Last Day in Canada

8 Sep

September 7, 2019

We exited Banff National Park and headed down Highway 93 to Kootenay National Park. This park is located on the Western Slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear blue. The mountain drive was beautiful! We drove through Sinclair Canyon to Radium Hot Springs. No, we did not stop for a soak in the springs…they did not compare to the Liard Hot Springs. 

Driving through Kootenay National Park to Radium Hot Springs

We ended today’s drive at the Fort Steele Campground.  We were assigned a long pull through site in almost the same spot we had back in July.  The camper parked 2 spaces away had 2 very large dogs.  One was tied up at his camper and the other was tied up to the picnic table in the space next to ours.  Of course the dogs barked at everyone and every dog that passed down our row.  To make matters worse, they left the dogs outside while they attended an event in the campground.  So much for Pet rules! 

We took off in the jeep and drove to the small town of Kimberly, BC. Kimberly’s Heritage is in Mining and it is the prominent focal point for the community. The town has a Bavarian theme with the town center being a cobblestone Platzl. The Platzl is an open air shopping and dining area. We walked around and looked in the shops. Sadly, there wasn’t much that interested us.  When we were here before there was alot more activity and more Bavarian food choices.  We ended up with pastries from a local bakery. Mine was good…Ken’s not so good.

The Platzl

In the center of the Platzl is the world’s largest cuckoo clock. Last visit I inserted a quarter to hear the serenade of “Happy Hans”, but, today the cost was $1!. Over time, things do change!

World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock

Kimberly is also popular for its ski slopes. The ski mountain is a 5 minute drive from town. We drove up to the Alpine Resort and found many condos with lift access to ski right out the door! We could only imagine what winter would look like in this little mountain town.

On the way out of town, we spotted this cute coffee shop made out of shipping containers. The name is perfect and the place is unique!

We arrived back at the campground and found the dog next door was on top of the picnic table. That just might change my opinion about eating at a picnic table!

We are now resting up for our drive tomorrow. 

Tomorrow – Crossing the border to the USA!