Fort Steele

Fort Steele store and curio store at the entrance

Look closely at the lower right hand side "Ice Cream" is written above the door.

Of course we were awakened by half of the people camped at Norbury Lake to either participate or observe a triathlon that began at 6:00 AM (so most participants were up earlier eating the power bars and drinking their nutritional fluids.  I my self was trying to find a place to expel some fluids.  They were off in wet suits to swim a 1 mile or some amount of kilometers of icy lake water.  

Only which the day before I had washed my big toe in this water.   I'm sure it was only frost bite but when I first  removed it from the freezing water I thought it had fallen off instantaneously.  Needless to say only one toe got washed yesterday.  Every other part of my body remained safe and warm.    

Of course there were a crew of volunteers that would direct those individuals who could walk on water to their bicycles once they had tip toed around the buoys that were frozen stiffly in the lake. I could not bear to watch those that actually submerge themselves in the water but I'm sure they were somehow all accounted for.  Once on their bikes the smart ones drove straight into the sun for 56 kilos.  When they returned they sported running shoes and ran a distance.  

By that time Jon and I had already been awakened by the shrills and screams of hypothermic triatheletes splashing through the water and we were peddling our warm little As up the next hill to the cultural heritage of Fort Steele some 11 miles away.  It was a climb in places but all in all a pleasant ride.  Once there we found that we were there before it had opened.  But we were there in time to watch the local merchant Cliff and his wife assemble their BBQ and Jerky stand.  This place wasn't exactly Disney Land although it had some similar features.  It was a fort or community established in 1896 or 97 because gold had been found in these hills and the fort helped secure the gold miners.  Or at least their gold.  

The staff all dressed in quaint attire of the time and gave you an impression that you were witnessing the community of that era. We had a very interesting talk with the leather worker who gave us an indebt demonstration of preparing a piece of rawhide to repair what was a broken bridal for some horses used in the fort.  I was impressed how quickly he transformed something that looked like road kill into a usable piece of usable leather strap.  He soon had it sown onto the horse apparatus where the damaged one had been removed.  Apparently in 1897 in this area of Canada Walmart hadn't established a super store.  None the less I had never seen an apparatus like this at Walmart anyway.  

Soon we had found the culture we were looking for.  The Bakery.  After devouring several heritage type pastries that had masterfully been baked in a wood oven. We were eating right once again.  I watch the maiden of the kitchen reach into a five gallon plastic drum and pull out a hand full of that white sugary substance and with a plastic glove smear that luscious substance on an oversize cinnamon roll. Then and then alone I knew it was authentic.  I'm sure those rolls were immediately shipped to Albuquerque.  I always knew that there was a lot more history behind those Frontier Cinnamon Rolls than anyone let on.  

Once we had sufficiently view the wonders of the homes, school rooms, churches, blacksmiths shops, dress maker shops, justice of the peace, farm implements , road equipment and a thirty two foot tall water wheel that created 68 horses of power to turn a turbine generator that powered pumps that moved 600 gallons a minute to the surface from the debts of the gold mine. Turbines and plastic buckets the late 1800's were not exactly as I had imagined.  

Soon we found our way back to the BBQ and ice cream what seemed to be becoming our substance  for an "eating right" on the road menu.

Once full we were on the road to Wasa.  What a name, I'm sorry I wasn't listening when we had Canadian history but why did they name this place Wasa.  It was next to a lake named Wasa.  Maybe the lake was much larger than what I saw and someone made the statement Wasa nt there a lake here?  Wa La the name Wasa was pinned on this body of water.  On our way to Wasa Lake the wind came up with a fury and before we knew it we were sailing over hill and dale.  The wind for the first time in 3 years and over 2,600 miles was at our back.  I check my compass and map several times just knowing that we must be headed in the oposite direction but no soon, I mean soon we were there.  10 miles went by in that flash of light and we were soon having coffee in the Wasa Lake restaurant.  We were there so soon we hadn't even worked up an appetite.  This was unheard on in the annals of our journals across the country.  But at last it was true.  We apologized for taking up room and only drinking coffee but we promised the proprietor we would return with an apetite he could bank on.

Setting up camp was a little precarious given that the tail wind had not subsided.  Each of us carefully staked down our tiny abodes and hunkered down.  I fell asleep and Jon awoke me to warn me of a pending thunder head approaching.  I looked up in amazement that there was actually clouds in the Northern Hemisphere.  We had been plagued with record heat for the last three weeks with not a cloud in the sky.  We were so brown people were calling us "toast".  Along with these clouds came coolness that was so welcomed and appreciated that I stood for several seconds taking in the change in temperature.  Of course once I had my rain cover over the tent and my gear safely stashed in a dry place I crawled back in and closed my eyes enjoying the music of the rain drops tapping on the nylon covering.

Leather smith repairing a leather strap

BBQ Stand behind Jon

An engine with no Cab.  Must be an early version of a Drone.

A young eagle perched above our tents.