Today was a day exploring the area with our friends. After a wonderful breakfast we walked to Sidney along a path right next to the water. Lots of interesting houses and beach area to see.
We had a nice lunch at Seahorse Cafe in Rentwood Bay, right by the water.
No map today as we didn’t drive with out van.
The morning came really early with the alarm waking us up at 6AM so that we could get to the ferry terminal for our trip the Vancouver Island. No coffee or breakfast! Although we didn’t have any reservations we didn’t have to wait too long before we could get onto the ferry.
The weather was fantastic and provided beautiful colours for photographing the water and the islands we passed on the way.
Our dear friends and former neighbours moved out to North Sannich about 2 years ago so we visited them at the new house. It was a long overdue reunion and it was also great to see them and their two dogs again. We drove to Sidney and walked around the market with fruit, vegetables, clothing, jewelry and entertainment.
Dinner was at Pier Bistro across from the fish market.
After a great sleep we drove through rocky mountain areas that gradually became desert-like. After quite some time we arrived at the top of a hill overlooking a large lake and the town of Osoyoos. It was extremely hot and dry and walking through the town exhausted us somewhat. We visited a small gallery with air-conditioning and had a great conversation with a couple that were exhibiting artists there. Lunch was at Smitty’s and consisted of waffles with local peaches. Yummy!
This area is known for its wines so we stopped at one of the vineyards and picked up two bottles of red wine.
The town of Hedley is a pretty neat place. Hedley is a former gold mining town that mined $47,000,000 in gold between 1904 and 1955 when it closed after the orebody was exhausted. At today’s gold prices, those 2,417,405 oz of gold mined would be worth $4.7 billion dollars!
The town has a variety of interesting sights, including deluxe outhouses from competitions over the years, colourfully painted houses as well as some more historical buildings.
Hwy 3 in this area has a number of steeper hills with some sharp turns. One beer truck didn’t quite make it….
We stayed at the Sunshine Valley RV Resort & Cabins where we were warned that there was cougar in the area. We went for a swim in their outdoor, indoor, and hot tubs. It felt really luxurious which was good since it cost $87 for the night!
We had a deluxe breakfast outside on the picnic table at our campsite today with scrambled eggs, bagels and cream cheese, apples and coffee or tea.
Creston is a vine and fruit growing region in a valley between the mountains. We had passed a number of fruit stands on our way in yesterday and today we bought some cherries, apricots and blueberries at a fruit farm close to our campground.
Next up was Nelson, BC. A friend of Martin’s had suggested we visit there and we found a slightly 1960s hippie culture town. Lots of grey beards with ponytails and pot shops.
Ruth was inspired to check out the flower power dresses outside one of the shops.
A mural in the city showed the outdoor mountain culture.
After having a long lunch at Tandoori Indian Grill in town, we set off in search of an alpaca farm. Alas, this was not to be, as the alpacas seem to have left their farm.
Driving through the mountain passes for hours is pretty strenuous on the vehicle, the drivers, and the people behind us who were stuck with us slowpokes. Our van did a really good job in trailer mode which uses the engine to slow down and thus spares the brakes from burning up on the downhills.
Christina Lake is beautiful and gave us a little bit of rest.
Tonight we are in Boundary Creek Provincial Park which is just off the highway and beside a small creek which is very soothing, unless a truck happens to be driving by.
After a busy morning getting our van cleaned, filled and dumped we did a last walk through the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort with its beautiful scenery.
The pool area was already nicely occupied and reminded us of our swim yesterday.
We headed south again, this time taking a slightly different route so that we could visit the town of Kimberley. We’re glad we did! First up was lunch at The Shed, a BBQ joint with brisket, pulled pork, cornbread and beans. We had a fabulous lunch for around $40.
After some browsing through the shops in town we briefly visited the visitors centre where we learned that the last tour of the day of Kimberley’s Underground Mining Railway was leaving in about 30 minutes. Fortunately for us, it was just around the corner. It was a real highlight of our trip so far and one of the best mine tours we’ve ever done.
The 2 hour tour starts at the station and gradually winds itself up the side of a hill where we got to see quite a number of deer.
Bill, an old miner, gave us so much insight into how mining is done and lots of new terms. Muck is the correct term for the ore that is being removed. We got demonstrations on how some of the equipment was used – boy is it noisy.
