Hoodoos, Golf and Vertigo

The natives call these formations "Hoodoos". I don't think it's the same as Creedence's "Born on the Bayou"--"Chasin down the hoodoos there." but they are quite impressive up close. Sandstone cliffs with erosion that makes the cliff faces look almost like human faces. These hoodoos are about 10 minutes south of where we are staying in Fairmont Hot Sprins, British Columbia. It was about a 3-hour drive from our motel in Whitefish, Montana and we arrived here Saturday.


This is a picture of the condos where we are staying, Fairmont Villas at Riverside. It's a nice, spacious 2-bedroom and probably the nicest non-Marriott we have visited. We have the whole place to ourselves since our cousins and my sister we not able to join us. (Aside to Ben, Lisa, Karen and Jay--you missed it!!!) There is a full kitchen, 2 jacuzzi tubs, the best shower ever, and spectacular views. We are here until Friday and then we head on to Whistler to see the preparations for the Winter Olympics. Units have barbecues on the back porch (which overlooks a river and a golf course) and I cooked some delicious top sirloins for dinner tonight.

To the right is pretty much the view greeting us when we walk out our front door. Those are the Canadian Rockies. Banff is on the other side of them, and we were hoping to get to go there sometime this week. Thay may not happen because of some health issues described below, but we are still hoping. If not this trip, the next one, because we have already decided this is a place we want to revisit.

There are 3 golf courses on the property, 2 full 18-hole courses, Mountainside and Riverside (names are self-explanatory) and a 9-hold par-3 course called Riverside. Jan brought her clubs, and since it's been about 4 years since she played, we chose to play Creekside. We had lunch at the Mountainside clubhouse. That course was still fairly busy even though it is obviously off-season, and in the pro shop I overheard the starter discussing (with a couple getting ready to tee off) how to deal with a brown bear sighting!

So we teed off at Creekside, and concentration was sometimes difficult thanks to views like the one to the left. The course itself was not that challenging, with most of the distances in the 110 yard range for me, but it was perfect for Jan's reintroduction to golf. Highlight of her day was sinking a 40-foot putt on #2. Since the course was not that crowded, I sometimes played more than one ball, with the goal of shooting a best ball of 60 or better--so I can say I've shot lower than my age. I struggled on the first time through with a 33, but had 6 pars and 2 birdies the second time for a 26 and a score of 59!! For you OC golfers, the greens were a bit slow--that's an exaggeration. The made Willowick seem lightning quick. Kind of reminded me of the greens at Ridgeline in Orange, which is no more. Though I played well, I began to get lightheaded and dizzy every time I reached down to tee up or pick up my ball. (I haven't included pictures of the next part, for understandable reasons). I think the adrenaline of playing minimized the effects, but once we were done and in the car, the dizziness and nausea set in, and I headed straight for the couch. Readers of my earlier blogs know how ill I have to be to allow myself to lose my lunch, but this was the closest I have come in many, many years. Actually had to crawl to the bathroom because the room was spinning so much. Dinner consisted of soda crackers and diet Pepsi.

Woke up a little better today, but not well enough to try to go to Banff. Ate lunch at the clubhouse and went from dizzy to tired, so came back and took a 3-hour nap. Jan found some Advil sinus at the store and that has seemed to help. Since snow is forecast for tomorrow and Thursday, and I have no desire to drive in the stuff, we may have to forego Banff and Lake Louise for this trip. Friday we head for Whistler with a stop at Kamloops Friday night, and that will include driving through Glacier NP of Canada. If it's even close in beauty to Glacier in Montana it will be a wonderful trip.