Crowsnest Pass and on to Great America.

Our journey south from Paradise Valley through Plains country to Crowsnest went uneventfully but gave us a real experience of the prairies. Seriously flat land but presumably not very productive as we saw very few animals or crops. Surprising that these guys aren’t good at cricket but I guess their summers aren’t long enough. Sure is plenty of room for a pitch and an oval. We enjoyed the drive through this part of the country with the long straights at 110km per hour and Blairs Mazda keeping up with the best of the Dodge Rams.

Arriving in Blairmore in Crowsnest Pass we met up with Maureen and Greg again (who we stayed with in Paradise Valley) and they had their grandson Colby with them, Tracey’s middle boy of three. 

Our first mission from Crowsnest was to the “Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump”. This was a sort of abattoir used by the Blackfeet Indians over 6000 years ago. Here they planned to herd buffalo over a vertical drop of some 30 metres but not before they had checked the phase of the moon, gathered enough young chaser recruits to dress in wolf skins and got the blessing from the Medicine Man. All going well the muster took 2-3 days of slowly gathering the herd together then speeding up the chase toward the cliff. There is 10 metre pile of bones at the base of the cliff so they had some success. This took place in the Fall (Autumn) so saving the meat through winter was little concern as air temperatures rarely rose above zero.

Our next visit was to Frank Slide and this is worth a google. (Not to be confused with a giggle – but sometimes I wonder) In 1903 the top fell off Turtle Mountain and hurtled down onto the town of Frank at 4.00am in the morning, temperature was a chilly -20degrees. 90 people were killed under the 80 million tonnes of rock and the scar is still quite evident. We had the pleasure of being adopted grandparents for the day of Colby as Greg and Maureen had another errand to take care of. We had a wonderful time with this little guy and he no doubt wondered where on earth these strange people came from……but he didn’t say! A well-mannered chap for sure. Hopefully we will see him again in New Zealand, perhaps in another 10 years time.

We took a short walk around a mountain lake with Cam and his family, wife Marnie and son Logan. Each evening in Crowsnest we retired to Cam and Marnie’s house for dinner and a sat around their fire pit. It seems standard practice in Alberta to have a fire pit and no matter the weather, a fire can always be lit. Not sure how many forest fires started from them but sure as one thing, they have had plenty of wild fires. They were warm family gatherings as the sun slowly wandered off over the horizon around 10pm.

We finally, sadly, said farewell to Maureen and Greg and couldn’t really thank them enough for the hospitality that they afforded us. So many relatives were visited, dined with, conversed with and said good bye to. We are hopeful that they will visit us again but like us, the years are running out and the steps into the aircraft are getting steeper! However, we have hopefully left a positive impression on their grandsons (of which we think there are 8) and our extended Canadian family that one day they will come knocking on our door to give us an opportunity to repay some of the wonderful hospitality that we received.

After Crowsnest we are heading south across the border into Great America, a land of miles per hour, gallons of fuel and a currency of dollars and cents. But we divide the dollars up into quarters! Interesting place.

Our aim was to visit Glacier National Park in northern Montana. We had two ventures into the park and enjoyed the amazing scenery. A walk into Avalanche Creek was spectacular but then everywhere we look the scenes are those seen on jigsaw puzzles.

Yesterday we took a free shuttlebus to the top of Logan Pass in the Park, walked to Hidden Lake, hidden because the mist was down low and we could see nothing. But….almost as if a miracle had happened  a gap in the cloud gave us a view of, now named Unhidden Lake and a grizzly bear 200metres away. These critters are quite a nasty beast but so long as you are no less than the second slowest runner you should be okay. I stationed myself next to a 6 year old who I think I could outrun if necessary, but that might have been a close a run thing. 

We walked on in the afternoon on Highline track (actually a Trail here, with a Trailhead…but no Foot) which was serious goat country, check out the track! Then we encountered a massive Mountain Goat, a billy which was a great sight.

We have been careful not to mention politics, especially here in Montana, presuming it would be a Trump stronghold. On arrival last night we met a guy in the motel unit next to ours, he was tuning his fiddle at the time. Clearly not the sort of a guy to open with a fake news Trump story but he opened with a tirade of derogatory comment that took us by surprise. Where he lives the farmers all grow wheat and barley. Apparently they grow crops and freight it to Mexico so the Mexicans can put it in their tacos etc. Well, that trade has stopped and they have to grow something else. I asked just how many Mexicans there were and how many tacos did they eat. “Truckloads”! my new friend said, “Trump has stuffed that”.

