"When sometime a true sea serpent, complete and undecayed, is found or caught, a shout of triumph will go through the world. 'There you see,' men will say, 'I knew they were there all the time. I just had the feeling that they were there.' Men really need sea-monstes in their personal oceans... An ocean without its unnamed monsters would be like a completely dreamless sleep."

John Steinbeck
The Log From the Sea of Cortez
(discovered on p.. 89 of Cadborosaurus

With Steinbeck I start you off today, and I hope you have had dream-filled sleep. I seem to be having powerful dreams since I arrived in Kelowna, but nothing too specific. The waters still have not parted enough for me to spot any Ogopogo, but I have managed some photography of its likeness on the sides of Kelowna businesses, from tobacco shops to statues to taxis. Tomorrow I head south to Penticton, where many Ogopogo "memorobilia" is made, and I also hope to make a connection with Mr. Louie, who's apparently an authoritative First Nations voice on the legend of Ogopogo.

So that's the itinerary. I must admit, though, that it's been a heavy last few days. Some monsters of the past continue to dwell on me, and I cannot see as far ahead as I'm used to, even as the smokey haze slowly recedes from the BC skyline. Managing my day has proven problematic here, much because of my short term stay here. If I were staying longer I would invest in a bike or an apartment, but as it is I am living a little too unplanned.

Although several of my contacts haven't worked out, I did finally today get to speak with Arlene Gaal, the quintessential ambassador of Ogopogo in the Kelowna area. It was good to put a personable face behind the book. She is definitely a sharp lady, and has a strong journalistic sense of credibility, having worked at the the local newspaper, the Daily Courier, for several years.

I asked how she thought Ogopogo had affected Kelowna, and she believes that, "Any mystery is good for the community. When it comes to Ogopogo there are very few negatives to think of." Indeed, only yesterday I had walked by the city offices, and abreast the stone building is a coat of arms, where Ogopogo can be seen, above the slogan "Fruitful in Unity". Certainly Ogopogo provides a mystery that brings solidarity to the city. Arlene mentions that this is evident in how actively helpful people are whenever a search expedition comes to the area (which have come from as far away as Japan and Germany). The community is genuinely interested in the mystery.

That leads me to the most interesting subject of our conversation. Arlene mentioned that the local First Nations' perspective generally divides into two camps: those that believe Ogopogo is a real creature with hundreds of instances in their oral histories, or the other side, which believes any instance of Ogopogo in these histories is merely a "manifest", or a parable. Arlene believes this latter camp publically state this stance so as not to incite a massive and intrusive "hunt" for Ogopogo. She believes that, no matter what tribe speaks on the matter, they know the answer to Ogopogo's existence, and they would prefer not to see an agressive scientific campaign to confirm what they already know. This subject seems to be an interesting mixture of epistomology and the contemporary role of Native American legends. I hope to explore it more in the next few days.

Off to Penticton with me.