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.  The company kept $.80/day for food and the use of a tent, so that no matter how hard they worked, many workers not only couldn't send money home to their desperate family, but they couldn't even afford the return ticket.  So they were forced to come up with some other way of livelihood, or die.  But the railroad got built, and only white faces are recorded in photos of Craigalachie, the final spike.

Enough said.  On with the trip.  Highway 95 wanders through some of Canada's most spectacular mountain scenery.  

Snow covered peaks, spruce covered mountains open into a broad valley, where Golden is located.  We walk the covered bridge once more.  This pedestrian bridge spans the Kicking Horse River.  

Golden sits at the junction of the Kicking Horse and Columbia Rivers.  It's a quiet little town, not much happening while we are there.

Mountain sheep welcome us to Radium Hot Springs.  

This place used to be a non-event, with folks only stopping to dip in the hot pool, but in 2010 the Winter Olympics were held here. A building boom with many condos, apartments, hotels and small businesses, made the place much more interesting to visit. 

The pool was also upgraded for the events.  28 years ago, on our last visit, the walls were still the natural rugged rock, but the upgrades saw smooth concrete lining the pool and landscaped green areas surrounding it.  

We spend 3 nights in Redstreak Camp in the Kootenay National Park.  Very peaceful with only the occasional croaking raven.

As we journey to Banff, we stop several times to explore new-to-us little walks or revisit old favourites. Discoveries include little Olive Lake with its variations of green toned water.  By size it would be more appropriately named Olive Pond.  

The scenery along Vermillion River becomes more awe inspiring at each turn.  

We stop at several look outs, meeting fellow travellers with similar intentions. 

 Even the dandelions fill the ditches with gold tones - perhaps the more accurate gold for early Chinese immigrants.

We pass through miles of burn out from last year's fires.  It is depressing to think of the loss of trees, plants, animals and birds.  We now know why highways were closed last year on our travels and why the smoke was so heavy everywhere we went.  It makes me renew my respect for the amazing women and men who fight fires for us.

Another discovery is Nume Falls, where the Kootenay river carves its way through black granite and

 limestone rocks.  A pleasant little walk with overviews and wooden bridges.

Revisit the Paint Pots.  This site is changed and the signage has been removed.  This means travellers may not know that the area was well used by  the Indigenous peoples for hundreds of years, as a source of ochre for painting both their petroglyphs and their skin.  The precious substance was traded with other tribes in the area.  We meet a pair of Belgian women who are curious and appear to find our explanation of the area interesting.  Of course, they may have just been polite, LOL, but Wayne enjoys being a source of information and history.

One more stop before arriving at Banff - Marble Canyon.  This trail is much more challenging with bum knees.  I'm no longer the 'mountain goat' I once was.  The park hasn't invested much in maintaining the trail and in places the pathway is pretty rough. However, trusty walking stick in hand, we manage to climb to 3 out of 4 viewing points before turning back.

Banff on a sunny Sunday is overflowing with tourists.  Having the reputation of being one of the most beautiful places in the world has its less desirous consequences.  Yet, I would wish everyone to enjoy a view like Mount Rundle.  

      

Downtown is not friendly to RVs, no parking in most places, but we sneak onto IGA lot long enough to stock up on supplies before heading to Tunnel Mountain campsite.  Fortunately there is now a bus system which means we will not have to move the camper again until we leave on Friday.

The first time we visited Banff was with 2 friends on the July 1sr weekend,  59 years ago.  Up until then, I hadn't been more than 60km from home.  Inspite of the fact that we almost didn't get a room due to poor planning and that it rained all weekend, I fell in love with this alpine gem.  Over the years we have come many times, watching the city change and expand.  Truly, not all change is positive, and the millions of annual visitors are putting a heavy toll on the wild life and infrastructures.

Yesterday we visited Canmore.  50 years ago this was a coal mining town, where nobody stopped unless they lived there.  Now it is a bedroom community for tourists. We enjoy views of the 3 Sisters, and walk Policeman's Trail along Spring Creek, one last time.  

Today it's 29C here, so we're off to see Tom Cruise save the world yet again.