Aside from our fishing trip on Thursday, September 25, 2019, the rest of our stay in Harrison Hot Springs was spent dodging rain drops. We managed to sneak in a few coffee walks before the rain showers. On Wednesday, we walked into town from our campground and found the source of the Harrison Hot Spring.
The hot springs themselves were originally used and revered by the Sts'Ailes (Chehalis) First Nations people who live along the Harrison River. The Village of Harrison Hot Springs has been a small resort community since 1886, when the opening of the Canadian Pacific Railway brought the lakeside springs within a short carriage ride of the transcontinental mainline. Today, the hot springs are controlled by the Hot Spring Resort and Spa. There are two options to enjoy the healing waters. One is to book a so-called "day room" at the resort and spa for a mere $145.00, and the other is to go to the public pool for $15.00.
On the way back from the source, we stopped in the Hot Springs Resort Garden and noticed a 9/11 memorial. A New York resident who frequented Harrison Hot Springs planted a New York Maple tree at this spot and (presumably) funded the memorial stone.
In case you didn't know, the Sasquatch is legendary in Harrison Hot Springs with many regional sightings. Described as a bi-pedal mammal of exceptional size with great strength and reddish hair covering its entire body. The word Sasquatch is thought to be a mispronunciation of the Sts’ailes First Nations word ‘Sasq’ets’, meaning ‘hairy man’. For centuries, the Sasquatch has occupied a unique niche in the oral traditions of the First Nations communities of Harrison Lake and Harrison River. The Sts’ailes believe the Sasquatch is a spiritual being that can vanish into the spirit realm at will, which may explain why the elusive being is so difficult to track down.
For more information, you can visit the Sasquatch Museum located behind the Visitor Center in downtown Harrison Hot Springs. It is a serious exhibit and documents many of the "sightings" that have occurred.
Just behind our campground was a wilderness area. We would have loved to explore it more, but it would have been a hike straight up!
On one of our coffee walks, we walked around a man-made lagoon on the shore of the lake. The waters of Harrison Lake are so cold, the town built the shallow lagoon so the water could warm up enough to allow folks to swim.
As we walked by, this blue heron had just finished its fishing expedition in the lagoon and was drying its wings.
Just a short walk another direction, to the east, from our campground was The East Sector Lands Recreation Site, a 316 acre nature park. After the loggers came through, this area was allowed to regenerate into a diverse landscape that consists of mixed coniferous and deciduous forested areas. Huge old-growth stumps, some with springboard notches, are everywhere in the woods:
Some of the trees are even big enough to hug!
During our time in Harrison Hot Springs, we also explored part of the Miami River Greenway. A number of houses back up to the trail along the Miami River. Some of those houses have very whimsical garden decorations. Because so many houses had old, rusty equipment or vehicles in their backyards, we imagined that the developer of the neighborhood distributed some of this artful junk among all of the building lots, from stuff found on the old farm from which the neighborhood was developed.
Technically a creek, but the local insist on calling it a river, the Miami River has its headwaters in Agassiz and its outfall through the dike, just past the Harrison Resort Hotel. “Miama” is almost certainly the original historical name for the waterway, since Miami, Florida, had not yet become a well-known place when the local map was drawn.
During our coffee walk, we crossed the Ruth Altendorf Bridge. Let it be remembered that she was passionate and kind, a performer — both singer and actress — and outdoor enthusiast, she was also a local advocate, author, humanitarian and supporter of heritage, arts and culture.
Our last morning, we woke up to see snow on the surrounding hills. Time to head south!
We leave Harrison Hot Springs with fall in full bloom.
Our next stop is Aldergrove, just a few miles from the US Border. Before we cross, we are looking forward to our day trip into Vancouver. For more on that adventure, see the next blog.
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