Cranbrook

July 18, 2023

Today was one of the less interesting days of the tour, so we’ll keep it brief and give us all some breathing room that we can use to catch up on Le Tour or binge on the latest gripping news from the political front. If it weren’t for the fact that we have a new bird to report, you might wonder why we’re bothering to check in today at all.

It’s another moving day, and even though it’s only an easy three and a half hour drive to Cranbrook we decide to get an early start and break it up with a bike ride, this time up the east side of Kootenay Lake starting a Kooskanook, a small development a few miles north of Creston. Once again, I’m surprised to find at the last minute that we took the identical ride five years ago, even starting at the exact same spot.

When we turned north from Creston though and looked at the surprising amount of traffic on the shoulderless highway, we decided we’d really rather just drive on, stop for lunch as our main meal for the day, check in to our room, and find some sort of walk in Cranbrook later in the afternoon after the day had hopefully cooled down some.

Which we did. It turned out to be just the right plan for the day. We enjoyed our lunch at the Fire & Oak, stopped in at Safeway to pick up groceries for our planned three night stay in Cranbrook, and arrived at our lodging at three, just in time for the earliest check-in available.

We’re staying at The Baker Hotel, an attractive heritage hotel in the heart of the town’s small historic district built a century ago. They warned us that there is no elevator and the rooms are all on the second floor, so we’re not surprised by having to carry our gear up to our room - including our bikes, which we bring in for safety. We are a little disappointed that there are 21 steepish stairs though, and the next morning Rachael will complain of an aching back from carrying up too much in one load.

In the early evening we drive two miles to Elizabeth Lake, s small wetland and wildlife preserve, so we can get some walking in and I can check out the bird scene. Walking happens (more by Rachael, who in the end walks back to our room), birding happens, and we’re both back at the room by nine - too late for us to fit in another episode of our current evening entertainment, Babylon Berlin.

In addition to the new bird, the other big news of the day is the fire. As I’m walking back to the car, I’m startled to see how smoky it is to the northeast and the toothlike mountains that rise behind the town are nearly invisible now. Later we’ll learn that this is a new fire that broke out just yesterday, and is only about ten miles north of town. It’s even seeming smoky in our room by the end of the day, and we wonder what the situation will be in the morning.

Not new, but noteworthy: an eastern kingbird. I’ve probably seen as many of these here as in all previous sightings in the last ten years.

A large gathering. It takes me quite some time to convince myself of what I’m seeing here.

171: Common grackle. Common on the eastern half of the continent anyway. We’re right on the edge of its range here.

Another puzzler at first, a non-breeding male mallard.

Four of these planes crossed low over the refuge repeatedly, shuttling back nd forth perhaps every fifteen minutes between points to the north and south of town. Later I’ll learn that they’re part of a fire fighting campaign.

The last solved mystery for the day, a female red-winged blackbird. She has her head cocked because she’s looking up at the fire squadron.

This sleek beauty was casually crossing the path about fifty feet in front of me.

The Saint Mary’s Fire started yesterday, from. Downed power line its believed. It exploded today and is out of control, with its epicenter on the Kaunda (Kootanay) reserve ten miles north of town.

When we drove into Cranbrook earlier tody the horizon was clear in this direction. Now you can barely make out the mountains.

Another cedar waxwing. This is another species I’m seeing more frequently here than anywhere else I’ve been, often enough I’m starting to recognize their flight pattern.

I barely spotted this second deer, with only its back visible above the tall grass. It took an encouraging whistle to get her attention.

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Jacquie GaudetNorth of Canmore? You're getting ahead of yourself! Or maybe the heat's getting you. I know I'm hiding indoors these days, thankful that our new place has a heat pump (which can pump heat out as well as in).
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9 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetThanks. Cranbrook, Creston, Canmore, Calgary, I keep getting them mixed up.
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9 months ago

Jacquie GaudetTo Scott AndersonI suspect your mental filing cabinet for place names is over-full. Luckily your bird-name one seems to have room!
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9 months ago

Kirsten KaarsooTo Jacquie GaudetThanks Jacquie, I was looking at the map trying to figure out which 'C" town Scott was talking about as he definitely isn't near Canmore at the moment!
Thanks Scott for the correction.
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9 months ago

Patrick O'HaraEnjoying following along on your Canadian adventure. Great photos and writing as usual. I am a bit disappointed that there was no sexy bridge talk about BOB while you were in Nelson!
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9 months ago