Oh Canada! Part 4: The Final Installment

Hi Everyone! 

Sorry for the delay, but here is the long-anticipated finale to our Canada trip.

When we left off, you'll recall Chad and Lisha had joined us for the remainder of our trip. I also stopped my daily journal after the entry below, so I'll have to work from memory after this.

Thursday, July 18^th

This morning, we had booked another float trip - this time down the Columbia River, so I made breakfast for everyone and we left the house around nine. We arrived at a place in the middle of nowhere that looked like it was owned by insane people. There were several trailers, a scarecrow on a decrepit porch holding a guitar. A big red barn where our guide, Kevin, said there were bathrooms we could use in the basement although there was no power, so we'd have to use the men's room since it had a window (uh, no). There was a giant oar in a field and weird hand-painted signs and junk everywhere.

We followed him a short way in the car, and then had a short walk through a mosquito-infested woods (Glenn was quickly carried away). We then had to cross a terrifying rope bridge. Chad and Lisha were pretty sure we had brought them out to murder them.

 

 

Finally though, we got on the water. The boat had a small, quiet motor, and nice swivel chairs you could sit in. The tour was very informative, relaxing and beautiful, and we saw a number of beaver lodges and bald eagles. It was cool(er) on the water and there were no bugs, and it was just the four of us (plus Kevin, who ended up being very nice).

Later, we got to town and AGAIN found out that much of the town’s power was out. We went to three restaurants before we found one that had power and was open. We were there for about two hours – the wait for the food took forever. Apparently there are three restaurants in town that somehow share a cook. Still, we had a lot of fun, and the place had AC!

After lunch we went back to the cabin (where we once again did not have power) and everyone took a nap. 

Later, Chad and Lisha went to the store and came back and made burgers on the grill on the deck and we had a lovely evening just hanging out. 

Friday, July 19^th

Friday was our last full day in Golden. We went back to Kicking Horse resort and all rode the chair lift half the way up the mountain, which is where the Grizzly Bear Refuge is, as well as the start of the disc golf course. We had decided to all go up and see the bear together, and then Lisha and I would go back down and head back to the cabin, and Glenn and Chad would hold their International Disc Golf  Championship. 

So, first let me tell you the full story of Boo the Bear. Kevin, our float guide, told us that he would tell us the TRUE story of Boo, and not what they would tell us at the park.

Boo the bear, and his sister Cara (Caribou - get it?) were rescued as cubs after their mother had been illegally shot. Cara died at some point from an intestinal blockage, but Boo has been in the refuge for about 25 years. 

Other grizzly bears roam the mountains around the refuge, and one day a female grizzly came by and Boo fell in love. He broke out of the enclosure and disappeared with his new girlfriend.

Well, this was bad. Because a bear that has grown up around humans will not know how to feed itself etc., and also they have no fear of humans, which could make them more dangerous. So everyone in Golden started the search for Boo.

Kevin said that people from all over the world sent postcards pretending to be Boo and saying - "Hi, I'm in Mexico (or Alaska or Brazil or whatever)".

So a couple weeks go by, and some rangers find Boo, tranquilize him and bring him back to the enclosure. The next day, the bear ripped the door off the enclosure and ran off. And then the rangers realized, the bear they captured was not Boo. (uh-oh)

Turns out, eventually, Boo came back on his own. They reinforced the enclosure and he's been there ever since. The highway patrol brings him dead elk and other large roadkill they find as a treat. He also apparently once killed and ate a juvenile moose who somehow got into his enclosure (it's very large.) 

So anyway here is Boo.

The guide at the refuge said that 3 grizzly bears had been next to Boo's enclosure the night before, which did not bode well since that is where Chad and Glenn were going to play disc golf. They said they found bear scat all over the course. 

So, after saying hello to Boo, Lisha and I went back to the cabin and hung out on the deck, while the boys played disc golf. They both got eaten alive by mosquitos - Glenn to the point that he felt sick afterwards. At one point, Chad told him to stand still, and he took a video of all the mosquitos on Glenn's back (we counted 14). They had to walk in waist high grass for most of the course, and were afraid of being attacked by bears. Still, they were dumb and played until they finished. Chad won and now holds the title of International Disc Golf Champion.

Afterwards, we all went to lunch at the Big Bend Cafe, and later, dinner at The Turning Point. 

Saturday, July 20^th

Saturday we all packed up and left together - we were all driving to Calgary. Chad and Lisha were heading to Seattle to meet up with her mom, Chad's "little brother" Derrek, who has become like a member of their family, and some other friends.  And we were heading home. We were all a bit nervous because of the big global computer issue caused by Microsoft - apparently many people's reservations had disappeared, flights had been canceled, etc. But everything turned out okay.

At a rest stop, we saw a very friendly Columbian ground squirrel. You can see that they look like little prairie dogs.

