Giant Marshmallows, the Frank Slide, and Other Road Trip Gems
Giant Marshmallows are cool. Or, they at least they seem cool when the monotony of the road has warped your brain. When your day is measured by mileage markers, the drumming of precip, and the steady “whump whump” of the wipers, anything new seems fun and interesting.
Western Canada is a mix of glorious mountains and pastoral ranchland. Between the meandering, lazy cattle, giant rolls of hay lay motionless in the fields. Many of these behemoths have congregated near the highway, and some have dressed themselves in sea-foam green plastic zoot suits. Sea-foam green is so hot right now.
The beauty of a road trip is the odd moments frozen in your memory. Like the first time you see the ginkgo petrified forest. Or, even better, the world’s largest truck. The first look at the Frank Slide is one of those moments. On a cold night in 1903, ten-gajillion metric meters of rock broke loose from a mountainside near Crowsnest Pass, and buried a portion of the town of Frank. The visual of this slide is overwhelming, as the rockslide traveled at least a mile and a half across the valley before climbing hundreds of feet up the other side. To this day, giant boulders are heaped hundreds of feet high throughout the valley.
After four straight nights in a tent, a hotel room is starting to sound pretty good. It’s not that we are tired of camping. We like camping. However, the wettest week in the history of Canada is starting to get us down. Rain has fallen incessantly since we left Glacier. Our tent is starting to grow moss.
We land in Fernie, British Columbia. If you are a skier, you know Fernie. Legendary snow. Breathtaking steeps. Interior B.C. skiing at its best. In August Fernie provides other interesting activities. Mountain biking, hiking, climbing, fly fishing – all sports that don’t take kindly to buckets and buckets of rain. Although the downpour dampened our stay in Fernie, it didn’t dampen our affinity for this quaint town on the Elk River.
Despite our love for B.C., we decide to move on in search of better weather. Calgary is the home of our friends Mike and Liane. However, even with 220 miles of driving, we have not escaped the rain. Is this some sort of Seattle curse? M&L’s house is stunningly beautiful, and so close to many great things. This, plus their hospitality makes us forget the constant precipitation. Calgary is a good city. Quaint neighborhoods line the Bow River, and parks dot the landscape. Much like Denver, Calgary is also a gateway to the Rocky Mountains. Banff, Lake Louise, Cranmore. These mountains are magical. If we can get a break from Mother Nature, the next few days are going to be good.
Day 5,6 & 7 Road Trip Factoids:
Miles Driven Day 5: 167 (Glacier to Fernie)
Miles Driven Day 6: 220 (Fernie to Calgary)
Miles Driven Day 7: 25 (Around Calgary)
Miles Driven Total: 1,117
Weight of One Tire on World’s Largest Truck: 8,000 lbs
Weight of World’s Largest Truck: 520,000 lbs
Enjoy the Photos.
For more info on the world's largest truck, click here.
Western Canada is a mix of glorious mountains and pastoral ranchland. Between the meandering, lazy cattle, giant rolls of hay lay motionless in the fields. Many of these behemoths have congregated near the highway, and some have dressed themselves in sea-foam green plastic zoot suits. Sea-foam green is so hot right now.
The beauty of a road trip is the odd moments frozen in your memory. Like the first time you see the ginkgo petrified forest. Or, even better, the world’s largest truck. The first look at the Frank Slide is one of those moments. On a cold night in 1903, ten-gajillion metric meters of rock broke loose from a mountainside near Crowsnest Pass, and buried a portion of the town of Frank. The visual of this slide is overwhelming, as the rockslide traveled at least a mile and a half across the valley before climbing hundreds of feet up the other side. To this day, giant boulders are heaped hundreds of feet high throughout the valley.
After four straight nights in a tent, a hotel room is starting to sound pretty good. It’s not that we are tired of camping. We like camping. However, the wettest week in the history of Canada is starting to get us down. Rain has fallen incessantly since we left Glacier. Our tent is starting to grow moss.
We land in Fernie, British Columbia. If you are a skier, you know Fernie. Legendary snow. Breathtaking steeps. Interior B.C. skiing at its best. In August Fernie provides other interesting activities. Mountain biking, hiking, climbing, fly fishing – all sports that don’t take kindly to buckets and buckets of rain. Although the downpour dampened our stay in Fernie, it didn’t dampen our affinity for this quaint town on the Elk River.
Despite our love for B.C., we decide to move on in search of better weather. Calgary is the home of our friends Mike and Liane. However, even with 220 miles of driving, we have not escaped the rain. Is this some sort of Seattle curse? M&L’s house is stunningly beautiful, and so close to many great things. This, plus their hospitality makes us forget the constant precipitation. Calgary is a good city. Quaint neighborhoods line the Bow River, and parks dot the landscape. Much like Denver, Calgary is also a gateway to the Rocky Mountains. Banff, Lake Louise, Cranmore. These mountains are magical. If we can get a break from Mother Nature, the next few days are going to be good.
Day 5,6 & 7 Road Trip Factoids:
Miles Driven Day 5: 167 (Glacier to Fernie)
Miles Driven Day 6: 220 (Fernie to Calgary)
Miles Driven Day 7: 25 (Around Calgary)
Miles Driven Total: 1,117
Weight of One Tire on World’s Largest Truck: 8,000 lbs
Weight of World’s Largest Truck: 520,000 lbs
Enjoy the Photos.
For more info on the world's largest truck, click here.
posted by Scott and Lynn at 10:09 AM
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