Little Highway 95
It's not always the roads most travelled that are the best. During my lifetime I have found taking the little side road has led to some very fulfilling moments. So is the case as we leave Revelstoke National Park. Before leaving town, we visit the new Railroad Museum where we review the history of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Roger's Pass. The mountains were a hard barrier to build a rail that had to keep to less than a 6% grade, and Van Horne drove the crews hard. He 'imported' 15,000 Chinese workers, men looking for a better life in the land they labelled Mountain of Gold. The most dangerous and difficult jobs were given to these workers. The policy of "no work, no pay" meant if you were injured or ill, you could starve while recovering unless receiving help from coworkers who shared their limited resources. The Chinese received $1.00/day for 10-14 hours of hard labour, while white workers received 25-30% more....