Stanford Inn Fernie

We had planned to visit Waterton National Park for a little while, and on the day we tried to do just that the heavens opened and the day was a complete washout. As we approached the town of Waterton the skies were almost black and the rain drummed into the windscreen of the car relentlessly. The town itself was all boarded up for the season, and not a solitary sole was to be seen on the streets. The only inhabitants of the town that we saw that day ...

... trout.
This little town ranks right up there with our favourites. We looked at buying property here two years ago, but since the folks fron Calgary have discovered it , prices have gone thru the roof. what used to be $15000 ten years ago is more like $500000 now, crazy.

... by the landscape and beauty of the place this is nature at it's very best.
As it is a cattle ranch there is always tonnes of things to do but it was a really nice fun atmosphere so you didn't mind going that extra mile to help and the food was just amazing almost everything from the farm and organic and super fresh, amazing!!
Over the course of the two Weeks i was there we did all sorts of work like ...

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!

... then storing into blocks and mixing with fat or oil for painting.  Unfortunately the same could not be said for the white man who obviously saw a commercial opportunity and started to milk the natural resource until the area was designated a national park. 

We had one night en route to our Dude Ranch at a place called Cranbrook  We decided to stop at an attraction highlighted in our guidebook which said it was worth visiting. And it was.  Fort Steele was named ...

... We cruised along admiring the massive stone peaks. We dropped down into a lake valley and navigated over land slides and majorly rocky ground. Parts so bad you had to push.

We ran into a Dutch couple who were loaded to the roof, making me feel a little smug about ditching some of my stuff earlier. I couldn't have deal with more wieght. The guy (Marten) even had a deer antler he found in Alaska. They had come from anchorage which was 4000 miles ...

... the downtown area of Fernie was not without its former-mining town sense of Canadian charm, and after all, the skiing was the main focus, and it also became apparent that a number of skiers (mostly Scandinavians, it seemed) had descended upon the resort for the entire season, and were lapping up the diversity of the terrrain, and the scope for ski heaven which the entire region provided. Since it also became apparent that Canadian portions at restaurants were not really far behind ...

... to an abrupt halt on the shoulder. I fixed the puncture quickly - maybe too quickly - but by the time I got back in the saddle the sun had disappeared beyond the ridge to my right. Ahead, the mountains were slowly turning a deeper shade of blue. I redoubled my efforts, hoovering up the road until - from the crest of a rise - the lights of long-anticipated Lundbreck (pop. 150) came into view, twinkling in the twilight a few kilometres off. But no sooner had my hopes been ...

... of womens unequal rights and subordinations. The fact that women in Thailand are unable to obtain full Buddhist ordination is very reflective of the life of women and girls in this country. Thailand is home to one of the most thriving and well established prostitution industries, mainly supported by western and Japansese male 'sex-tourists'. This industry in Thaland is a consequence of unjust economic and social structures, and gender oppresision ...

We are still in Fernie, although Chris and I have now moved into a new apartment. We are living right on the main street of Fernie above a restaurant/bar. It is a great little spot if you don't mind forsaking sleep on Friday and Saturday nights when the band plays right beneath our bedroom. Actually after only a couple of weekends we are already sleeping like babies through the noise (and a few drinks before hitting the sack never hurts either!) Brett, a ...