Fairmont Revelstoke Getaway 19 Feb 2011

February was quite a busy month in our travel calendar in 2011. We seemed to be relentlessly hell bent on making more and more trips. And to honour our tastes came the 21st day of Feb, Family Day - a statutory holiday in Alberta. Having 21st on a Monday meant we had a long weekend. Our group had started dwindling in numbers starting this year with lesser members being present and for this occasion there were only four of us - Anand, Ganesh, Ram and me. We wanted to use all three days for the trip but Ram had work on Monday as his clients were working. It had already been tough to buy in Ram to agree to the trip, and we did not want to lay any more pressure on him by extending the trip by a day. So we planned for a 'short and sweet' trip. We planned for the below three places as part of our self tour package -

1. The Village of Fairmont Hot Springs
2. The Village of Canyon Hot Springs
3. The Historic Rail Town of Revelstoke



An Old Rail Engine From The Yester Years In British Columbia


As usual, we booked our car with the Nation Car Rental Agency on 10th Ave. We picked up the car on the evening of 18th, which was a Friday. The deadly blades of the killer freezing chopper a.k.a. temperature were hovering somewhere around the -30s (-30 °C). We had booked for a premium car but were upgaded to  a small sized SUV - a Jeep Liberty. The vehicle was visually very attractive but as we got on the highway we started feeling the rickety nature of its drivetrain, in particular, and the body on the whole. The vehicle had too many miles on the odometer (about 48,000 KM), which is a bad number for a Rental Car, and these miles had started to show up on the virility of the car.

Another issue which was perturbing my driving instincts was the feather weight body of the vehicle. Though I am an ardent fan of all vehicles coming out of the Jeep stable owing to the Trail Rated Badge that they have earned, and though I have been once a big rider of the Jeep Liberty, but after having driven many more sophisticated SUVs and Trucks, that are much heavier and larger than the Liberty, I was somehow not liking the way this vehicle was handling on the highway. Highspeeds tend to uproot the vehicle from the ground and small undulations in the ground make the vehicle sway, thereby making the SUV unable to realise the much higher potential of its engine. This combined with the poor functioning of the windscreen wipers, which was leading to ice formation on the windscreen, prompted us to exchange this car in lieu of a better one. We drove to the Calgary International Airport to do this, but the woman at the National Agency at the Airport did not want to understand the problem. And she promptly and rudely denied us an exchange. So we had to use the same car. And after finishing our weekly groceries that evening we went  to eat out.

The Morning Of 20th Feb

Tour Map - Calgary (A), Fairmont (B),
Canyon Hot Springs (C) And Revelstoke (D)

We were to steer our way to Fairmont HotSprings, which is about 300 KMS from Calgary and takes about 4 hours. The journey started at 9 AM and it took us on the splendid Trans Canada Highway 1 which was lined with ice and snow on both sides that offered spectacular views. We drove for 154 KMS on HWY-1 to the West before taking the Alberta 93S. We crossed three National Parks on this way - The Banff National Park, The Yoho National Park and then finally The Kootenay National Park. While the first one is in Alberta, the other two are in British Columbia.

Lovely Snow Covered Mountain Seen In The Rear View Mirror

Thick Snow Doting The Road

Some More Snaps Taken On The Way

93-S offers a very scenic drive in all seasons. We drove on it for about 104 kilometers through the Canadian Rockies. The road has a fair amount of gradient at places which makes it even more beautiful. Speed inside a National Park or a reserve is limited to 90 KMPH. It feels nice navigating the beautiful mountainous confines. Before reaching the village of Radium Hot Springs, the gradient becomes too steep, and the road too narrow, and it winds through mountain rock that has been cut to make way for the road. This continues until your pass the village and then you have to turn into the Kootenay HWY (BC-93/BC95-S). You continue the drive for another 37 kilometers until you reach Fairmont.

The Village Of Fairmont - Entrance

The Fairmont Hot Springs Resort Entrance

Upon arrival in Fairmont, we had to hunt down the location of the Hot Springs Resort which we reached by 2:40 PM. While driving our car on the path we found that the ice had hardened in a peculiar way, crackling under the weight of the SUV at places and making a distinctive sound, while at other spots it was too slippery and we had to engage the vehicle's differential in 4X4 mode. We parked our car in the lot and walked towareds the facility. It was warmer in British Columbia than it had been in Alberta. The temperature was somewhere around -20 °C.



The Parking Lot



Towards The Entrance Of The Hot Pools

The parking lot is at a higher elevation than the actual pools. From the parking lot, one can go further atop the hill which leads to the Skiing area. The area is small but well laid out. We walked around the facility a bit to explore the area before we entered the pools. There are small buildings housing the local cafeteria and the gift shop. The trails were full of snow that time.

