New Golf Course Opens Near Cranbrook
The golf gods sure have taken a shine to British Columbia.
Another sparkling new golf course opened last month. The St. Eugene Mission Golf Course spreads out along the St. Mary Valley just outside Cranbrook. It’s only a 3-hour drive from Spokane.
The western slope of the B.C. Rockies already has more than a half dozen outstanding courses.
The 7,007-yard, par-72 championship St. Eugene Mission course plays through three types of terrain. The opening and finishing holes offer links golf, with broad open fairways lined by white-sand traps, waste bunkers and rough.
After the first few holes, players enter woodlands. Heavy forest lines the fairways, and the course’s signature hole, the par-3 No. 13, challenges golfers with a 220-yard shot off an elevated tee to what looks like a green the size of a Canadian loonie.
The river holes follow the St. Mary down one side of the fairways with thick forest on the other. Ponds and wetlands also come into play.
It’s a thinking player’s course, offering great challenge and sport.
Here’s another big plus: Trickle Creek is less than a half hour away. Plus, Kimberley Golf Club is nearby.
Les Furber, the renowned architect responsible for Trickle Creek and the Springs at Radium, among others, designed St. Eugene Mission.
Greens fees there are about $37 U.S. ($55 Canadian), plus tax. For tee times, call toll-free (877) 417-3133. More information can be found on the Web at www.golfsteugene.com.
Packages are available by calling (800) 667-0871. One deal offers two nights accommodation, two meal vouchers and two rounds of golf, at Trickle, St. Eugene or Kimberley. The price is $125 U.S. per person. There are some restrictions.
Hot Web site: health
Worried about catching some disease while traveling? You can check out the health of your destination country by clicking on a site run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/travel. There’s updated information on which illnesses are breaking out and tips on how to avoid getting sick from food and water.
Travel Health Online also offers helpful information at www.tripprep.com/index.html. The site includes a country-by-country health profile of a particular place. It includes health alerts for certain diseases, but offers heavy disclaimers.
The World Health Organization site - www.who.ch - has updated lists of advisories telling which countries U.S. citizens should avoid and when.
Travel tip: important numbers
Carrying around lists of emergency phone numbers, credit card numbers, confirmation numbers, postcard addresses, travelers check serial numbers and more can load a person down.
The solution is simple: e-mail. Before heading off on a big trip, put all those digits into an e-mail message and send it to an account you can access from anywhere.
Then you can scramble to a cybercafe to retrieve the info. If you’re lucky, your hotel will offer Web access through the television in your room.
If you’re concerned about Internet security or just want to play it safe, you could code all those numbers.
Regional events
Buzzard Day, June 20, Glendive, Mont., at Makoshika State Park. A celebration of spring and turkey buzzards; activities include nature walks, pancake breakfast, kite flying, badlands bike rodeo and cookouts (with buzzard burgers and a steak dinner). (406) 365-6256.
Leavenworth International Accordion Celebration, June 22-24, Leavenworth, Wash. Highlights include concerts, jam sessions, workshops and an accordion parade through the center of this Bavarian-style town. (509) 548-5807; www.leavenworth.org/summer.html.