"Wagons Roll!": Heading West

The beautiful vastness of the plains July 20:  Two weeks ago today we left.  It feels a lot longer! Man, I love the drive alongside the mountains!  Even though they weren’t the tallest or craggiest, it’s just so beautiful.  All the same, to change up the trip back along the same route through the Crowsnest Pass, we stopped at the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre west of Lethbridge.  Buffalo jumps, in case the term is unfamiliar to you, is where the Blackfoot herded buffalo over a cliff in order to have a large kill in a relatively short time.  The name of this one does not refer to buffalo heads being smashed in but rather to a rather thoughtless brave deciding it would be neat to watch them come over from the bottom (perhaps the first winner of a Darwin Award). The concept of a buffalo jump seems kind of cruel in one way but when you consider the amount of use the natives made of all parts of the bison and that it was for sur...

Fort Steele - from the water tower July 19 :  After some errands such as changing the oil in the car (told you I wouldn’t forget, Garry!), we made ourselves a picnic lunch and headed up to Fort Steele, about 17 km out of Cranbrook.  It began life as a town/ferry crossing and became “Fort Steele” when Superintendent Sam Steele and members of the Northwest Mounted Police established a post there and resolved problems with the native Ktunaxa.  It boomed in the 1890s when silver, lead and coal were discovered nearby but by 1910 it was in sharp decline.  It was turned into a heritage site in the early 1960s.  As you can see, the barracks and shops gave a really good feel for the historic town -- and the heat and dust felt pretty old-west-ish too!  Ice cream was definitely called for.  It was 38 degrees in Fort Steele...which dropped to about 29 when we left.  Lovely setting for it, surrounded by the hills and mountains of the East Kootenay....

July 18:  We got out in late morning and headed south, in order to take the Crowsnest pass to B.C.:  the others are too close to areas with closed roads due to wildfires.  We went to the interpretive center at Frank Slide, which was Canada’s deadliest rockslide:  in 1903, 70-90 people of the 100 living on the edge of Frank were killed, buried under a rockslide that only lasted 100 seconds but decimated the neighbourhood.  The area is still pretty much as it was in 1903. No mountain sheep today, nor elks -- too bad!  Nice twisty, hilly and occasionally mountainous drive, though.  We’re keeping to the southeast as now some of even Banff is being closed off because of the fires.  Staying in Cranbrook.  But at least we made it to B.C.!  Ended our day with a nice swim in the hotel pool. Heritage Inn ; warm saltwater pool. Nice dinner at Mr. Mike’s Steakhouse. Frank after the rockslide, 1903 The area today We made ...

July 17:  A day for laundry, repacking, walking by the Bow River and just chilling.  Very relaxing and very appreciated.  Tomorrow we head back out on the road as we attempt to cross over into B.C The photos are of my cousin’s wife’s garden and of the Bow River immediately behind their house.  Many, many thanks to Bob and Doreen for their wonderful hospitality! Took them out to dinner at the Broken Plate, a Greek restaurant. Alberta wild rose

July 16:    Delicious waffle and sausages breakfast and off with Bob for a long drive through Kananaskis country.  Through big tall mountainous hills:  Bob said, “ Those aren’t mountains.  The mountains are up ahead.”  And indeed they were, craggy peaks, snow and all.  How to describe the feeling of being surrounded by mountains?  Like enormous ancient, wise generations of ancestors protecting and gently guiding you.  We even got to see a grazing bull moose and some mountain sheep in their moulting stage.  Bob was able to provide us with all kinds of information about the local ranches, wildlife and flora, not to mention perspectives on hunting.  It was a wonderful drive.  Such a beautiful area. It’s sad and disconcerting to be able to see and smell smoke from the wildfires in B.C. even here.

