2019 JULY 6 —
We left Alberta and were headed into British Columbia. We made a stop at Fernie, BC because it is a pretty little town and also because Ed wanted to buy some espresso coffee beans he is fond of from a local shop. I decided to drive because, typically, when we go through Crowsnest Pass Ed is driving. There is one particular stretch of road that is gorgeous, but the road twists and turns so that it is nearly impossible for the driver to take in and appreciate the beauty. I am usually making comments like “Oh, look at that!” and poor Ed is stuck focused on the driving. This time, I told him to enjoy the scenery.
When we go to see Aunt Margie in Montana we normally take this route. Fernie is a good half way point to stop and spend the night on the 14 hour drive. It would be only 10 hours if we never stopped to eat or go to the bathroom; but that ain’t happening! We typically stay at Fernie Slopeside Lodge. It is a lovely ski lodge but in the summer the rooms are super cheap. But we weren’t spending the night this time. We just wanted to see a bit more of the town. We are typically in a hurry to get to Montana and have never really explored it.
A 19th century prospector, William Fernie founded the Crowsnest Pass Coal Company in 1897. The Crowsnest Pass had just opened up and coal was discovered throughout this region. His mines were well away from the town site, which served as an administrative and commercial hub. The single-industry town went through several boom-and-bust years in response to the global price of coal. The mines at Coal Creek shut down in the 1960s, leaving the Asian demand to the large open-pit mines further up river.
What had always intrigued me, on previous visits, was the lovely old brick and stone buildings. They looked almost Victorian, and slightly out of place in this mountain town. It turns out that most of the downtown core was leveled after a huge fire ripped through in 1904. The town rebuilt but with an ordinance that all buildings had to be built from fire proof material, like brick and stone.
However, four years later, in 1908, a forest fire burnt its way to the lumberyard on the edge of town. Ferocious winds spread the inferno throughout the town with such speed and intensity the people barely managed to escape. It was later said that a man on a galloping horse could not have escaped. There were two engines at the train depot and the workers quickly hooked up 30 boxcars. About 1500 people crammed into them as it took them out of town and hopefully to safety. The brick and stone buildings stood no chance against the violence of this fire storm. The water tank and coal cars left at the train depot melted from the intense heat. Miraculously, only 10 people died. One family took refuge in a well where they were later found – boiled. The town was obliterated in 90 minutes. They rebuilt with stone and brick – again.
Today, the town is mostly a tourist town with hiking and skiing shops on every corner. There was a chart that told the history of many of the buildings. One of the more interesting buildings in town is the Fernie Courthouse, built in 1909. With it sitting in the middle of a large grassy area there is little chance of a fire jumping onto it from a nearby building. And if it does, the slate roof should prevent it catching fire.
We all had lunch at The Lunch Box, then Ed and I wandered along the main street, pausing in local shops and taking pictures of the town and of the huge mountains looming in the background. One interesting thing I saw was a reusable bag stand in one of the stores. It was basically a wooden rack where a customer could take or leave a reusable bag thereby eliminating the need for one-use plastic bags. How clever! Allan’s feet were sore from his new shoes so he and Bella sat at an outdoor cafe and waited for us.
We still had a 2+ hour drive to Radium Hot Springs, so having seen as much of Fernie as we could this time, we headed out. We drove past Fort Steele, but decided we did not have time to explore it properly. It is a large Fort and on a previous visit Ed and I had spent the entire day there.
We stopped at a roadside ice cream shop for a bathroom break and (why not) an ice cream.
We got to Radium and made our way to the hot springs. It looked like it was going to rain again, and although that doesn’t matter when you are already wet in a swimming pool, the threat of lightening could shut the whole thing down. We wanted to get there so Bella could experience it. She was very excited.
The road leading from the town to the hot springs goes through Sinclair Canyon. The road literally splits the mountain and you drive through a huge crack with the rocky face towering above on either side. It bends through the rock so that you cannot see anything more than another rock face immediately in front of you. It is awesome!
The parking lot to the hot springs is on the opposite side of the road. There is a tunnel that goes under the highway and brings you to the hot springs. The tunnel is also used by wildlife to cross the highway, so always peek around the corner first, lest you come face to face with a moose.
Radium Hot Springs got its name after an analysis of the water showed that it had small traces of the radioactive element radon, which is a decay product of radium. The radiation dosage is inconsequential. The water is odourless and clear – unlike other hot springs. The water temperature varies from 29 C to 44 C, (84-111 F) depending on which end of the pool you are in and how close to the source you are. The main part of the pool is around 39 C (102 F). Even in the summer the steam rises to create a mysterious ambiance.
The pools are surrounded by spectacular mountains.
We sat like walruses around the edge of the pool and simply enjoyed the soak and the view.
We began to hear thunder in the distance and noticed the lifeguards were suddenly on alert. I overheard one asking another how long before they called for everyone to exit the pool. We had already been soaking about 45 minutes and were getting wrinkly, so we decided to leave before the huge exodus to the change rooms.
The long drive and hot soak had us all ready for an early night. We had another half hour to drive, through torrential rain, to Spillimacheen where we had a cabin reserved for the night.
It was the cutest little log cabin, but had all the amenities of home. It even had a Jacuzzi tub. There was a fully equipped kitchen, small dining table, couch, bedroom and bathroom on the main level. Up in the loft was another bedroom that had to be accessed by a ladder from the kitchen.
It was quaint and charming. Bella loved it! She and Allan took the loft bedroom. We slept like babies that night. It was so quiet, all we heard was a dog barking for a few minutes and an early morning train. We made coffee and headed to Golden, BC for breakfast. From Golden we headed back toward Alberta.
As we were driving we spotted two mountain goats beside the road. As luck would have it, there was a pull out just a short distance past the goats. We pulled over. Bella and I walked back toward the mountain goats and I took her picture with the goats in the background. The were quite a ways off, but as I cautioned Bella, they are still wild animals – with horns. She was nonetheless delighted to have the blurry picture.
We made a pit stop at Field, BC where they had a very nice information centre. We took a few pictures of the scenery at Field then made our way to Lake Louise in Alberta.
An Old Lady with a Backpack 
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