#45 Jul 2014 Beauty and History

Our next destination was Waterton Lakes National Park where we setup in the hot sun.

Red Rock Canyon is a popular spot to cool off and explore all the shades of red sandstone.

Wildflowers abounded in the mountains.

Buffalo roam freely in a large enclosed field much as they did for centuries until Europeans arrived.

The iconic Prince of Wales Hotel, with it's million dollar view, stands sentinel on the hill above Upper Waterton Lake.

Immediately behind the campground Cameron Falls thunders down the cliff and sprays visitors.

The guided boat tour down the lake to Glacier National Park (USA) is full of history and information about the area.

The tour crosses the longest undefended border in the world.

However, there are US Border Guards at the viewpoint making sure that tourists return to the boat or have appropriate documentation to enter the trails in the US.

The viewpoint is very peaceful and full of information about the wildlife along the lake.

In the townsite First Nations dancers demonstrated their skill and grace.

Viewers were invited to join in the finale and move to the music.

Bears Discover Oil?!

Aboriginal peoples used oil as a medicine. They noticed that bears rolled in oil seeps to rid themselves of insects.

When Europeans arrived they drilled the first oil well in Western Canada but it was in a remote, rugged area and was not commercially successful. Many people started with high hopes for fame and fortune but access was too difficult.

As we left Waterton we again passed one of today’s solutions to clean energy.

The Crowsnest Pass has a long, chaotic coal mining history – the danger of cave-ins, explosions, strikes - with people just trying to make a decent living.

Our first stop was The Frank Slide. The side of the mountain is still very dramatic but time has softened the debris, although rocks continue to slide down the mountainside.

In hard hats and headlamps the Bellvue Mine Tour took us into the dark, mysterious world of coal in the early 1900s.

Leitch Collieries (coal mine) was an impressive site with stone buildings from a local quarry and over 100 coking ovens from imported brick.

Hillcrest Mine Disaster was the worst in Canadian history killing 189 men, most of them in their 20s or 30s.

Our travels took us to beautiful lakes and mountains and the stories from inside the mountains.

#44 Jul 2014 New Family Memories

Early Sunday morning Lindsay took the bus back to Surrey and we picked up Dave and Danica for a week of RVing and exploring southern Alberta.

When Dave and Kari were growing up we camped and explored around BC, Alberta and many points east. These 1991 memories of climbing Tangle Falls in the winter are part of our family history.

Lindsay is now 19 and Joey 17. They have traveled and explored with us in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan but we didn’t camp during that time. Their family memories are of motels and now some camping in this RV. In 2005 The Enchanted Forest was one of many stops to play and learn.

Now it’s Danica’s (age 8) turn to create family memories as we have explored the Vancouver area, Jasper last summer and now southern Alberta where she lives.

A campfire is central to our family camping.

Alberta’s prosperity is evident around Calgary.

This building under construction is a house that has been in the media. It’s hard to imagine living here; perhaps it will not be occupied full time. There are many monster houses around the Lower Mainland which are rarely occupied.

The oil wells around the city give an indication of the source of the wealth.

The cattle provide the well-known Alberta beef.

In Fort Macleod we setup in Daisy Mae Campground then explored in town until supper – complete with more mosquitoes.

Our first stop was Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. What a fascinating story of imagination, determination and courage to steer thousands of buffalo over a cliff. At the toe of the cliff are slope deposits composed of toppled bedrock, fine wind blown soil and the bones of tens of thousands of buffalo. This is where the wounded animals were killed then everyone helped preserve and utilize every part of the animal.

The displays are very realistic and take you into the life of First Nations people before Europeans changed so much.

Fort Macleod NWMP fort has been re-created and provides a view of the European settlement and law enforcement in what is now Southern Alberta.

A brief Musical Ride is enacted with local youth participating.

Remington Carriage Museum in Cardston was voted the “Best Indoor Attraction in Canada”.

Western Passenger Wagons (stage coaches) were very cramped and bone jarring – not as smooth as the movies depict the passengers inside.

Chuck wagons really were used for cattle drives – not just in the old movies. The back of the chuck (food) box dropped down to become the cook’s worktable.

The camp stove was pulled behind the wagon – thus the chuck wagon races where the outrider throws the stove into the wagon at the start of the race.

In Calgary this oil tank wagon carried 350 gallons of oil products from storage depots to customers.

Sometimes it’s hard to visualize how quickly our world has changed. The wagon is smaller than any vehicle on this highway.

#43 Jul 2014 Calgary Stampede and Calgary Tower

We arrived in Calgary July 9th and setup for a few days. We have not been to the Calgary Stampede for several years and scheduled this stop so we could experience the excitement, the crowds, corn on the cob, mini donuts, shopping, sore feet and sunburn.

A few weeks earlier Lindsay surprised us by planning to take the Greyhound bus to Calgary and join us for the Stampede. She arrived on Thursday and we took a trip down memory lane.

We all lived in Calgary for the first 5 years of Lindsay’s life. On her 3rd birthday we went for a picnic at Cochrane Ranch. There is a statue of a horse and cowboy to commemorate the working cowboy of the early ranching days. Lindsay wanted to see the horse up close so Grampa, Uncle Dave and his cousin Terry went ahead with her. By the time everyone else arrived Lindsay was sitting on the horse. It's on the side of a hill and 1.7 times life size! Dave and Terry are tall, strong young men but we don’t want to know how they got her up there – safely.

Now, as an adult, Lindsay could not find a way to get up there!

We had a fantastic day at the Stampede. Dave and Danica headed for the kids rides and Lindsay headed for the adult rides that scare the “ “ out of the rest of us. Ralph and I checked out the changes to the grounds and buildings, the shopping and artwork. We met up occasionally and stayed in touch by text. What an easy way for everyone to explore what they wanted to see and not wonder if someone else was looking for them or had missed them altogether.

The Westjet Skyride provides a great view of the grounds and people and downtown.

The rides are exciting.

Next year, can we gather everyone we know and order a burger?

The Calgary Tower dominates the downtown skyline from many directions.

The glass floor truly gives a bird’s eye view of downtown.

My new camera has additional zoom capability in addition to my 18 to 250 lens. I have lots of fun seeing into the distance.

The near view gives a close up of the Stampede grounds and all the people.

In the distance the Calgary airport beckons.

The ski jump at Canada Olympic Park brings back memories from 1988 of skiers flying impossibly free through the air. Unfortunately, the chinook winds blew away the snow almost as fast as they could make it. The schedule was so disrupted that we were able to go over and watch the luge runs while we had tickets for the ski jumping. A bonus for us but not for visitors who could not use their tickets on the revised days.

At the base of the Tower this Lego Mosaic portrays a “Vision of Calgary”. It consists of 45,000 pieces and measures 5 feet by 6 1/2 feet.

During Stampede there are Stampede breakfasts and street parties with lots of free music and entertainment.

This horse is an example of Calgary downtown art.

This daytime view of the Giant Head shows people beside it to provide perspective. In “#36 Jun/14 Six Months and Loving It” I included a nighttime view of the Head.

When we left downtown Dave took us on a tour of the flood damage from last year. There is no dramatic damage visible now but it is mind blowing to see how high the river was up on the bridges and over the river banks.