After leaving the mining tour we were looking for a place to spend the night when we saw a new wildfire that had just started today so we thought it best to put a bit of distance between us and it.
We’re in Creston, BC, a small town with lots of fruit trees and vineyards. The local Husky gas station also sold propane and had a couple of large bays with pressure washers so we gave the van a well deserved hosing down.
Scottie’s RV Park and Campground was just down the road and it is a great family run cosy place to spend the night.
The morning began with a visit to the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre which tells the story of the massive slide that happened in the early morning hours of April 29th, 1903 and is Canada’s deadliest rock slide, killing more than 90 people. A total of approximately 110 million metric tonnes of rock came off Turtle Mountain and buried the valley below to a depth of up to 45 meters (150 feet).
The mountain is still unstable and another slide will likely happen in the future. It is good that we didn’t know that last night as we soundly slept in a nearby campground. The Alberta Geological Service has a variety of sensors on the mountain and can detect minute changes in the rock movement.
Our next stop was to sample cinnamon buns at a cafe that had been recommended to us by the visitor centre in Lethbridge, but, alas, we were disappointed. They certainly didn’t live up to the ones we’ve enjoyed in the Yukon.
Sparwood is another town along Hwy 3 and it features the largest tandem axle truck in the world – capable of carrying 350 tonnes of stuff. Only one was ever built and here it is. Be the envy of the neighbourhood with a 3300HP, 16 cylinder engine, although you won’t win any races with its top speed of 48km/h.
Our final destination for today was the Fairmont Hot Springs in BC where we relaxed in the pools.
Our first stop for today was at the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site. This site was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list at the 1981 meeting as a site of outstanding universal value forming part of the cultural heritage of mankind. An interpretive centre teaches about the history of the area.
Prehistorical Plains Indians herded buffalo over cliffs to their deaths and then butchered the animals for meat to survive the winter months and used the hides and bones for clothing and tools. Over a period of almost 6000 years, at least 4 different Indian cultures used this site.
After leaving the buffalo behind us, we traveled on a gravel highway until we met up with Hwy 3. Our next stop was the Lundbreck Falls, a very picturesque place to have lunch followed by a hike to see the twin falls.
The second cultural place of interest was the Bellevue Underground Mine, a former coal mine. We donned miner hard hats with lights and walked 1000ft into the pitch black mine to learn how coal was extracted during its operation between 1903-1961. According to our guide, some children as young as 12 worked in the mines, a dangerous and difficult environment to be in. Miners worked 8-12 hours a day for little pay.
The coal wagons, each weighing 3-6 tonnes, were pulled out of the mine an average of 6 at a time by Clydesdale horses.
The guide, a university history student, was excellent, informative and engaging.
After some quick grocery shopping at Walmart we stopped at the Lethbridge information centre to get some suggestions for what to do in the area. Wow, did we find a lot of possibilities. So many, that we didn’t manage to make it out of Lethbridge.
Our first adventure was at the Alberta Birds of Prey Nature Centre in nearby Coaldale. Here orphaned and/or injured birds find a forever home if they can’t be released back into the wild.
Admission was $14 for adults and $12 for seniors (60+) and a bag of duck food was $2. We invested Ruth’s senior rate discount in a bag of duck food. The first birds we encountered after entering were ducks and Canada geese – not exactly birds of prey unless small children with food are involved.
Next, we saw the cutest little (and bigger) owls and were even allowed to hold them.
We learned that owls with yellow eyes are active during the day and those with black eyes are nocturnal.
The next area housed eagles and hawks, but those required professional handling as eagles can have a wingspan of up to 2.4 meters.
At 1:30PM there was a bald eagle flying exhibition featuring “Grace”. Grace weighs 7.8 lbs and definitely had attitude. Some chicken bits at both ends of her track kept her focused and flying back and forth. She also eyed some donuts that one of the visitors was eating but the trainer kept her from enjoying those.
The staff was super friendly and knowledgable and answered all questions in detail.
After watching the birds being fed, we too were hungry and headed to a food truck event at Henderson park in town where we sampled a taco with brisket, and another with pork belly. Both were excellent! Next up was the brisket on a bun truck but their fare wasn’t as good as the tacos. To finish off, we had to make sure that the ice cream truck offered tasty treats. We were not disappointed.
