Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Our day began in Whitefish, Montana at Tally Lake Campground. This was a beautiful place to stay with overlooking views of the lake. There was only one other camper there that we saw, so it was nice & quiet, too. We enjoyed a Top 10 gorgeous weather day yesterday, hiked, and took a dip in the lake. An air system moved in overnight though, bringing cooler temperatures and light rain.

Andi had calls scheduled this morning, so he was up & moving at 6:30am. Unfortunately, our RV’s inverter stopped working sometime throughout the night. The inverter powers all the electrical outlets for our RV, which meant that our Starlink satellite internet was down because it needs to be plugged into power. There is no cell signal or electrical plug-ins at this site. We’re not sure why our inverter isn’t working lately… It’s always something, isn’t it?

Andi knocked on Laura & Shaun’s camper door to see if he could drive Shaun’s truck to an area with a decent cell signal, but he couldn’t get them to answer. So, he completely powered down the RV and let it sit for 20 minutes or so to see if the inverter would start working again. (Unplug it and plug it back in, kinda thing.) Luckily, that worked! Andi was able to make his first call, but it was definitely a hectic, stressful morning for him.

While Andi worked outside the RV, I got Tory and Aden up & moving for the day. The three of us did school at the dining table over a breakfast of Kalispell Kreamery yogurt and oatmeal.

I happened to glance at Aden sitting at the table doing math, and it reminded me of a photo I took of him five years ago, the last time we visited Whitefish. I found the photo on my phone, and it floored me how similar of a pose he sat in then & now. Sweet boy; he grew a little taller, but some things never change.

Meanwhile, our newly minted teenager was busy applying her make-up in the front seat. I had to laugh when I saw what Tory packed for this trip — she only brought a few shirts and pants for our six-week trip; most of her cubby area is full of skincare, hair, nails, and make-up products.

Before we left Tally Lake Campground, Aden found a crayfish exoskeleton on the beach. How cool! We decided to leave it next to a rock at the campsite for the next camper to find & enjoy.

By 9:30am, we were on the move again with Laura & Shaun following behind us in their camper. We left the city of Whitefish and drove north to Eureka, Montana to fill up on propane before crossing the border into British Columbia, Canada. When Andi told the worker at the propane station where we were going, the guy said, “Eh, cut the bullshit and go straight to Alaska.” As tempting as that sounds, it’s be shorter to drive from where we are in northern Montana to Austin, Texas than it would be to drive to Alaska from here. Alaska is still 1,500 miles away from Montana which is crazy to think about!

We crossed the border into Canada at Roosville, Montana. We presented our passports to the border control gate agent, answered a few simple questions about firearms, and we were on our way into British Columbia. Easy peasy! I did prep the kids ahead of time that there was a chance the agent could’ve have inspected the inside of our RV — I’ve heard stories of that — but that didn’t happen to us today. Not that we have anything to hide if he had chosen to do so.

Our first stop in British Columbia was the town of Invermere — about 2 1/2 hours north of the US/Canada border. The weather in BC was rainy, foggy, and cool. Andi and I were certain there were some pretty mountain views surrounding us, but we couldn’t see them today.

Andi picked a restaurant called Fuze for lunch (which ended up being more of an early dinner by the time we arrived there around 4:30pm). This was a healthier salad/bowls/wraps place, and it all looked delicious. I ordered a Mediterranean falafel bowl, Andi got the chicken satay bowl, and Aden ordered a kids chicken teriyaki bowl. Tory said she wasn’t very hungry, so she got a side of hummus & pita bread and a smoothie.

After lunch, Andi, Tory, Aden, Laura, Shaun, and I walked around downtown Invermere. This is a super cute town, and is a well-liked weekend destination for people living in Calgary and the surrounding areas. Lake Windermere, one of the area’s warmest lakes, is located in Invermere which makes this a popular place for swimming, boating, and fishing in the summertime. There are also several hot springs in the area, too.

Not much going on in Invermere today now that it’s the September shoulder season. The streets were quiet on this chilly fall afternoon. By 5:00pm, most of the businesses had closed for the day, but Stolen Church Ice Cream Shop was still open, so we stopped in for a treat. Tory ordered a dish of Mud Pie ice cream. Aden opted for a hot chocolate, and I ordered a hot tea. The six of us continued to walk around the streets of downtown admiring all the pretty flowers.

