Into the Heart of the Rockies

Mooseland, Borealia or the Great White North. Canada by any other name. That mighty country currently defying the US of A and which may be starting to punch near its weight again. We weren’t particularly interested in its politics though when we flew from Denver, Colorado via Vancouver to the small hamlet of Fernie, deep within the Rockie Mountains. An hour or so stopover in Vancouver Airport proved once again why we love this airport. It is very easy to navigate, its border staff are very chilled, it has great amenities and, most importantly, is never particularly crowded. But why, you ask, are we visiting Fernie, a small ski town of 5,000 hardy souls in the Elk Valley, south eastern British Columbia. Simply because my niece moved there a year ago and it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. This was the final leg of our trip after L.A. and Boulder, Co. More of Fernie later.

After a wonderful week in Los Angeles and a somewhat shaky start to our flight from there to Denver (see Exploring Hollywood) we were back in our second home. Three grandchildren all growing up quickly always bring us back here. Boulder didn’t seem to have changed much since our last near annual visit but in Trump’s America who can tell. Certainly the Rocky foothills and the Pearl Street Mall were as enticing as they have always been and we enjoyed the walking and the biking and the rattlesnake and black bear dodging! Yes, while we were there a bear was spotted walking quietly around the Wonderland Lake path where we and many others walk their dogs or run off last night’s excesses. The next day’s news reported a mountain lion/dog encounter. Not really an encounter more a dognapping. As a couple walked their small dog through the local supermarket carpark that night a mountain lion jumped out of a tree, grabbed the dog and took off for supper. The supermarket is about half a kilometre from our daughter’s house. We have seen bears and cubs and a mountain lion up a tree in the backyard before but have never heard of such a direct encounter. All quite exciting. Not for the dog or its owners of course.

Boulder continues to thrive and tourism is a big part of that. Pearl Street was very busy and all the stores we like were still going strong. It was nearing the end of the school summer break so there were plenty of families hiking in the hills and enjoying the diverse food culture. Boulder is a predominately upper middle class city that has the University of Colorado, its public research industry and the tech hubs that feed off it at its centre – logo “Curiosity Makes us Boulder.” We recently saw the passing of Robert Redford who was a CU alumni along with astronauts Scott Carpenter and Jack Swigert (Apollo 13) and musicians Glenn Miller and Trey Parker. There are many others of course. We spent hours walking around the campus which is sprawling and built in what is known as Tuscan Vernacular or Colorado style. Just looked Spanish to me. Nevertheless the point is that the red tiled roofs and sandstone buildings blend with the environment and materials of Boulder. The city is certainly not a reflection of US society but the surrounding townships are and as such the food scene in Boulder is eclectic. Very good and authentic Mexican restaurants are common.

After a wonderful week in Boulder we departed Denver Airport and flew, via Vancouver to Cranbrook Airport. (Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport (IATA: YXC) is an airport some 9kms from Cranbrook, British Columbia, in the Canadian Rockies. More importantly it is an international airport nearest to Fernie (one hour by car) where we were headed. The town of Fernie didn’t disappoint. Surrounded by part of the imposing Rockie Mountains and with the beautiful Elk River flowing along its southern edge Fernie is the typical ski town/resort. One long main street surrounded by permanent and holiday housing built in the timber style you would expect in an area founded on the forestry and mining industries. It is in the East Kootenay region named after the Kootenay River. In turn named for the Native Canadian Kootenai people who live in the region. The area now supports a large tourism industry based on skiing, hiking and mountain biking and includes the well known ski resorts of Red Mountain and Revelstoke. Fernie itself lies some 50 miles by car to the US border into Montana. Mount Fernie dominates the town and contains Fernie Alpine Resort, famous for its powder snow and five alpine bowls. The Elk River provides fly fishing for cutthroat trout, kayaking and white water rafting. Along with the outdoor lifestyle the town has good internet access and a community feel. And that is why Brooke our niece is there.

