1993/07 Rockies trip - Yoho and Fort Steele |
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Tuesday July 6th
Next morning, I'd promised John and Edna a look at some of the sights of Yoho, so we were off early to 
Takkakaw Falls, the one that explodes off the top of a 700ft cliff. There wasn't as much water as there is in a hot summer, as it's all glacier fed, but still spectacular, and at that time of the morning we didn't have too many people to share it with. The tour buses can't get up the switchbacks: even the Suburban had to reverse up on a couple of the corners.
We went on to the Natural Bridge, the waterfall that flows under its bed, and met up with the early buses there, and then on to Emerald Lake for a brief stop. It was brief as the rain was settling in steadily by this time, and we'd been gone for several hours and had to be out of the campsite by 11.
So, we hitched up the trailer and headed south on 93 through Kootenay Park, 
with showers all around us. We stopped off at the Vermilion River to take a look at the "paint pots".
These are yellow ochre springs where the Indians used to get their paint. Pieces of yellow ochre break loose and flow into the main river, so you'll suddenly see a patch of yellow or orange among the green plants.
We stopped off briefly at Radium Hot Springs, but the weather wasn't really cooperating for any swimming, so we carried on to Fort Steele, where we intended to camp for our last night in Canada.
We spent a few hours wandering 
around the rebuilt frontier town, and then went to the show at the Wild Horse Theatre.
This show hasn't changed much in ten years -
the same plot of mounties saving the music hall- but everyone enjoyed it. It's the kind of thing you'd turn off if it was on TV. You have to be there to enjoy it
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Wednesday July 7th
Next morning, I found that something had eaten almost all of my sewer hose. At least, it had eaten the juicy plastic bits and left the reinforcing wire. No accounting for taste! Skunk or raccoon probably. [More likely a porcupine. They'll eat car tyres so a sewer hose is just a snack for them.]