We started the day by driving a little bit north of Cranbrook to the Fort Steele historic site. Like Heritage Park and Fort Edmonton Park, it is a chance to walk through the buildings that existed in this area over 100 years ago. And, like Heritage Park and Fort Edmonton Park, it is one street too long for the kids. It seems like we always end up dragging them through the last area before leaving the park.
But I am getting ahead of myself, as the kids loved the first part of the park. Evan and Jonathan love animals and the first thing we saw were a bunch of horses. Xander hides it poorly, but he is a bit of a fan of learning about things, and he enjoyed going through the NWMP officer's quarters, where Sandra read each of the placards to him and explained what was in each room. All of the kids loved the water tower, which you climb to the top and then look out over the park and the river.
Later on in the park, we were able to stop and watch a blacksmith work, as he filled the entire building with smoke from the coal fire he was tending. Once it was hot enough, he heated a few pieces of iron and began to hammer them into shape. Evan was a bit scared of the fire, but the blacksmith used a second forge to show him where the fire was located and to ensure him that it wasn't going to come anywhere near us.
The next big thing for the kids was the chance to pan for gold. You had to pay money to pan for actual gold (one of the workers was adding gold to bags of rocks for that purpose when we arrived), but they had a kid's training area where there were rocks that contained iron pyrite. Xander and Evan both panned for gold, though I ended up trying to help Evan a bit and missed the majority of the instructions, so that didn't turn out so well. In the end, they both obtained a tiny bag of fake gold to take home.
After exploring the rest of the park, we went to a picnic table in the parking area and ate lunch, before heading over to the train station to take a short train ride. Everyone was happy for the train ride until the whistle blew, at which point Jonathan turned around and started walking the other direction. I picked him and carried him on the train, but he was not happy at all. By the end of the ride, he had his head buried in my chest, with his hands pulling his hat over top of his ears. I don't think he has inherited my love of trains.
We then bundled everyone in the car and drove through the mountains to Castlegar, where it is blazingly hot. The drive was a bit interesting, as 8 km of an 8% grade downhill is a bit of a white knuckle drive, but luckily the road between Creston and Castlegar was quite empty. That kind of drive is always easier when there isn't a bunch of traffic around you.
The last cool thing of the day occurred when we arrived at the hotel in Castlegar. After asking for a room, the first thing they ask for is the number of guests. Upon hearing that I had small children, the girl asked if I wanted their "Space Room" for the same rate. Apparently this hotel has theme rooms for the kids, and as one was still open late in the day, it was available without having to pay a premium. So, the boys are sleeping in bunk beds in a room covered with planets, while the door to our room is a giant space shuttle.
We are finally on Pacific Time, which prompted Xander to try and stay up for an extra hour tonight, but that did not go over well with his parents. However, I hope in vain that he will sleep in the extra hour tomorrow morning!
Later on in the park, we were able to stop and watch a blacksmith work, as he filled the entire building with smoke from the coal fire he was tending. Once it was hot enough, he heated a few pieces of iron and began to hammer them into shape. Evan was a bit scared of the fire, but the blacksmith used a second forge to show him where the fire was located and to ensure him that it wasn't going to come anywhere near us.
The next big thing for the kids was the chance to pan for gold. You had to pay money to pan for actual gold (one of the workers was adding gold to bags of rocks for that purpose when we arrived), but they had a kid's training area where there were rocks that contained iron pyrite. Xander and Evan both panned for gold, though I ended up trying to help Evan a bit and missed the majority of the instructions, so that didn't turn out so well. In the end, they both obtained a tiny bag of fake gold to take home.
We then bundled everyone in the car and drove through the mountains to Castlegar, where it is blazingly hot. The drive was a bit interesting, as 8 km of an 8% grade downhill is a bit of a white knuckle drive, but luckily the road between Creston and Castlegar was quite empty. That kind of drive is always easier when there isn't a bunch of traffic around you.
1 comment:
Sounds like everything is going well. Guess we won't be taking the boys to the WDM in S'toon. I think they'll like Kinsmen Park better.
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