We were lucky to meet up with Peri Sasnett and her man Kevin, at the pub next to our West Glacier Motel. Peri studied in New Zealand and we met her through a mutual friend, then she and Kevin came and stayed with us for a night last April. Peri and Kevin both work as Park employees here in Glacier NP and Tetons NP. They have been a wealth of information for us about the hikes and everything local.

Tomorrow we intend to drive the Going to the Sun Road, world famous here in Montana, and providing nothing goes amiss the sun will rise and we will be well into it by 6.30am to avoid the queues of traffic. Main hope is that we see a moose, or a bear, or something with antlers.

Our journey took us from the dinosaurs of Drumheller to the town of Red Deer, north of Calgary. We had a night here before a short drive to Sylvan Lake to meet Diana’s ‘cousin’ Kim and her family, husband Lee and boys Nolan and Jaxson. Kim had visited us back in 2003 when she was backpacking in New Zealand and we enjoyed catching up on the intervening years.

From Sylvan Lake we were headed to Paradise Valley via Stettler where we had booked a prairie train ride to Big Valley. This is a one and a half hour ride south, dinner and return. It was a Saturday we boarded along with 300 others. All went well until about an hour into our journey when a gang of outlaws stopped the train boarded and demanded valuables and money. In a tense hold up that lasted a good 30 minutes we had our wallets lightened while gun shots could be heard throughout. No one was injured but we got some good photographs which the local constabulary were keen to have in the hope of tracking these thugs down. From all accounts it happens too regularly! 

After dinner we roamed through the little town of Big Valley and through a couple of museums. One held the largest collection of tools in North America.

Sunday we headed to Paradise Valley and directly to Maureen and Greg, Kim’s mother and so another cousin of Diana’s. I am using the term cousin quite loosely as the relationship is through Diana’s grandmother, Jessie, being a cousin of Maureen’s grandmother, Emma. Both of these ladies emigrated in the late 1800’s and I think Jessie got the better deal weather-wise but no doubt they both lived through some pretty harsh conditions to establish themselves in their new found homelands.

In the prairie country Emma and her husband were able to purchase a “quarter”, that being 160 acres, for $10. The land had all been surveyed into square miles and then divided into quarters for the new settlers. 178 million acres was surveyed in the 1870’s and this was the largest grid survey in the World. Surveyors worked hard without GPS to divide and map the land although the area was basically all flat. A man told me that if he cursed his dog and it ran off he could watch it for 5 days before he lost sight! Once divided up the Canadian authorities wanted to colonise it as quickly as possible with the “genteel” people from United Kingdom. They were concerned that if they didn’t get the inexperienced but peaceful and orderly society with strong values of civic involvement and leisure activity from the UK they were at threat of getting settlers from northern USA. This might result in tumultuous and possibly violent communities. We visited Emma’s house, still standing but unfortunately beginning a stage of rapid deterioration. The house stands on a “quarter” (65 hectares) and after several years it has had a number of owners but is now back in the family having been recently purchased by Carol, Maureen’s sister.

We had a wonderful stay with Maureen and Greg who like us are still very active. They visited New Zealand and Australia last year and saw to it that we were well entertained and able to meet all of the relatives in Paradise Valley. We had dinner with Carol and Lyall, who along with their son have numerous quarters and numerous different income streams on their quarters. Canola is flowering at present so the fields are all a rich yellow which seems to be an uplifting colour, a warm summer colour.

We also visited a herd of farmed bison which once roamed the prairies in their millions. An estimated 25 million once roamed free from Alaska to the US but through hunting and habitat loss were reduced to 1000 in 1889.  As they are now farmed and used for their low-fat meat there is little chance of extinction. The population now numbers in excess of 500,000 being wild and farmed.

I did learn one thing while driving along with Lyall. I am very pleased to learn this because for my entire life, up to the stage I am at now, I have never known. That is, when rainfall is measured in “points”, what is a point? I can remember asking my Dad, before I was a teenager, “…Dad, what is two points?”

“Two points is two points of rainfall”

“Yes, but if it was 10 points what would it be?”

“That would be 5 times more than two points!”

“But 10 points of what?”

“Rainfall”. I about gave up then.

But Lyall has sorted this out for me and unfortunately I can’t get this back to Dad. And I don’t think I am the only one who didn’t know.

