Touring Western Canada with a Rock Band: Day Three (part 9)

When we arrived in Fernie BC, we were immediately struck by its beauty. By the the time we had considered where to stop for a break however, the town was nearly completely behind us, so we saw a place where a couple of other cars were parked in a pull-off near the river, and joined them there. We noted a couple people in hip-waders fishing, then pried ourselves out of the truck cab to have a cold drink and some snacks. We took in the pretty natural scenery, and I noted to myself that I’d like to come back at some point with more time to spend.

By now we were mostly revived, aided by the cold mountain air, in lifted spirits we hung out on the side of the highway for half an hour or more before continuing on through the Rockies and enduring the long, straight, mind-numbing drive across the prairie to Lethbridge, Alberta.

~Cheers, Rev. D




Touring Western Canada with a Rock Band: Day Three (part 8)

Leaving Nelson in the morning, we got a jump on the drive to Lethbridge. We had agreed we were go on straight to the next town even though we had a break in the tour for a couple days, but it was a bit tough to stay such a short time in such a cool place. On we went, unhurried but tired after a short sleep until we stopped in Creston BC for a short break. We continued on from there, listening to podcasts in the truck, in a mostly zombie-like state, staring at the picturesque scenery until we got to Fernie BC.

~Cheers, Rev. D


Touring Western Canada with a Rock Band: Day Two (part 7)

The reality is the biggest adventure of The Adventure Hotel was trying to find our room. Tucked in the far recess of the building was our tiny dorm. Up two flights of stairs, passed the the laundry room, passed the staff room, hang a left, to the end of the hall, turn right and to the end of the hall. Do all this while navigating some optical illusion 3-D trippy “only-in-a-hotel” crazy carpeting.

If that wasn’t enough, I had the idea to get high on some (legal) BC weed. I’m a lightweight when it comes to cannabis, but that particular night I had shared a whole joint. Not on purpose, but because I was enraptured in good conversation and by the time I knew it the joint was gone. This made navigating to the room the second and third time even more arduous. We had previously picked up some hotel room drinks (gluten-free, low sugar vodka sodas of course), but I doubt we even made it though six of them after the moderate drinking at the bar, so after some barely coherent conversation, we all crashed for the night so we could get at least a few hours of shut-eye before making the long-ass drive to Lethbridge the next day.

Next: We leave BC, we cross the Rockies, we arrive weary and worn in Lethbridge, Alberta.

~Cheers, Rev. D


Touring Western Canada with a Rock Band: Day Two (part 5)

We were making good time, passing through sections of the province I personally had never seen before. Passing though Rock Creek, Midway, Greenwood and a curious little place called Anaconda, we stopped in Grand Forks BC to reorient ourselves and figure out where exactly the venue was in Nelson Vogue Villains were to play that night. After a bit of Google-fu we punched in the address of “The Royal” into the maps app and headed towards our destination. Despite our vigilance, we at one point took a south where we should have gone north and drove for fifteen minutes in the wrong direction.

I haven’t visited Nelson BC in at least a decade up until now, but I always have had fond memories every time I have been there. It’s a laid back town, full of character and characters. The locals have their own flavour, some second generation hippies, some old timers who have dropped out of mainstream society years ago. A vibrant cast of artists and generally an eclectic mix of people, almost surreal in nature. As we arrived into town, the vibe was palpable. The Royal on Baker was near the close end of town and we found it no problem to find a spot near the entrance to park and load in gear for the show. As we carried armload after armload of band equipment, a few locals gathered to regale us with stories of their time touring with bands such as the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, and others to diligently explain conspiracy theories like why humans didn’t ever go to the moon.

Once we were finished unpacking, our moods lifted, I set to work finding a power outlet inside the bar to charge all my many diminishing batteries, and grabbed a cold beer.

Next: Vogue Villains play a two hour set at The Royal.

~Cheers, Rev. D