We decided to drive back to Canmore on our way to Calgary and have lunch at the Rose & Crown with Chad and Lisha, and show them the cute little town of Canmore. This is also when Glenn bought me my own Baby Boo, and Chad and Lisha helped him sneak it away without me noticing. 

Glenn later gave me Baby Boo on my birthday. Additionally, he took a picture of a picture we had hanging on our wall in Canmore, and had it printed on metal for me. It is now hanging in my office. This is surely copyright infringement, so don't turn us in! 

We got to Calgary and Glenn and I went and stayed at the Paliser Fairmont in town, while Chad and Lisha stayed at a hotel at the airport. The hotel was nice about our anniversary, making this towel arrangement in our room and giving us a card and free gluten-free dessert at dinner.

Unfortunately, our love affair with the Paliser was short-lived. They put us on the second floor, directly over the ballroom, where they were having a wedding reception. We could hear the DJ and music blasting until 2 am. Also, in the morning, Glenn called the valet at 6 to have our car out front by 6:30, which they did not do, so we were late. Glenn has since written them a scathing review. 

But, as you know, all was fine, we made it home safe, and had a wonderful trip overall. I hope you guys have enjoyed hearing about it. 

Love you! 

Obligatory out-the-window-of-the-plane pic

Oh Canada! Part 3: Golden

 Hi Everyone! 

Ok, so when we last left off, we were heading to Golden, BC, after a long, exhausting day.

We perked back up during our drive from Banff to Golden – it was maybe the most spectacular drive we’ve ever been on. Gorgeous scenery of incredibly high rocky mountains, waterfalls, glacial rivers and more.

Once we got to our place, which is near the top of a mountain and about 15 minutes outside of town, we got in to discover that the house…being in a ski resort area…had no air conditioning. It felt like a sauna in there, and there were no fans. Glenn called Chad to warn them because we felt so bad – they were supposed to come stay with us Wed – Fri, and their room is upstairs, where it was even hotter.

Chad said it was fine, that they had not had AC anywhere they stayed in Canada. We opened up all the windows overnight and it cooled the place down a lot, and then we shut all the blinds during the day to keep the cold air in.

Here are some pics of the house though (called Huckleberry cottage), which was cute.

Yes, please let it snow!

DAY 7: Tuesday, July 16^th

So this morning, we went into the town of Golden to go to an Ace Hardware to procure two fans for the house, as well as doing some grocery shopping. When we got to the Ace Hardware, we discovered that pretty much the whole town had no power as someone had wrecked into a power pole. The guy at Ace said they were closed, but when we told him we just wanted two fans, he let us buy them and pay in cash. We felt like looters taking them out of the dark store with no receipt.

Later the power came back on, but apparently (and as we soon learned), Golden has frequent power issues.

Anyway, the town is TINY but cute. After lunch we went and toured around the Kicking Horse Resort a bit, and later had dinner in town (Taco Tuesday) in the hot sun. There we learned a lot about a retired chemist/would-be musician, and his wife's service dog, Hope, who hung out with us while we waited for the cheapest dinner in town (which was delicious and 2 Canadian dollars per taco), but we were probably there for two hours.

Glenn and Hope

Here are a few pics of the river walk in town and their little pedestrian bridge.

From town, it's about a 15 minute drive up the mountains to the Kicking Horse Ski Resort, and then our cabin was just a few minutes past that. Here are some pics from the resort.

There's a gondola and a chair lift and you can see the ski runs.

Here you take the chair lift up to the Grizzly Bear Refuge (more on this later).

And they have condos and little shops and restaurants here.

And the surrounding views are not so bad either.

DAY 8: Wednesday, July 17^th

Anniversary day (but we almost forgot since we had celebrated earlier in the week). In the morning, Glenn took what he said was a very scary, but scenic drive on a steep dirt road while I was still asleep.

Later, we decided to take a short hike. It was hot and when we got to the trail, they had a warning about bears, and carrying bear spray, which we did not have. 

We did not walk far before we spotted a huge pile of fresh bear scat, so we quickly aborted our mission and went home. 

Chad and Lisha got here around three, and OMG, we had so much fun together. Chad had us laughing so hard that we were crying and holding our stomachs. (Remind me to tell you how Lisha gets squirrely around border patrol agents). Anyway, here we are at the pedestrian bridge in town.

We had dinner in town at the Whitetooth Bistro, and then hung out on our back deck in the evening. (There’s a bird’s nest in the eaves of the house next door where we've been all watching a mama bird tirelessly feeding her babies.)

Anyway, we all went to bed around 10, and Chad and Lisha were very grateful for the fan we bought them. Until a couple of hours later when the power went out. Then, we were all dying in the heat. It was out for three or four hours so none of us got a great night’s sleep.

Alright - we really don't have too much left, but that's enough for now. Stayed tuned for another float trip, our visit with a grizzly bear, and the international disc golf championship.