Day 33 - Tuesday June 20/17

Today is a travel day from Waterton National Park, AB to Mount Fernie Provincial Park,BC- although a short distance, significant in two ways, FIRST as we travel 'alphabetically' from Alberta (AB) to British Columbia (BC); AND, because we drive up into the Rockies (Macdonald Range) and through the Crowsnest Pass!(map photos: AB/BC)

Waterton National Park, AB to Crowsnest Pass

Crowsnest Pass to Mount Fernie Provincial Park, BC

Along the way, we stopped to tour the site of the Leitch Colliery near Bellevue, AB, an early coal mining operation in Alberta (photos)

As well, we stopped at the site of the Frank Slide - the deadliest rock slide in Canadian history, at Frank, AB. The slide was attributed initially and primarily to unstable rock conditions, but subsequent geological surveys determined that coal mining under the mountain was a contributing factor also. This information led us to have a conversation about the effects that mining, oil and gas wells, and fracking have on the stability of the earth’s surface.(photos)

After transversing the Crowsnest Pass (sorry, no photos), we entered British Columbia

We stopped in Sparwood BC to have a picnic lunch of ham and cheese wraps and do two loads of laundry (it was the closest laundromat we could find!)

Also, Starwood boasts having the largest truck in the world:

We then proceeded to Mount Fernie Provincial Park, arriving at about 4pm. It is a lovely, if somewhat rustic park, with well-treed campsites. After getting parked (we are not unhooking the trailer as this is a ‘one-night-stand’), we relaxed with a cold beverage and then had a nap. We awoke to a light rain, and had ‘comfort food’ of KD and weiners for supper. We are ‘dry camping’, or ‘boondocking’ here, as there is no electric or water service on-site (first time we have done this on our trip).