The Gift Shop

The Trail Leading To The Parking Lot

Residential Premises

The Cafeteria

From about a 100 metres of approach, you begin to see the pool. The mist arising from the hot waters adds a mystical touch to the environs. By 3 PM we had taken a shower and entered the pool. The facility here is much more expensive than all of the others that I have been to in Canada. And at the cost which the facilities are offered, it is not impressive at all. There are three pools here - a huge cold water pool which may have an area of 50 X 50 square metres, a small hot water pool which would be 10 X 7 squeare metres and a deep water pool for swimming. In other facilities I have seen big warm water pools surrounded by two or three super hot and super cold pools. The hot water pool was too crowded and it was getting more and more difficult to find your personal space and a spot to relax.

Steam Emanating From The Pools

We had to spend quite some time in the cold water pool before we could get into the hot one. We lay down in the pool enjoying the wamrth of the pool and the deceptive sun rays which were bright but cold. After squatting for some time in the shallow part of the pool, we finally managed to secure ourselves a deeper and much relaxing spot. We enjoyed till 4.30 PM and then decided to get out. This is by far the toughest part of the exercise in winters. The pool water is maintained at 37 - 40 °C and the outside temperature was freezing at -20. The onslaught of the rough cold is harsh and intense on the body. Relief is only obtained once under the heated showers in the closed confines of the washrooms.

Taken On The Way To Revelstoke

Our next task was to eat something, devour rather. Lunch had been skipped. We found a local Pizza Cabin just a few hundred metres from the Hot Pools in the woods. Here Ganesh took over the wheels and I went back for a good rest.

Next on the cards was Canyon Hot Springs. This place is 256 KMS North West of Fairmont. You have to drive the same way up to the village of Radium Hot Springs on BC-93N and then continue further on BC-95N until the town of Golden (British Columbia). But as there is not much to do at Canyon at night, apart from the hot springs, we decided to stay in Revelstoke. After Golden, you come back on the Trans-Canada Highway (HWY-1) and then do about 34 kilometers to reach Revelstoke. We reached there at night and took a hotel for our stay. Dinner was had at a local McDonalds.

20th Jun - 9:42 AM In Our Hotel Suit

Taken Near The Hotel Where We Stayed

L-R: Ganesh Sarag, Ram Yaganti, Rahul Rane (myself)

Can't Help It - The Snow Is Everywhere

The next day the plan was to spend some time at Revelstoke and then to go to Canyon; spend some time there and head back to Calgary. Our dreams were shattered when we found that the Hot Springs at Canyon were closed for the season. We then decided to rather spend the day in Revelstoke. On our earlier visit here the famous Rail Museum had been closed. So we hoped to make it there this time and we were lucky. After having a heavy breakfast (almost brunch), we headed for the museum. The entry fee was 10 CAD and we started our self guided tour at about 11.30 AM.

I am a huge admirer of such old museums and historic sites. Revelstoke was the place where the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was driven. There is lot of history that exists behind the railway lines. The map of modern day Canada was very much defined by the railway. Infact the joining of British Columbia into the Dominion of Canada in 1871 was based on the promise that it would be connected by rail to the rest of the Dominion. It was a very tough terrain to build a railway on. There is a lovely movie which I saw on my flight to the Yukon, which is based on the making of the CPR. More information can be gathered here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_%28film%29

The Railway Museum At Revelstoke

The Story Of The Last Spike



Anand Sastry

A Model Of One Of The Older Bridges

The museum looks to be small from outside but inside it is well laid out. There is a railway bogie and an engine located in the central part. The attractions are well laid out in rooms and space has been judiciously utilised.

The Rail Coach

The Dining Room Inside The Rail Coach

L-R: Rahul Rane, Ganesh Sarag

(L-R): Ganesh, Ram, Rahul

In The Projector Room

We went around every nook and corner of the museum with utmost interest and liked every bit of it. A lot of time was also spent on the top floor taking snaps of the various old photos of olden day trains.

Some Old Memoirs

From The Top Floor

A Sand Model

Another Sand Model

Some Lovely Trains From Olden Days

This Is What I Like The Most - Train Lines Built Along Scenic Sites

Somewhere In The Rockies

One Of The Most Beautiful Hotels Built For Tourism By The CPR
On Lake Louise

On The Stairs To The Upper Floor

The last part of our visit was to the backside of the museum which has some old day bogies of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It would have been all the more fabulous in summer but even the snow time was not bad out there.

Looks Like This Shack Has Been Planted Into The Snow

An Old Bogie

The Sun Rays Were Too Pinching

The Union Jack On The Coat

Some Logos From Previous Years

After finishing with the museum we headed back to Calgary - 412 KMS, a drive that takes about 5 and half hours, which was on the Trans-Canadian Highway - HWY1.