So Lyall clearly explained it is 2 tenths of an inch. 2 points is 2 tenths of an inch. How this ever came to be the measurement of precipitation I don’t know. It seems they have metricized an imperial number at no advantage whatsoever. Mike, Tracy’s husband and I had a good laugh about this. I think the New Zealand meteorologists have got this sorted when they measure rainfall in millimetres

Donna Neil Rob Diana Maureen Carol

We visited Donna, another of Maureen’s sisters, for a Bar-B-Que Canadian style and were able to meet her three daughters. It was especially great to spend an afternoon with Janice Matt and Mya. Janice visited New Zealand several years ago and stayed in The Grapevine picking fruit. She travelled NZ meeting many of her relatives there. Now she has a home, a wonderful husband Sheldon and a couple of potential backpackers in 10 years time. As everyone has been invited to NZ I suggest you prepare yourselves for their impending visits. Not sure what preparation is required though. At Donna’s house we met her brother Neil Brassington once again. When Diana and I travelled in the early 80’s we stayed with Neil at his parents, Art and Joyce’s farm. Sadly they have passed away.

Diana Sheldon Matt Mya Janice Rob

It has been a fantastic week, visiting the “Climb Thru Time” museum in the converted grain elevator, visiting “Lloyd” (local town of 28,000, Lloydminster) with Janice and Maureen and Greg. We picked “saskatoons” with Tracy and her three boys and enjoyed sitting on the elevated deck with a beer and putting the world to rights.

We left PV on Thursday 19^th July heading south toward the township of Brooks. We drove through seriously flat prairie lands where they seem to graze 1 bullock to 50 hectares. Either Angus or Hereford seem to be the beast of choice. There is no irrigation, the pasture appears poor and consequently very little stock was seen. We had a thunderstorm to the south of us, probably 500 kms away, so flat it was quite visible.

We head towards Crows Nest Pass now before crossing the border into USA sometime next week.

Dinosaurs and Broncos

We have had a packed itinerary since driving out of Banff National Park and onto the prairie. With a bit of time to spare before checking into our lodgings in Calgary we decided on a short sharp excursion to Drumheller, about 100kms to the north east of Calgary.

Drumheller is one of the foremost sites for palaeontology in the World……looking for (and finding) dinosaurs. We aimed for their World class museum to get an idea of what had been found recently. Unfortunately so did half the state seeing as it was school holidays. Once inside we saw some seriously spectacular bones of critters that are no longer with us. The oldest known dinosaur isn’t as healthy as he once was but then he is 110 million years old. He was found when prospectors were looking for oil and gas not too many years ago. The museum was well set out and people moved through at a good rate, took us about 2 hours. I was surprised to read that of all the animals to have roamed Earth, 99% are now extinct. Cockroaches are hanging in there from centuries ago and so is the Tuatara but he didn’t get a mention.

Back in Calgary we greeted Meghan’s parents Murray and Lynn, who flew in from Regina, Saskatchewan to join us for the Stampede. 

Our first day saw us jostling with zillions of people, Sunday, school holidays and children’s day. Our main event was the Chuck Wagon racing. We paid a bit to have first class seats, undercover, fully glassed in with full time waitresses bringing beer, food and water. The chuck wagons were most entertaining where four teams, that’s 4 horses and a wagon, a driver and two out-riders, compete against 3 other teams in each race. They have a hell of a fiasco to get started with horses and men moving in all directions like a square dance then they head out for a flat to the boards quarter mile race around a track. Mostly they all got through without mishap, got their placing and then do it all over again for 10 days straight. There were about 36 teams in all and some big prize money at stake.

Attractions at the Stampede like many of our A&P shows including the rides and money reducing stalls and food. We weren’t tempted to ride the Big Dipper or the Zip Line, nor did we put any balls down a clown’s throat at the “everybody wins a prize” stall….. even though there were plenty to tempt us I did think they have upped their game since I was an excited 10-year old.

Most of the food couldn’t tempt us either. In fact thinking back on it most was deep fried apart from the BBQ meat section. However we were tempted by the “Deep Fried Coffee”. Seemed interesting, can’t be too bad. Lined up behind 10 other eager suckers. Deep fried coffee consisted of half a shoe box type arrangement with what looked like the remains of a recently castrated ram lamb. These little beauties were brown in colour, coffee colour perhaps, they appeared to have the consistency of a small chewy meringue but they were “deep fried” so now loaded with oil and smothered in chocolate sauce. I shovelled them down to get the experience however my stomach was not impressed and it was a close run thing to see where they were going to come out. I’m sure this food stall hasn’t got the heart surgeons stamp of approval and I’m quite sure that it was a once in a lifetime experience for me. My stomach went into recovery mode and a glass of beer later in the day ensured all systems were back to normal….phew, a lucky break!

