Southwest Alberta, Canada 6/5/14

THURSDAY, DAY 34 OF OUR SUMMER TRIP

This morning, we woke to an outside temp of 38 degrees and rain.  There was fog on the lake behind our trailer.  The rain stopped and it warmed up some, but the clouds hung low over the mountains.  These photos were taken on the way to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada.


We went there to purchase a Parks Canada Senior Pass which would get us into all of the National Parks, National Historic Sites and National Marine Conservation Sites for one year.  We had lunch at a picnic area just inside the park.  This picnic shelter had a wood stove.  I guess you could cook on it or use it to take the chill off the air.  Here is the view from one of the picnic tables outside of the shelter.  As you can see, the tops of the mountains were missing, so we decided to wait until another day to do the drive through the park.


Prior to coming to Canada, we had purchased some apps for the phone called GyPSy Guides for various regions of Alberta.  They are GPS based tourist information directed to your exact location along the route.  It gives you options for what you want to see and tells you how to get there.  The one we are using for this southwest region told us about a buffalo paddock that we drove through.  We knew that the buffalo were there recently because there were these bare dirt areas where the buffalo wallow sort of making an area to take a dirt bath.


There weren’t many buffalo there, but the adults were shedding their winter coats and there were some babies in the group (to the left of the one on the top right, it is light reddish brown).


As we continued further from the park, this scenic view was pointed out to us by the “tour guide” in our app.  It shows how the plains and mountains meet.


There were some other interesting sites along our drive today.  The cowboy and calves were cut-outs, but they sure look real from a distance. 


There is a lot of wind in this area so it is put to use generating power. 


This rock is called “The Rock that Ran”.  It is quartzite that was scraped from the mountains north of here, in Jasper National Park, and deposited by the melting glaciers long ago. Rocks like this can be seen scattered around the plains in this area and stand out because they are so different from the surrounding dirt.


On the way to Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, we saw this kinetic sculpture or weather vane.  We aren’t sure which it is, but it definitely moved with the wind.


We just made it to the buffalo jump in time to see the informative movie and zip through the displays.   Even the carpet in the elevator had the theme.


These are our bracelets that allowed us entry into the displays.  They are printed in English and Black Foot Tribal language.  That is some long word to say “We Welcome You”!!!


Inside the Interpretive Centre was a diorama showing the buffalo being driven over the cliff.  Archeologist determined that this was a prime location for the buffalo jump when they excavated the area below the cliff and found these skulls in a similar fashion.  After the Indians ran the buffalo off the cliff, almost every bit of them was put to use in some way or another for food, clothing, shelter, utensils, etc.  Here is a winter coat made from buffalo hide.
 

Outside, the actual cliff that was named Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump is next to the Interpretive Centre.  The white line near the top of the cliff had been determined to be the primary point where the Indians drove the buffalo to stampede and fall over the edge to their death.


The designers of the Interpretive Centre at Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump wanted to have the building blend into the surrounding terrain, so they built it in steps up the side of the cliff.  Here are the entrance and a side views of the building.  They did a pretty good job of making something that looks like it is just part of the landscape from a distance.


Our next and last stop,for today’s tour, was Fort MacLeod, Alberta.  It is where the North West Mounted Police had built a fort.  It was closed when we arrived, but we drove through town and saw some of the original sandstone buildings.



That is all for today.  I am trying to write this using Windows Live Writer so I can write off line and then transfer it to my real blog whenever I get a Wi Fi connection.  If I can make it work, I will try catching up on our travels over the past couple weeks when I have been too busy to write.  More later and keep an eye out for back dated posts.