Leaving Pincher Creek to make my way back to Montana for my flight back to Los Angeles, I wanted to take the most adventurous route. Yes, going back the way I came, back along the eastern slope of Glacier National Park was an option. But, I wanted more. I wanted to see more of what Southern Canada had to offer. It had been so long since I’d been in the visual pleasure of such remote wilderness. And I was determined to savor every bit of it.
So, at a comfortable point in the morning, I left Stardust Inn and Chalets to get gas. After getting my morning breakfast from Tim Hortons, I was on my way. I passed through Crowsnest Pass and saw the world’s largest truck in Sparwood before making my way to Fernie.
When I arrived, I immediately parked, walked in and put my name down on the waitlist. Since I was a party of one, I was seated almost immediately.
My order of Fernie Brewing Co’s What The Huck Berry Ale was delicious.
But the true stars of lunch were the Brie Burger (6oz Alberta beef patty, brie, maple glazed bacon, arugula, pickled red onion, rosemary tomato & chipotle aioli) and the Caesar salad.
There was something beautiful about the energy of Fernie. One, because the name made me smile. But second, the air smelled different than in the United States. I’d been in the Colorado Rockies and thought I knew what mountain air smelled like. No – the Canadian Rockies smell different. The scent of the trees and the misty rain was inescapable.
My brief stop in Fernie made me want more. I wanted to come back and have that incredible burger again, to snowboard the Fernie mountain and to really experience what it feels like to be in a Canadian snow village, during winter.
Truly, there’s somethings special about being so close and yet worlds away from the United States. Maybe it’s how visually oversaturated Los Angeles is – with advertising billboards, the type of people and the overall vibe. Fernie was the opposite. That contrast is exactly what made my short time there so memorable.
The Brickhouse Bar and Grill
401 2 AvenueFernie, British Columbia V0B 1M0, Canada