Our second day saw crowds drop off a bit, but we were heading steadfastly for the rodeo. Cracker of a day and we are back in our fully enclosed seats ready for action. I did consider the saddle bronc ride but was turned away due to wearing spectacles. Dodged a bullet I think as some of the riders, who looked pretty serious about the whole thing hit the turf hard.

Later in the day I though a go at the bull riding might be my thing but turned away once again as I didn’t have long sleeves on my shirt. Had an impressive hat but no, not with short sleeves. I was fairly determined to represent New Zealand so asked about the sheep ride, thought I would be quids in there. No, they don’t have a sheep ride anymore. They have a 3 person team affair where each team, aged 8-12, decked out in uniforms and crash helmets is given a 20 foot rope tied to an agitated miniature pony. At the get go the pony seems to head out fast as he can while each team is trying to get one of their party onto it’s back. One little guy held the end of the rope and was dragged across the arena for a good 100metres…mouth full of dust and horse shit I’m sure. Of 8 teams only 2 got a rider up. I wasn’t allowed in that event either but it was the best rodeo I have ever been to. Totally professional and big money involved across all sections. Top riders I understand can make $300k per year. I figure that one young cowboy, who told me a few years ago, that it is the most exciting thing you can do with your pants on was WRONG. I wouldn’t do it for one day if they gave me $300k! What a fantastic day with great weather, a great crowd and special friends to attend with, thanks to you all.

Now we are headed back to Drumheller to look for dinosaurs….bones in the Hoodoos but it’s raining and no good for walking in slippery oil-filled soils for 2-3 days so we will head off somewhere, tomorrow. In the meantime a quick walk about town revealed a dinosaur on almost every corner, I had to help one out.

It has been some time since we last blogged but we had a week in Vancouver just doing mundane things like sight-seeing, drinking, geocaching and eating. Although, we did spend one morning having eye tests with Dr Meghan which diagnosed all good and it was all free. Meghan is Blairs partner.

Last Saturday we began a road trip to the Calgary Stampede. We left Vancouver late afternoon heading for Kamloops, a distance of 350kms. Great roads here, often 2 lanes each side of a serious median, sometimes a green belt 40 metres wide. With Blair driving it was great to be able to relax. Even on a Saturday afternoon in light traffic it took the best part of an hour to clear the city limits.

Our first nights accommodation was difficult to find and ended up in a motel with two double beds in one room. Character building I heard mentioned. All fine for those still wishing to build their characters but for me, and the character already built, I slept like a log.

Out of Kamloops our next destination was Jasper where we had booked 3 nights in a lodge. We signed in and drove a few extra kms to walk near Maligne Canyon. It was a misty evening and an ideal time for spotting wildlife. Not too difficult when they come right up the road edge. Evening twilight lingers here for hours so while at 8.00pm it is starting to get dark, it isn’t completely dark until around 10.30pm.

Our second day in Jasper National Park started with rain and we had to reschedule our schedule. We reconvened at noon while it was still raining and a threat of cabin fever the day turned into a layday. We did manage a quick trip into the metropolis, similar to Hanmer Springs, Woodville type size. Filled our “growler” with a local Fire Engine red which didn’t put out any fires for me but was dispatched in short time anyway.

Fires don’t seem to be the problem around Jasper but the Mountain Pine Beetle certainly must be. He has destroyed approximately 50% of mature lodgepole pine trees in Jasper National Park. Quite a concern really, to see nature doing its work. The beetle also attacks other pines but not so much the valuable species such as Douglas-fir. Temperature is a major factor and it is estimated the beetle has impacted more than a billion cubic metres of merchantable timber in British Columbia. 

Although the following day was heavily overcast we had to get out and about. First the Athabasca Falls right near the highway but then into the woods for the Five Lakes walk. The rain stayed away and we got a lung full of fresh air and saw a large wapiti stag in velvet and two bears foraging for their dinner.

After three nights we left Jasper heading south toward Banff National Park and toward sunshine and clear blue skies. We took another walk in the woods up “Parker Ridge”, a steep elevation in a short distance, to a lookout over the Saskatchewan Glacier. Meghan (whose hometown is Saskatoon) got a bit homesick there I think. 

We were pleased to see that the beetle hadn’t yet begun destroying the forests this far south. It is about 300km between Jasper and Banff so quite close in terms of distance for Canada. 

We took some time to visit the Columbia Icefield which covers an area of 215 sq.kms. We rode in an all-terrain Ice-Explorer vehicle up onto the ice field proper and also did a skywalk which was impressive. A giant walkway that is constructed out over a valley so you look through glass at your feet to the valley floor some 1000 feet down. Diana didn’t spend too long out there.

