Our original plan was to leave around 10:30 or 11 am to drive to Radium Hot Springs in British Columbia, but since it was at least a five-hour drive and we would make stops, we decided to try and get on the road by 9 am. We succeeded in packing, loading, getting food together, and having Misha and Amy mow Grandpa's lawn first. Our family consolidated our suitcases in to two cases to save on space as Grandma and Grandpa were coming with us to Radium Hot Springs.
I remember visiting Radium Hot Springs two times as a young child, once with my grandparents. I had fond memories of the pool and just soaking in warmth with my family. I specifically remember my grandfather's hands. He was a farm worker and his hands were embedded with grease and dirt. After a couple of visits to the hot springs, his hands were clean.
Our first stop was in Glenwood to visit a friend I had become acquainted with online. We had connected a number of years ago on a Weight Watchers LDS group and then on Facebook. She was a dear friend that I had only known in the virtual world. I was excited to finally meet her. We stopped at her home, had a tour, met her husband, and I was pleased to confirm that she was as delightful in person as she was online.
We stopped at Lundbreck Falls for a picnic lunch. We made the mistake of choosing a camping spot for our lunch which the ranger was quick to alert us to, but he let us stay since we already had our spread laid out. From there we walked a short distance to the falls. They were beautiful.
My dad found the ripe berries to pick.
As I was walking up to the falls, I spied my husband talking with a group of tourists, speaking Tagalog. They are such kind and friendly people, and Chris loves to connect with Filipinos any and every chance he gets. They are always surprised and begin with, "You speak our language so well. How do you know Tagalog?"
We made a quick stop at Frank's slide.
The Frank Slide was a rock slide that buried part of the mining town of Frank, Alberta, Canada, on the morning of April 29, 1903. It occurred at 4:10 am, when over 82 million tonnes (90 million tons) of limestone rock slid down Turtle Mountain within 100 seconds, obliterating the eastern edge of Frank, the Canadian Pacific Railway line and the coal mine. It was one of the largest landslides in Canadian history and remains the deadliest, as between 70 and 90 of the town's residents were killed, most of whom remain buried in the rubble. Multiple factors led to the slide. Turtle Mountain's formation left it in a constant state of instability, leading area Native tribes to call it, "the mountain that moves". Coal mining operations may have weakened the mountain's internal structure, as did a wet winter and cold snap on the night of the slide." Wikipedia (highlights removed).
As we continued driving, our progress was brought to a standstill in Fernie, BC. It was after more than half an hour when we realized that workers were cleaning a bridge up ahead. The road crew handling the traffic was doing a poor job however, as they would let 60 cars go from the other direction and then maybe 20 in our direction. We were stuck for almost an hour.
By then, we were ready to stop for gas and some refreshments at the Jaffray Pump and Pantry.
She was holding Amy's treat for her.
We finally arrived in the small town of Radium Hot Springs and were all happy to pile out of the car when we stopped for groceries. Talk about spendy.
Our town home was happily located, and we were able to unload all of our stuff. We had four bedrooms to use and 2 1/2 bathrooms. It had about four levels and lots and lots of stairs. I imagine the weather is normally such that a nice, sunny day brings welcome warmth, but the area was extra hot and the town home in turn was rather toasty. We opened windows and tried to cool things down as there was not any A/C either. Again, not usually necessary.
My parents chose to rest and have a low-key dinner while the rest of us headed out in search of food. We finally ended up at a family restaurant called Riko's. The food was meh.
Chris and I dropped the girls off at home and went for a walk in search of the Recreation Center that we had access to. We arrived almost at 10 pm when it was closing, but the staff were gracious enough to let us in to check it out and sign up for passes. We figured the indoor/outdoor pools, game room, library, and exercise facility would give us some activities to do.
We walked back to the house where the night air at cooled things off nicely. The girls found Monopoly and quickly became enthralled with the game. There may or may not have been some disgruntled bankrupt girls at times.