Day 4 - A Bear - Oh My!

We crashed very early last night, so I am not surprised that I was awake at 4 am!

While Bernie slept a bit more (until 5) I was awake and reading.

We dressed, had some breakfast in the room and then hit the road.

It was actually quite nice to be out on the road at 6 am.  Of course we saw a lot of wildlife at the earlier hour.  Deer numerous times were on the sides of the road.  Although you really needed to pay attention to ensure they did not run out onto the road.

Our first stop was Salmo in the Southern part of the province.  This coffee shop Dragonfly cafe was perfect.  So friendly and lots of specialty coffees and breakfast items.  I had my latte with almond milk and we both picked up a square to enjoy with our coffee.  Everything is made there and I have to say I am still dreaming of that square I had.

It was a great day to sit out and enjoy the beautiful weather.

It sure is a cute town - check out these old buildings.

Once on the road again the weather started to really cloud over.  It was in the forecast.  Heavy rain in the Kootenay Pass area and the possibility of lighting.

We had read and heard about the flood damage and we were prepared for some lane closures due to wash outs.  There is one incident just east of Salmo.  A short delay of maybe 10 minutes.  To the right of this truck the river has washed out part of the embankment and numerous trees.

we spot another Alberta License Plate

We also spotted a Bear along this road.  I could see a big black thing in the distance.  As we got closer I soon realized it was a bear.  Quite a large one at that!  

But sadly I did not have my camera up on my lap and missed getting a picture of it.  Sorry - will keep trying.

As we start to climb the high mountain of Kootenay Pass clouds are really rolling in.

Then the rain starts!  At least the bug carcasses are getting cleaned off the car.

  
The fog is really thick when we get to the summit which is 1774 M.

Here is a short video of what it is outside right at that moment.

It is now showing 9 degrees out - chilly and a far cry from the 30 degrees we experienced two days ago.

In fact there is still areas of snow up here on the summit where the sun just doesn't hit for very long.

But as we start to come down the mountain it is clearing up but there is still rain.

Here is the path we took today.

We love Creston, and would of loved to have stopped and spent some time but the weather is not cooperating and I have we are starting to get hungry.

One of the things we love in Creston is the Bird Estuary and we had talked about visiting it again. But as you can see in the picture below, it is not possible today.  The river and the flooding have made that impossible.  But I bet the ducks like it.

We spotted a Yukon license plate, an Ospry, an antique car and a dump truck.  Our list is getting things crossed off it.  

We also came across some road kill. Bernie laughed and said we should of put road kill on our list of things to spot.  I laughed back and said hey maybe it is a beaver road kill and we could cross beaver off our list.  He said he doubted it was a beaver.  Darn. Well good for the beaver I guess.

We have however seen a lot of beaver dams - but no beavers.  Do you want a picture of some beaver dams?

Here is the update Search List

• Moose
• Deer
• Hitchhiker
• Eagle/Hawk
• Licence plates from every Province in Canada - but you can not count the province you are in.  So if we see an Alberta plate in BC then it counts, but not if we are in Alberta.  British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Yukon, and North West Territory
• Skunk
• Sheep
• Beaver
• Goslings
• Buffalo
• Goat
• Owl
• Bear
• Loon
• Crane
• Prairie Dog
• Fisherman fishing
• Hummingbird
• Antique car on the road
• Old VW Bug
• Car broken down on the side of the road
• Helicopter on the ground
• Airplane on the ground
• Speeding ticket- hopefully not our own
• Ambulance with sirens on
• Dump truck
• Line painting crew at work
• Mail delivery person walking their route

Thank goodness for these rest areas all over. They have saved our bladders numerous times.  

We are just arriving into Cranbrook.  A lovely city in a beautiful valley.  We originally thought about spending the night here but in the end we opted to go a little further and stay in a smaller community. 

We stop at The Cottage restaurant in Cranbrook for a meal.  I have been using the APP Yelp to recommend restaurants to try and so far they have not let us down.  

This place is busy.  We are laughing our heads off at the signs.  Examples are:

"I wanted to dress up as a witch for Halloween but my Mother in Law would not lend me her dress"

"My boss told me to have a good day, so I went home"

The food is good too.  We shared again, a dish of perogies and a vegetarian sandwich.  Darn good!

I took this picture as we were driving East on Crows' Nest Highway 3.  I thought how the clouds were above and below with a narrow opening was pretty cool.

We are now in Mountain Time and move our clocks forward one hour. 

We booked a room at the Lizard Creek Lodge just outside Fernie.  

The lodge is at the base of the Fernie Alpine Ski Hill.  Our room looks out at one of the chair lifts. 

The room is a studio suite with a full kitchen, sitting area and a fireplace.  

our room

I think tonight we will have dinner here at the restaurant and enjoy some wine and cheese in the room in front of the fireplace later.  

God life is great, isn't it.

So here is our route since we left home.

So Today's Stats 
Driving distance today 468 km  
Total distance 1574 km
And still married!  Actually it has been rather nice, and a lot less stressful than the last few weeks have been.