Clarion Resort Riverside Mountain Village Fernie

... I have to say I feel a little aggrieved that my giant creation was not given first prize, especially as I felt Kristina’s winning effort (a Spanish fencing snowman called Hernandez) was pretty lame!

After some hot chocolate & lattes to warm ourselves up we had a brief stroll around town, Fernie is a nice enough place but it feels like it needs the hustle and bustle of the ski season crowds for it to really come to life, sadly we ...

We are currently at Fernie, staying with a friends, we have left the Rv in Cochrane and are here with one of Jos cousins, her aunt and and assortment of cousins children. The golfing is great in this little town and fishing the Elk river is great, we caught lots of ...

... irrigation boxes, digging drains, building steps, repairing stuff, chasing cattle up the mountain and driving the TRACTOR...Oh Are..
On one of my free days i climbed the mountain directly behind the farm house which was called Mt Iron, it was awesome it took 3 hours to get up and 3 and a half to come down, there was no path or route you had to sort of scramble your way up and down but when you got to the top ...

Crossed the Rockies, left Jasper National Park behind as we travel through the Kootenay region, past Fort Steele and stop at Cranbrook. Hope the truck is ready as promised tomorrow, we will drive to Kalispell once more and re-visit Eureka MT on the way. What gorgeous weather we have been granted!

Am Morgen haben wir einen Abstecher nach Nelson gemacht. Es hiess in unserem Reiseführer, dass dies ein lohnenswerter Stopp sei, da zahlreiche Gebäude vom Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts noch in bestem Zustand sind.

Unsere Überfahrt von Balfur nach Kootenay Bay erfolgte mit der längsten Gratisfähre (35 Min.) in Nordamerika.

Über Creston, dort ist die Kokanee Brauerei zu Hause, sind wir in Fort Steele angekommen.

... a Mountie who was based here to resolve issues between the local aboriginal tribe and settlers back in the 19th Century.  It is beside the river that the miners had to cross during the gold rush time and started to build on this geograhic position.  However it was initially favoured as a stopping point for the railway network but this did not come off and the residents dwindled away and  the Fort had become a ghost town.  interesting enough my parents visited Fort Steele ...

... under and had lunch while watching the hundreds of motorbikes pass. I went over to the post office and posted the gps back to the UK. From there we headed out for another 15 miles to Ghost Lake. Part of the bow river, dammed for Calgary power I guess. We found a perfect campsite down a dead end farm road, short cut lawn, and by the lake. Swim, cook, hang out, music and run through me gear. It was very apparent I had too much weight for this trip. As ...

... then my bottle was empty. I felt so terribly, terribly thirsty. Laying down my bicycle, I flagged down passing traffic, a bottle in my hand. Mercifully, a pick-up truck pulled over and, as chance would have it, the driver turned out to be a hardcore cyclist with a ten-litre water bottle on the back of his pick-up. I quickly gulped down a couple of litres - then refilled my bottles. Meanwhile Bob told me about his recent solo-trip to the Canadian Arctic. He swore by 'dried ...

... but not as the fastest craft thank goodness!!! Christian's mum came for a visit and we choose a more sedate form of travel the good old snow shoes - also a very pleasant way of getting around. Ange and Christian went faster today at the departmental Nastar races - Ange dressed as Elmo. We are looking forward to catching up with everyone when we get home - get prepared for one very very very long photo display.....

... in the onsite staff accommodation and using every free minute to bike, hike or whatever around the area. As for things in Fernie it is amazing what a change one week has brought. When I wrote my last entry I admittedly had utterly given up hope that the season could be salvaged. (I was literally wearing sandles as I typed the entry!) Well apparently The Griz was not offended by my lose of ...