Around 5:45pm, we continued driving 15 minutes north to the town of Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia. This town is located in Kootenay National Park, and features naturally-heated mineral pools. Andi booked us two campsites close to the hot springs at The Canyons RV Resort. This was a really nice campground with full hook-ups for $45 Canadian ($33 USD). That’s a great price!

After we settled into our campsite, Andi decided to throw in a load of laundry since it was an available service here. He and Aden hauled our laundry bag all the way across the campground only to discover that we didn’t have Canadian coins to operate the laundry machine. Darn! The RV office had already closed for the day.

Laura and Shaun said they were ‘out’ on visiting the hot springs tonight. They wanted a chill night in their RV. I knew that Tory really wanted to watch the VMAs tonight, so Andi and I offered that she could stay back from the hot springs to watch her show while we took Aden to the springs. After all, Laura and Shaun would be nearby if Tory needed anything.

So around 7:00pm, Andi, Aden, and I borrowed Shaun’s truck and drove to Radium Hot Springs. On the way there, Andi suggested we stop at the laundromat in town to wash our laundry while we visited the pools. We were able to get some Loonies and Toonies ($1 and $2 Canadian coins) at the gas station next door to operate the washing machine & dryer.

As I loaded the dirty laundry into the machine, I noticed there was a five-pound sack of potatoes at the bottom of our laundry bag. Sometimes we store heavy or awkwardly-shaped things in our shower while we’re driving the RV and for whatever reason, the sack of potatoes must have gotten inside the laundry basket that we store in the shower. “No wonder Dad had such a hard time lugging that laundry bag around the campground,” Aden said with a chuckle.

With our laundry now in the washing machines, Andi suggested we kill time for 25 minutes until it was time to switch it to the dryers. We decided to go to Tim Horton’s for donut holes since that’s all Aden’s been talking about since he learned we were visiting Canada again this fall.

There weren’t many flavor options left this late in the day, so we took what was available — glazed, chocolate, and birthday cake. Man, were they tasty — even when they’re 12-hours old! The three of us had to hold strong to save the donut holes for breakfast.

By the time we flipped our laundry to the dryer and drove to the hot springs, it was 8:00pm. The pools closed at 9:00pm, and last admittance was at 8:30pm, so we didn’t have much time. Because Radium Hot Springs is located within Kootenay National Park, the hot springs are run by Parks Canada. Admission price cost $17.50 for adults, and $15.25 for youth (ages 3-17 years). No discount for arriving this close to closing time. We paid the entrance fee at the service counter, and made our way to the hot soaking pool.

We’ve been to hot springs like this one before which are actual pools fed by natural mineral water. It’s not as magical of an experience as hot springs in the actual river, but it’s still a fun and unique thing to do where available. Lucky for us, the hot springs weren’t very busy since it was so late in the evening. The three of us enjoyed a relaxing soak in the pool until around 8:45pm.

Radium Hot Springs’ pools were surrounded by tall, towering mountain rock. I spotted a family of mountain goats climbing along the rocks.

“Do you see them?” I asked Andi.

No, he didn’t have his glasses on.

“Do you see the mountain goats?” I asked Aden.

No, he didn’t have his glasses on either.

Guess I’m the family member in charge if there’s a rockslide coming our way.

As we drove away from the hot springs, we all laughed as Aden described his experience in the men’s locker room. At 10-years old, he’s still relatively new to the public changing scene. “I saw some things in there I can’t unsee,” he told us.

We stopped at the laundromat one last time to pick up our laundry before making our way back to The Canyons RV Resort. Andi bought a Subway sandwich for Aden at the gas station, too, and grabbed one for Tory as well.

Tory reportedly had a wonderful evening alone in the RV. Taylor Swift won more awards, Tory told us, which was the highlight. Oh, and polishing off all the ice cream while Mom & Dad weren’t here to police her intake.

Tomorrow, we’re leaving Radium Hot Springs early to go to Banff National Park. Andi was able to secure us two last-minute openings at one of the campgrounds in the park, so that’s a lucky break! We’re excited to experience Canada’s oldest national park for ourselves.