Monday, July 28, 2014

On Our Own Again - Banff to Fairmont Hot Springs, BC


We stopped by the Laundromat at the Douglas Fir Resort, which was actually quite nice and did about 3 loads of laundry-amazing how it piles up.  And, we actually wear the same clothes over and over.  Someone told us the other day that, if you weren’t comfortable wearing the same clothes for 3 days in a row, you probably shouldn’t be a camper.

AND, we finally got the tire fixed.  There was a leak in the stem.  They didn’t have lug nuts though, so it still looks kinda funny-but then, so do we J.  Neither of us has had our hair cut since we left home; I hardly wear make up; our clothes are pretty much camping clothes and Boo could sure use a good grooming!

We had a great brunch at Tooloulous,

Pictures of food-geez!  But I had to show this.
It's a breakfast poutine-never had anything
this good or this fattening (for breakfast that is!)


...while Maxine was getting her shoe fixed, and then we went to the library where we could access the Internet and get our email.

Thank goodness it was air conditioned

The Whyte Museum had a wonderful indigenous art exhibit which was just a delight.  Here are some of my favorites:































After a grocery shop and a liquor store run, we finally got back to our camp site only to find that someone had taken our rugs and set up tents in our site!  No one was there so we went back to talk with the warden (the equivalent of our rangers).  He was a baby in a warden outfit – looked like this could be his first day on the job.  Apparently, someone (certainly not this young fellow!) had double-booked our site.  We couldn’t believe it!  They did have our rugs, thank god, but we had to run around to find another adequate site (not easy, since most are very narrow and some not long or even enough).  Long story short, we found a good site, asked for compensation and got a night free for our inconvenience.  Then, just as we were settling in, Boo threw up.  He vomited about 5 or 6 times that night and about 3 more times the next day.  We were about to go to a vet the 3rd day, when all of a sudden, he returned to his old self.  We have been spoiling him with tastes of our food, and I think we may just have gone overboard.  Either that or it was giardia .....or maybe some of the poutine I gave him.

Poor sickly Boo!
The road through the Columbia River Valley was just beautiful (how many times have I said that on this trip?!)







Smoke is coming down south from the fires in Banff.

Columbia River wetlands

We thought Fairmont Hot Springs sounded pretty darned good.  It was a little expensive to stay and was like but Jim needed WIFI and the springs would be a nice way to relax after a big last week.  We thought it was associated with the Fairmont Hotels—not so, BY FAR!  It was a beautiful drive down through the Kootenays into the Columbia River Wetlands.  The Columbia’s headwaters flow northward here, before reversing course and flowing south into the states and out to the Pacific.  There are birds everywhere and the topography suddenly takes a gentler look.

Well, the Fairmont was a big disappointment.  It was a little like being in an RV parking lot, we couldn’t get WIFI at our site and the sewer line backed up while we were here—we are still trying to get compensated for the anguish of this visit.  
The resort

The RV park.  Anathema to us!

This cracked me up.  It's an electric water
fountain-in someone's RV site!!!!!

The upside happened the 2nd day, when we took to the waters and got our distressed bodies and minds readjusted and then found a very nice patio at the hotel where we could hang out with Boo, drink wine and beer and eat nachos and get our much needed internet connection!  






















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