Demolition Derby
Linda and Rick
Clydesdales at Fort Steel
Brown Eyed SusanBritish Columbia
Our first stop was the historic town of Nelson. In addition to beautiful architecture, it is also the city where the movie Roxanne, with Steve Martin, was filmed. So we combined the historic walking tour with the movie location tour. In Fernie, we checked into our chalet, where we are part owners. Pat’s sister, Linda and her husband Rick joined us there. Fernie was founded as a coal mining town. No mining is done here now, but up the road 30 miles is Sparwood - surface mining is still very active, as the frequent coal train traffic proves. We drove up there for their Coal Miner Days. We attended a Demolition Derby and watched the local boys spin out, spray the fans (i.e. us) with mud, and wreak cars. When all the macho energy was dissipated, a Powder-Puff Event (woman drivers) was schedule. This was enough for half the crowd to leave. We stayed and we were glad we did. Apparently there were some personal grudges to be settled by these women because they hit harder than the men. One woman’s helmet flew off after she was broadsided. By the time the women were finished, there were no more derby cars that could move under their own power.
Our tour of Fort Steel was a bit tamer. This was a recreation of the first Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) fort in BC. Nearby was the site of a major gold rush and gold is still being commercially removed from the river. We were given instruction on how to properly pan for gold. Considering the price of gold, and the volatility of other investments, it’s not a bad skill to have!
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