The Sandpoint Eater: Get out of town!

By Marcia Pilgeram
Reader Staff

Two weeks ago, I was exploring the wilds of the Canadian Rockies as a guest of Rocky Mountaineer — the luxury touring train that operates several routes in Western Canada. 

We started my favorite day with breakfast in Banff, visiting iconic Lake Louise and breathtaking Lake Maligne, touring Athabasca Glacier in a mammoth snow coach and visiting Fairmont Hotel’s beautiful Jasper Park Lodge. At day’s end, Patrick, our Brewster Tours motorcoach driver, delivered us to Jasper, where we spent two nights before catching our Whistler-bound train. 

On our second evening, I joined a couple of longtime travel friends, Bill and Tom, for cocktails. They celebrated 52 years of marriage, and visiting Banff and the Canadian Rockies had long topped their bucket list. They both agreed it did not disappoint. After cocktails, we headed to The Birch Kitchen for dinner.

Summer in Jasper is not unlike summer in Sandpoint, but it is on a much larger scale: overcrowded with tourists, its infrastructure bursting at the seams. 

Our dinner conversation was lively, discussing the marvels of all we’d seen the previous few days, and eagerly anticipated our upcoming train journey. I am trying to remember what my friends ate, but I had a delicious shrimp Louie salad. Rumor has it that the shrimp (and crab) Louie (or sometimes “Louis”) salad was created for the fame of Louis Davenport, of the Davenport Hotel in Spokane. However, you will hear similar declarations of ownership from The St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. 

Regardless of its provenance, it’s a favorite of mine, and when I see it on a menu, I eat it. As we lingered over dinner, a gust of wind whipped down Jasper’s main street, carrying chunks of debris and causing a short power outage.  

On our walk back to the hotels, we commented on the smoke and haze that was settling in and hoped our Canadian Rockies views from the train wouldn’t be affected. We hugged goodnight at their hotel, and I continued several blocks before reaching mine. 

I wasn’t in my room for more than an hour when an emergency warning siren went off in the hotel and then on my phone. We received notice that an immediate evacuation order was in place. Because our group of about 40 people was divided by regional subgroups and occupied two different hotels, our communication wasn’t great. 

We assembled in the lobby to await further instructions, and it was a melting pot of travelers. Many were tourists who spoke little or no English. Their tour had ended for the day, and a new coach would pick them up in the morning. There were bikers and hikers, young families with infants and wheelchair-bound elderly parents. We all milled in the lobby or the smoke-filled parking lot, waiting for instructions. Even the hotel workers (many foreigners on a summer work visa) were uncertain what to do. Some people tried checking out, and others just fled for their vehicles, if they had one. 

Many of us felt the need to help in some small way; comforting those who were paralyzed with fear, handing out masks and water. I was thankful that several guests ran up and down the hallways, pounding on doors to alert and awaken especially sound sleepers (I wouldn’t have thought of that).

Finally, a coach arrived for us, with our familiar and beloved driver, Patrick, at the wheel. Though he was technically out of legal driving hours for the day, exceptions are made in emergencies. We settled on the couch and spent the next three hours going nowhere. Some of the guys on my coach ran to the other hotel we were occupying, led the rest of our group to the coach and loaded their bags before we had moved a block. 

It was more than nerve wracking — 25,000 people were evacuating, and all exits led to one road. Finally, after seven hours, we arrived at the Community Centre in Valemount, B.C., 70 miles from Jasper. The center was full, but we found a haven with the folks (heroes) at New Life Centre. There were four evacuation centers set up, offering free food and coffee. There were no shrimp Louie salads, but plenty of hot coffee, peanut butter and bread. And a toaster! Honestly, nothing ever tasted better. 

I watched those tireless volunteers prep fruit, make soup and sandwiches, fill water bottles and hand out endless hugs. I will forever be grateful. 

The next day we made our way to Kamloops, and spent a couple of nights there before boarding the long-anticipated train to Vancouver. Crazy enough, one of the meals onboard the train was a lovely, chilled shrimp salad and I took that as a good omen. 

And yes, I whipped up another one as soon as I got home. I think the Louie dressing makes the salad, and I hope you’ll like the recipe for mine.

Shrimp (or crab) Louie dressing

Make several hours in advance and chill well. A Magic Bullet works really well for preparing this dressing. Enough dressing for 3 or 4 individual salads.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Best Foods mayonnaise

• 2 tbs ketchup

• ¼ tsp celery seeds

• 2 tbs fresh peeled and finely grated horseradish root (or 1 tbs prepared horseradish)

• 1 tbs curly parsley, finely chopped

• 1 green onion, minced

• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

• ½ tsp smoked paprika

• 2 tbs fresh lemon juice

• 1 tbs fresh lemon zest

• 1 pinch sugar

• White pepper and sea salt to taste

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender or Magic Bullet and blend until smooth. Taste to correct the seasoning to your liking. Store covered in refrigerator for up to a week.