Four For Fernie (Day 1 - Sept 7, 2010)

I think I am addicted to short, solo, car vacations!  I had a week of vacation booked and needed something to fill the days.  I didn't want to rent a car, or buy a plane ticket but I wanted to get to somewhere, where I felt like I was far away from home.  I settled on Fernie!

I left home early on Tuesday morning thinking I would beat the crowd and that the Labor Day Weekend rush would be over.  I was so wrong!  As soon as this trip started,  I was so overwhelmed with the traffic and feeling stressed that I went with the flow until I hit Banff and needed to break away to get into a zen, de-stressed, vacation mode.  I veered off down the road to Lake Minnewanka and walked the shoreline where I could breath in the mountain air, relax and get into a proper frame of mind.  It didn't take long and that was exactly what I needed!

When I eventually turned off onto Highway 93 heading south, I left the world behind and was on my own.  I had my list on the passenger seat of all the sights I wanted to see.  The first was at the Continental Divide which is the division for the flow of water either to the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean.   

Next was Marble Canyon.  The walls of the Canyon were deep and the water was a beautiful turquoise shade but it was the color landscape along the walkway that really caught my eye.   The area was covered in the pink fireweed and autumn crimsons.   

It was still early enough in the day that dew drops were still on the leaves.

I was not too impressed with the Paint Pots.  I much prefer the Ink Pots closer to Banff.   It was a nice enough day that the trees reflected in the pot.  The soil along the trail was mostly this color and by the end so were my sneakers and socks.  

By the time I reached Numa Falls, I was overdue for lunch.  I checked out the falls then settled for awhile by the rocks to eat.  The color of the canyon walls looked so stark against the emerald water.  

This vacation was starting out colorful!  My timing was perfect.  Next on my hit list was the Kootenay Valley Viewpoint and the array of color continued. 

Olive Lake would be my last main sight to see before driving for an extended period of time without stopping.  

I had no plans to stop at Radium except to get this snapshot just after you enter.

I finally arrived at Fernie about 4:30pm and checked into my home away from home.  When I drove up to the place and saw it and the location, I felt a bit of concern but that was quickly squashed once I walked through the front door.  I was pleasantly surprised to get what I was getting for so little cash.  I unpacked and cleaned up then went out for dinner across the street.   I enjoyed a glass of red while my strip loin was being prepared.

It was still early enough and I wasn't tired after dinner so went for a stroll behind my home away from home, which was a quaint residential district.  These guys came out of a backyard ahead of me and looked like they knew where they were going.  I gave them some distance and then followed.

They lead me to a most beautiful park where I ended up walking for an hour and to where I returned each evening.   

It was a long day and already I felt like I had been away forever.  I was happy with my choice and knew this was the place for me. Before I went to sleep, I planned out an attack for Wednesday.