Local Bear references

 

"...Tots are playing on the beach below him
Too close for comfort so they call the cops
Safety first for those that don't him
Pop a cap and see the big bear drop

"...Mountie, wish you were directing traffic?
Instead of taking down the big black oaf?
Lose-lose with this demographic
You're a killer if you do and you're damned if you don't"

"...And drowns to the sound of Dixieland"

The song references an incident which occurred at a 2004 music festival in British Columbia. Craig explains: "Kaslo BC is a beautiful place and the festival is a wonderful event held on a stage that floats off the beach in a gorgeous bay. The night we arrived a curious local bear came down to the lakeshore to see what all the fuss was about. He got a little close to the kids and dancers. The local conservation officer was away somewhere else with the tranquilizer gun so an unlucky cop had to shoot the bear in front of the crowd. It fell from a tree, stumbled to the water and drowned as Jeff Healy's Jazz Wizard's played Dixieland for a stunned crowd. Rob's guitar work almost brings the bear back to life."

"...Kick'n up past the Kicking Horse Pass
Roll the tone out for a mellow good time"

From a long dead CPR fansite: "there is no place in Canada more famous than Canadian Pacific's Kicking Horse Pass. This vital link in the transcontinental route was originally a brutal 4.5% grade until the famous Spiral Tunnels lowered the gradient to a more manageable 2%.

When the CPR was built the route came through the Kicking Horse Pass. Between the Pass and Field was a grade known as the Big Hill. This 4.5 grade was the steepest in North America. Trains going up the hill required 4 extra engines to push while several runaway spur lines greeted the trains on their way down. You can find the remains of one of the many accidents by the Kicking Horse Campground.

The Spiral Tunnels finally replaced the "temporary" route after 25 years. From a highway viewpoint you can watch a train disappear into Mt. Ogden. The train then exits the 890m (.553 mi.) circular tunnel, crosses under the highway, and enters a 992m (.616 mi.) circular tunnel in Cathedral Crags. This new route adds 10km (6.2 mi.) but reduces the grade to its passable 2.2 percent."