Now stuffed, we had to do some exercise and walked around this lovely park which features the Nikki Yuki Japanese Garden, a huge pool and a lake.
Our last visit for today was to the Lethbridge Viaduct, also known as the High Level Bridge which was constructed between 1907 and 1909 at a cost of over $1.3 million. It is over 1.6 km long and has a height of 96 meters above the river bed. It is the largest of its type in the world!
The beautiful structure of the bridge lends itself to abstract photography.
Ok, we didn’t make it very far today, so we’re back at the Walmart for the night.
This morning we visited the art gallery in Assiniboine where we were surprised at the wonderful collection of diverse topics and artists we found, including quite a number of Group of Seven pieces.
Next stop was the Thrift Store where Ruth hunted for necklaces to recycle the beads from. $2 yielded a lovely pink stone necklace. The last stop before leaving town was the village bakery where we purchased items for lunch.
Most of the rest of the area on our route was pretty sparsely populated and didn’t look like it was great farm land, so we spent the rest of the day driving with the goal of reaching Alberta.
There was a lot of smoke from the wildfires in the air today so it looked very misty. As we drove, the clouds darkened and soon we were in a torrential downpour for a few kilometres. The outside temperature rapidly dropped from 26C to 16C. We were on the verge of pulling over to the side of the road when the rain abruptly ended and the temperature returned to 26C.
We had two possibilities in mind for overnighting – the first a municipal campground in Bow Island. We didn’t find any water surrounding the town, but there was a big long list of offences and their fines posted at the entrance to the campground.
We decided to pass this campground and continued to Walmart in Lethbridge. Right next door was a Costco and we did some quick shopping including a BBQ chicken and some blueberries and cherries for dinner.
Martin’s eyes lit up when he found a true BBQ restaurant in Ogema. Bud’s BBQ offers brisket and pulled pork along with related sides such as cornbread and beans. We had to try it and weren’t disappointed.
The brisket was excellent but we both felt Martin’s pulled pork was more flavourful. The beans and cornbread were great, as were the Saskatoon berry and strawberry rhubarb pies. The homemade iced tea quenched the thirst. Altogether we left the restaurant with a big smile.
We wandered around this quiet small town a bit and couldn’t resist going to a big second hand store where Ruth’s eyes lit up when she saw semi-precious bead necklaces for $1/each. A lot cheaper than Michaels so she picked up a handful for her next beading adventures.
Our next stop was the Assiniboine & District Museum which features historic furniture and artifacts as well as a large number of old cars and African Safari animal trophies mounted on the walls.
One of the artifacts was a school room with a teacher in a white blouse and black skirt.
Attached to the wall was a teaching contract from 1923 which showed how strictly teacher’s lives were regulated.
Teachers Contract, Term 1923
This agreement between Miss ______, teacher, and the Board of Education of the School, whereby Miss ______ agrees to teach in the School for a period of eight months beginning September 1, 1923. The Board of Education agrees pay Miss ______ the sum of $75 per month. Miss ______ agrees:
- Not to get married. This contract becomes null and void immediately if the teacher marries.
- Not to keep company with men.
- To be home between the hours of 8pm and 6am unless she is in attendance at a school related function.
- Not to loiter downtown in ice cream parlors.
- Not to leave town at any time without the permission of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
- Not to smoke cigarettes. This contract becomes null and void immediately if the teacher is found smoking.
- Not to drink beer, whiskey or wine. This contract becomes null and void immediately if the teacher is found drinking beer, whisky and/or wine.
- Not to ride in a carriage/automobile with any man except her brother or father.
- Not to wear bright colours.
- To wear at least two petticoats,
- Not to dye her hair or wear makeup of any kind.
- Not to wear a dress more than two inches above the heel.
- To keep the schoolhouse clean; to sweep the classroom floors at least once daily, to scrub the floor once weekly with hot water and soap; to clean the blackboards at least once daily.
- The fire shall be started at 7am in order to warm up the room for 8am when the children arrive; to carry out the ashes at least once daily.
Other scenes depicted a barber shop and pharmacy among others. The barber shop was a place to hang out and catch up on the latest gossip with perhaps some gambling in the back room.
A large part of the museum is devoted to automobiles including an amphibious car with a Mercedes motor and an early camper which we thought about upgrading to. It might make our trip a bit slower though.
The Assiniboine campground is in the town and we snagged a campsite for $16 for the night.