret tunnel enabling him to travel from the sea to the lake and back! Wasco is also the name of a local dog, a notoriously huge and overly friendly golden retriever; alas, we never saw the sea-creature or his canine namesake on our visit. |
