Travel Northwest BC

There Was An Old Man Who Lived In A Shoe

More of a boot, really. And I'm not sure how old he is. Maybe it's a she.

I know the picture isn't the best, but you can sort of see a house that is built like a shoe. Click on it for a bigger image. A photo from the side angle would have been better, but it also would have been trespassing. There was a dog barking away, and this house is in the boonies and I figure everyone out this way owns a rifle or 10. So I got as close as I could with my 12X optical zoom camera.

There appears to be two main parts to this house. The narrow two story structure represents the ankle and heel part of a shoe. It is connected to a small room in front of it, which represents the toe. The roof appears to be purposely rounded to look like a shoe, which aside from the satellite dish works well. Well, it works well to give the appearance of the toe. I'm not so sure how well it works holding up all the Smithers snow come winter time, but the home has been around for at least 20 years, I've been told. The two structures are connected with a narrow hall way. Above the hallway and connecting to the upper floor is some shingled structure that gives the house/shoe its "tongue." The finishing touch is the decorative lace holes and laces.

A friend from Smithers told me of this mythical house that looks like a shoe. He hadn't seen it in years, and didn't even know if it was still around. I love visiting and camping in Smithers, so naturally, I had to find out on my next stop in the city.

It took me all summer to get there, but I finally did. I followed his instructions closely. About 20km west of Smithers is a turnoff called Kitsequelcha Loop. It is easily identifiable by the highway side home/business Elaine's, specializing in home decor. They have a store downtown too, in another beautiful old home.

Follow the loop and you'll quickly find the dirt Kitsequelcha Lake road. Careful, there is an unmonitored railway crossing. I caught a surprise up close and personal, and very fast, look at the Via Rail passenger train when I turned down the dirt road. I'd hate to see anyone take a ride on the Reading, if you know what I mean.

The dirt road meanders through the rolling hills and farmland for quite some distance, It is beautiful territory, especially if you're used to the coastal mountain ranges where I'm from. It reminded me of Alberta quite a bit, except for the lack of canola and oil derricks, the abundance of hills and turns in the road, the mountain ranges in the skyline....okay so it maybe it doesn't remind me of Alberta after all.

There is supposedly a garden nursery out this way, the only landmark I was given. The nursery is definitely before the house that looks like a shoe, but I somehow never saw it. Perhaps they removed all signage as I went in September. Or perhaps I was daydreaming too much while driving. It was a beautiful late summer's day. Plus I was distracted by that awful Rex Murphy CBC radio call-in show. The stuttering and sarcastic intellect and his love for that distasteful profession known as politics annoys me almost to a point of pleasure. I can only take so much of him though.

Anyways, I continued to drive and admire the scenery, not expecting any livable shoes until after I spotted the nursery. Then, on the left hand side in a well treed lot, I barely spotted the house that looks like a shoe as I roared by. I was more preoccupied with the upcoming cattleguard on the road, and almost missed the house that looks like a shoe!

I stopped, got out, snapped the above photo and avoided the dog and the bugs. I would have loved to have knocked on the door and asked the guy "Why?" I guess I'm too bashful to have done such a thing, but I also know what his answer would have been. "Why not?"

Labels: House that looks like a shoe, Smithers