July 15:  Left in good time and headed through to the Hoodoo Trail to Drumheller.  Eventually found some hoodoos but not the canyon-like ones I was looking for!  Lyndsey climbed up the rock for the view but I didn’t think my Mephistos would give a very good grip. Plus the world’s largest dinosaur.  (Although, if it doesn’t actually have a dinosaur skeleton, does it really count as a dinosaur??)  Made it to Calgary around 1 and went to stay with my cousin Bob and his wife Doreen.  After a nice lunch we headed to the Stampede.  A native Albertan and I’d never been to the Stampede. It was truly a multi-sensory experience, with all the smells of the various food stalls (deep-fried Oreos, anyone?), the bright colours of the Native dancers’ costumes, the thundering hooves of the horses in the chuckwagon races.  Difficult to capture.  The grandstand show, for which my cousin gave Lyndsey and I their wonderful seats because they’d already seen...

July 14 :  Enjoyed our drive through western Saskatchewan into eastern Alberta.  The flat landscape slowly became bucolic, gently-rolling hills.  Loved the almost English look of the green, scrub-like pasture land with many, many cows.  We even saw a buffalo!  Stopped to wash the poor car in Swift Current and do a bit of shopping in Medicine Hat, of which we both really liked the look.   The highlight of the drive was easily Cypress Hills Provincial Park where we stopped for lunch and a walk.  It’s actually an interprovincial park between Saskatchewan and Alberta.  What a great park!   Lots of campsites with trees, a pool, mini-golf, convenience store, and all the wonderful nature you could want.  It was delightful; almost made me want to go back to camping.  We drove to Lookout Point, where the elevation is 1275 m (as you can see in the pictures):  what an amazing view!  It makes you feel so small, and peaceful. ...

July 13:  In a mood more for nature than city buildings, we headed down to Wascana Lake this morning. What a gem!  It is a lake with expanses of parkland in the centre of the city, with the Saskatchewan Legislature, art gallery, arts centre, playground, small marina etc. within it.  The University of Regina is also nearby and it is a lovely campus:  clean, modern stone buildings with lots of green space.  The weather gods were with us, for it was warm, sunny and breezy:  a perfect summer day.  The park was full of joggers, walkers, kids at a day camp, and tourists Parking was free, plentiful and unlimited and there was only one tacky food truck in the whole place; nothing but tastefully developed nature.  If I were a Reginan I would be there frequently!  (Yes, that’s what they’re called.)  It is glorious and reminds me a little of the burst of nature in the city that Dow’s Lake in Ottawa is.   We mostly explored:  the pa...

You can see for miles and miles! July 12:  Left on the later side and stopped (uncharacteristically) for a delicious lunch at Prairie Firehouse restaurant in Brandon.  Nice town.  Headed back out, rejoicing when we crossed our second border (though we couldn’t get too close due to road works, unfortunately). Stopped in Indian Head to take Andrea out to a delicious dinner at a sketchy-looking Punjabi restaurant.  Tell me how an Indian restaurant survives in a community of 1,500?!  Arrived in Regina at 8 p.m., where we plan to stay a couple of nights.  Woo hoo!  Two nights in the same place! When we first encountered the wide, wide spaces of southern Manitoba and now Saskatchewan, it freaked me out a bit.  It was SO flat, I almost felt suffocated.  I grew up in Chatham which is also flat, but I’ve never experienced the feeling of vast expanse that the prairies give.  After a couple of days I’ve really come to rather like it. ...

July 11:  We asked for a late check out and went to see the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. Wow!  What an impressive place, as much for its architecture as for its displays.  To quote the website:   Inspired by Canada’s majestic natural domain – grasslands, deeply rooted trees, towering mountains, northern lights, snow, icebergs, water and sky – Antoine Predock’s masterful design is evocative of numerous natural elements. Predock has described the building as “carved into the earth and dissolving into the sky.” It was extremely well set-up and was an example of impressive engineering, doing without pillars in the Contemplation Garden, for instance.  It has very few right angles, as you can see from the pictures.   In the Contemplation Garden I liked that the lowest gallery dealt with human rights not only throughout the world but throughout millennia, with history dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans.  I would highly reco...