If you have never explored Kalamalka Park, you should. 

Nestled along the Coldstream Valley bordering the District of Coldstream, this fine example of North Okanagan grassland is dotted with ponderosa pine and groves of Douglas fir. The spring wildflower show is truly spectacular. The largely undeveloped park has an all-season appeal to those interested in its natural setting. 

A variety of animals, birds and reptiles and plant life reside in a mosaic of grassland communities. To date, 432 varieties of vascular plants have been identified in the park, rare for such a small area. This peaceful park is ideal for the study and appreciation of natural history, all year-round.

This picture of an old trapper's cabin in Kal Park is a wonderful place to reflect in silence. You do not need to go miles away from home to find a nice retreat from your busy life. 

In the early 1990s, James Redfield’s self-published spiritual adventure, The Celestine Prophecy, shocked the book world by selling millions of copies through word- of-mouth marketing.  

In 2005, Paul Young took The Shack—a spiritual parable about the tragic loss of a family’s young daughter—to Office Depot to make copies for Christmas presents. He made 15, passed them out to family and friends, and thought little more about it. Today it has sold over 25 million copies and has a film adaptation landing that stars Octavia Spencer and Sam Worthington.

“I’m an accidental writer,” Young says. “I’ve always written, but the creative stuff has been for gifts. I have no formal writing education. It never crossed my mind to be published.”

That is, until Young began receiving e-mails from people he didn’t know, telling him they loved his book. His friends had given their copies to their friends, spreading the story in an ever-widening circle.

“The response was remarkable in terms of the impact the manuscript was having in people’s lives,” Young says.

The Emily Dahl Foundation had Paul Young speak in Vernon in June of 2021 to a sold-out crowd. 

The Shack, Young says, is a metaphor for the place behind a religious façade “where you hide all your secrets—a house of shame.” He adds that he wrote the fictional account to try to explain his relationship with God to his kids.

Introspection and inquiry into your own Shack, your true being, is important work. 

The Emily Dahl Foundation 
August 2023