Dry Land Alberta

On our last day in Banff, we ride the bus to the opulent Banff Springs Hotel.  Situated above the town, this CPR greystone hotel was built to attract visitors to the Rockies in 1911.  An earlier wooden structure built in the 1890's burned down.  The CPR built a series of prestigious hotels on their trek west.  Winnipeg has the Fort Garry, Regina has the Hotel Saskatchewan, Calgary's is called The Palliser, then Banff Springs, the Lake Louise Chateau, the Hotel Vancouver and culminating with the Empress in Victoria.  To stay in the present day Banff Springs run by Fairmont costs $1600 per day.  You can see why we haven't chosen to stay, only to visit and gape like the tourists we are.

  

Striding downstream past the showy golf course we arrive at Bow Falls.  

Our farewell meal is downtown with a view of Rundle, and a heart full of gratitude for all the marvelous moments we've shared here during our lifetime.

The land opens up when you leave the mountains for the dry lands.  Once home to huge ranches and roaming herds of bison.

Into the foothills, to the charming little town of Okotoks.  The weather is hot so once again we seek the peaceful coolness of their local library.  

 Our campsite at Riverbend RV is on the Sheepdog River.  As you leave the majesty of the mountains, you begin to notice amazing skies and small delights to the observant.

 

The campsite is very cozy and you are very much on the shoulders of your neighbours.  We are fortunate to have two delightful welcoming families, both with little boys under 7.  

In Okotoks we enjoy the river trail.  A local retired gentleman has created a bunch of ceramic characters and posted them along partly hidden in the bordering trees.  It's fun to find each one and pause to enjoy their humour along with little signs asking folks not to vandalize them.  

As we return to our camper, we encounter a young family who have set up a Mexican hotdog stand selling spicy hot dogs trimmed with onions, bacon and jalapeno peppers.  Always one to  encourage young entrepreneurs, Wayne purchases a hot dog.  They aren't kidding, the wee bite I took was definitely piquant.  While the older boys did the cooking, and their sister transported supplies, the two youngest siblings charmed you and tried to give away their profits.  They wanted to give us chili powder covered candies, and bottles of water or cans of Coke, although the drinks were part of their wares.  They were very insistent and crushed when we tried to say no to their gifts, so accepted them and returned them to an older sibling when they weren't looking.  

June 1st brings us to Lethbridge, with stops at two historic sites on our way.  We spend time at the well developed World Heritage Site of Head Smashed In.  This was a buffalo jump used for several thousand years but the local Blackfoot tribes and their ancestors.  When we visited this site in the mid- 70's it was little more than a plaque and walking trail.  Now there is a museum with many artifacts and informative displays about this important kill site that sustained the people during winter months.  Watching the videos is disconcerting, as simulations of buffalo stamped over the cliff to plunge into their deaths.  The process involved days of work and various religious ceremonies.  The Buffalo Woman sang a song to invite the Bison and young men covered in either buffalo hides or wolf skins herded the animals.  Any survivors were quickly killed, then butchered.  As much as possible all parts of the animals were used, but there would have been considerable wastage as well.  However, after passing by the current concentration camp style ranches where cows are kept in muddy enclosures and force fed to fattening, I think we haven't really evolved much and cannot criticize.  We use only the choicest cuts of beef, pork and chickens, sending the remains to fertilizer plants, dog food or incinerators.  Plenty leads to waste, I guess.

 

Fort Macleod was constructed by the Northwest Mounted Police in an effort to quell the increased violence and illegal sale of alcohol to the natives, after the closing of Fort Whoop Up.  The surrounding town and fort were washed out, and rebuilt on higher ground.  The original fort burnt down in the 1920s and the locals built a replica in the '50s. It was closed for viewing, but we did walk the old town and read the signs before heading on to Lethbridge.    

As we walked the heritage lane, we met a couple from Burnaby, also travelling to the east coast.  Jeff spent the COVID year fitting out his new Sprinter making a cozy travel van.  Joanne was handing out maple leaf pins to folks they meet along the way.  We share plans and travel stories, and exchange phone numbers to keep in touch as we journey.

Here in Lethbridge for a 3 day reprieve from travel.  Our Best Western Hotel room seems very spacious.  I think anyone facing down sizing should consider a prolonged trip in a Pleasure Way.  Any size condo will then seem large. LOL 

Lethbridge is pleasantly located in a broad valley made by the Old Man (formerly Belly) and Milk Rivers.  This area is part of the Blackfoot/Cree territory which extends from the Rocky Mountains, South to Waterton Lakes, north & East to Saskatchewan Sandhills.  The territory presently is home to 6 World Heritage Sites, so it is protected.  The city has many parks and walking trails throughout.

Fort Whoop Up is a replica of an 1860s trading post where alcohol, made from questionable ingredients, was sold as Fire Water to the First Nations.  The history of the fort is presented in a video that relates it from both  the First Nations and Colonists viewpoints.  The fort was sold to a private business man who ran it as a mercantile post without liquor sales.

  

Next stop Maple Creek.