We were lucky to get a house sitting gig with a lovely Portuguese Waterdog named Lexi to babysit and walk along the Elk River. A ten minute walk to Second Avenue saw us sitting in Mugshots with an espresso and a flat white each morning admiring the mountains and enjoying the quiet tone of the street. But it was also time to explore the park and the most famous resort town in Canada. Banff is in fact in Alberta but only a four hour drive from Fernie through the beautiful Kootenay and Banff National Parks. Along Highway 93 north we passed through Cranbrook, Kimberley, and Skookumchuck before a lunch stop at “Smokehouse 93” in Invermere for the best smoked brisket sandwich ever. Then through the mountain pass into Banff itself. Before the town we took a left turn towards Lake Louise. We had been told we must go there. Well easier said than done. We hadn’t factored in that this was summer holidays and every tourist in south east Canada had decided to go to Lake Louise that very afternoon. The entrance off the motorway had large carpark full signs several kilometres before we arrived at the sideroad leading down to the lake. We were directed away to the skifield resort area about two kms from the lake entrance where we parked at the very end of an enormous carpark already overfull. We trecked the few hundred metres to the resort and tourist bus area where we were told we could buy a ticket for C$50 each return to go to the lake township. Oh and the next available seat was in an hour and a half. We drove on to Banff. I am sure Lake Louise is very lovely.

Things weren’t much better in Banff. It took a half hour to navigate the township traffic to our hotel. A quick change and we joined the seething mass of tourists along the main street. Banff is a pretty town with the Bow River running through it just off the main street. The mountains that surround it are breathtaking when viewed from the middle of the town. Unfortunately on this day it was almost impossible to stop and admire the views without standing in the middle of the road such was the hustle on the footpaths as tourists in their hundreds pushed their way along the streets. We walked the town then quickly returned to the quiet of our hotel district, ate and retired. The next morning though was a revelation. We hit the near empty streets early on a lovely summer’s day and strolled through the cafe, restaurant and shopping district before walking along the river to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel a few hundred metres out of town. This “Castle in the Rockies” is a sight to be seen. Sitting atop a small rise with Sulphur Mountain at its rear (heated thermal water is piped to the hotel hence the name) the chateau like building with its turrets and balconies overlooks the river and flowing forested valley with a glimpse of the resort’s golf course to one side. The inside of the hotel is luxury, the outside all lovely views and brickwork. The hotel sits in the Banff National Park and was built in 1888 as the flagship of the Canada Pacific Railway. Through several iterations over the years it is now the magnificient building it is today and part of the Fairmont Hotel Group, the hotel and resort division of Canadian Railways. If you are ever near Banff please spend time in the Banff Springs Hotel. You won’t regret it.

At the prices we paid for an ordinary hotel room in Banff we weren’t hanging around. Our route back to Fernie took us south-east through Alberta. We had a short stop in Canmore, another ski town 30 minutes south of Banff. Lovely and worth a visit. We skirted the city of Calgary (“not worth stopping there unless the Stampede is on” we were told) and drove on through Alberta’s countryside. If someone tells you Alberta is “cattle country” believe them. Vast holdings run east of the Rockies interspersed with cropping – mainly wheat and canola by the look of it. Alberta is in the top three agricultural exporting regions in Canada. The motorway is easy to drive and is broken up by small and pleasant farm service towns with the usual facilities. As we turned west towards Fernie we stopped at the museum on the site of what is known as Frank’s Slide to gape at the side of a mountain mostly now lying as large rocks and rubble on the opposite side of the valley. In 1903 100 million tons of limestone rock broke off and buried the coalmine and the town of Frank causing up to 90 deaths. The new highway has been blasted through the rock debris but the results of the catastrophe are still visible 120 years later. The power of nature never fails to inspire.

It was back to Fernie for a final dinner with our fantastic host and a flight again via Vancouver to Los Angeles and home. We had one last day in L.A. and Santa Monica. As a final exercise in US/N.Z. relations we spoke to a number of locals including hotel staff. Suffice it to say no one (and I mean no one) was talking about the current state of being in the U.S.A. It became obvious that everyone we spoke to was not going to take a position on anything – certainly not to a stranger in public. The opposite of what we had experienced in previous visits where everyone had a view on everything. Very pleasant conversations with nothing of interest to a student of world politics!