We managed to get to our apartment in Canmore late in the evening after one last walk to Lake Peyto. Canmore is a small town with a lot of accommodation and services for summer time adventurers and sight seers and in winter the ski bunnies. We see people on the paved walkways skating with two poles, practicing for cross country skiing I suppose.

Our first day we drove back into the park where we had to pass through a toll gate and pay $20 for the experience we hoped to have. New Zealand have to do this somehow. $20 didn’t seem too much for our car and four passengers. We walked to Lake Agnes from Lake Louise, magnificent scenery at every turn. Lake Agnes is a tarn in a hanging basin which reminded me of my days in Fiordland on deer recovery in the 1970’s. Although there were no deer to be seen only enormous numbers of humans, I did scan the sloops for a big horn sheep. None to be seen. We were pretty stiff and sore after the hike up to the lake so pleased to get horizontal in the evening.

But not for long. Blair and Meghan had previously ridden the Goat Creek trail and thought that Mum and Dad would really enjoy that. A 20km taxi ride into the high country and we extract our hired mountain bikes from the back of the V8 Ram ute. (makes my Hilux look like a puppy!) Helmets on we set off tentatively down the trail toward a back road into Banff. Holy bejesus we haven’t done any of this. A 19 km trail where a moments lapse in concentration and you’re on your nose grading gravel. Pleased to say that we didn’t break any bones, or draw blood, but very pleased to be back on tarseal albeit with a numb posterior.

Lunch in beautiful sunshine and 28 degrees in the town of Banff was most appreciated. Then another 20km ride along a cycle expressway from Banff back to Canmore. This is a two-lane route near the highway for cycles only. Diana and I were pleased that we had done some preparatory cycling and walking prior to leaving Blenheim and this I think helped us through some of our adventures. We rolled into Banff at 6.30pm now numb from knees to belly button!

We have had a great look at the two of the major wilderness attractions in Canada and are getting set today to head to Calgary and the Stampede where I’m still tossing up whether I should try the bull ride or the bare back buck jumper.

The drive through to Gold River was quite spectacular. Racing through avenues of 80 metre high Douglas fir trees from the road edge to the mountain top only broken by small interesting lakes, good habitat for bears but we didn’t see any. The temperature was over 30 degrees so we had the windows down and the breeze on our faces. We stayed in Gold River so that we could board the MV Uchuck (locally known as the Upchuck much to Diana’s horror) first thing in the morning for a day out on Nootka Sound, delivering goods and picking up full rubbish bins from resorts and forest camps. We had a great day. The Uchuck is a WWII minesweeper rekitted out to carry up to 100 people for this tour. It was done very well. 

While driving, and from on the water we pass numerous logging sites and sawmills. The locals seem to consider that the heydays of the timber industry are well past but to us there was a lot of logging trucks and numerous clearfell areas on the mountain sides. Where possible they seem to get their logs to the waters edge in as short as distance as possible then use the water to transport them. We were entertained by a wee tug type boat herding logs in Gold River. The operator had it almost tipped over much of the time. The water would be an efficient way of moving huge rafts of logs in one operation but from what we saw a few of these logs get loose. Some beaches have stacks of logs, more than enough to frame 1000 homes in Auckland. The environmental rules don’t seem quite as stringent as ours, yet. 

The Gold River road finishes at the West Coast so the next day we started heading back through Campbell River and to Powell River on the mainland. Problem there is they don’t have any roads in and out, a few local roads but we have to ferry across from Vancouver Island and then take ferries to get back down the coast to the mainland proper where there is a road.

Powell River was once the site of the largest pulp and paper mill in the World but that commodity doesn’t have quite the appeal any more. Their latest claim to fame is that they were contracted to make special paper for the book “50 Shades of Grey” to be printed on. The town has some wonderful buildings built around 1910-1925 but much of it is in decline. We stayed in the old Courthouse, now converted to a lodging arrangement.

We slept in the judges chambers! The hotel was filled with knick knacks from a bygone era in keeping with the building. It was such a lovely change from some of the ‘austere’ characterless places we have stayed.

One interesting thing in Powell River is the breakwater for the mill cargo; logs in and wood products out. There is no natural harbour of any sort, it is just a town and a wharf on the seaside. They have 19 ex WWII concrete hulks lined up 200 metres out to sea, end to end to act as a breakwater. We took some photos and moved south. 

Tomorrow we will be back to our highrise bedroom in downtown Vancouver geared up to watch the All Blacks at half past midnight with Blair. Interesting team for this 3^rd test so we are getting excited about that.