My Copilot Is A Troll

My adventure was such a whirlwind and the weather was so incredibly amazing that I often did too many things in a single day to write about. So now it's time to do a bit of backtracking. The second leg of my journey was spent in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. It's a couple km off the Transcanada Highway, so if you are travelling East or West, you miss it. But if you are heading into the Cypress Hills, you pass right though. Maple Creek is just far enough from the cities that it's managed to thrive in the absence of chains businesses and big box stores. It has embraced it's homesteader heritage and has created a fantastic little getaway; smack dab in the middle of the prairie.  The use of brick as a primary building material on the prairies means there many beautiful heritage buildings. This old school now houses an amazing museum. The extent of the collection really blew me away.  The gift shop is not your typical museum gift shop. You can actually buy vintage Altaglass and

After several days that involved a lot of driving, I decided I needed a "stay day". It was time to just take some time and explore Pincher Creek itself. Because it is a little off the main highway going to the Crowsnest Pass, I had never actually been in Pincher Creek before.  First order of business was coffee and breakfast. I found the charming Hut Café on Main Street. A really big cup of coffee and a banana crepe is a great way to start a day! Properly fortified, I walked up and down Main, doing my shopping. I spent all morning exploring the unique shops and finishing my Christmas shopping. Speaking of unique, Johnny Cache Hobbies is a combination pet store, hunting supply and gaming store. It blew my mind and I found a lot of gifts there for the younger people in my life. (I'm sure Donovan and Gavin will love their new squeaky bones! Or was that for Rodeo - it's been a whirlwind!) I love it when towns have murals. They just exude charm and I find them delightful.

In addition to 48 National Parks, Canada is home to a few World Heritage Sites. A few are conveniently in Southern Alberta; Dinosaur Provincial Park, Waterton, the Rocky Mountain Parks, Writing on Stone and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. As you may have noticed, many these have been stops on this autumn's journey. Growing up and living my whole life in Alberta, it would be easy to take for granted all these amazing places that we have in our back yard. On a global and political scale Canada is a young country. We lament not having an old architectural history like Europe. We forget how rich our prehistory and natural history is. One of my goals with my travels and this blog is to appreciate what we have close to home. For an armchair archeologist like myself, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a "must see" place. I have been here several times, but I have been discovering that in different stages of life, your experience is unique. Perspective, knowledge and point of view cha

Experiencing Waterton National Park in the off season is an incredible thing. Yes, most of the shops and restaurants are closed, but that is a small price to pay. Every road you drive down, every trail you hike, every view you pause at to soak in - you have mostly to yourself. You don't have to share it with hoards of international tourists.  You can sit at any spot for as long as you like, and not feel like you have to move along to make room for the next group of people. It's easy to take pictures without getting other people in them. When you are driving down one of the roads and see something of interest, you can stop and look at it or take a picture without worrying about backing up traffic.  When you go to a restaurant, you can chose the perfect patio table; great view, the sun at your back, not in your eyes (with option of shade), and there's no one close by to look at you funny when you take pictures of trolls! A well deserved raspberry ripple break! If you go into

The towns in the Crowsnest Pass are so very close together that it can be hard to keep track of which one you are in. They have guided walking tours that take you through the local spots of historical interest. These self guided walks are perfect for a beautiful fall day, when some of the high season events aren't running. There are numerous places to pull off the highway at "Points of Interest". This day started at Lundbreck Falls and took me all the way to Sparwood, BC. I Stretched my legs at Leitch Collieries and found the most marvelous store in Bellevue (I think) where I finished my Christmas shopping. It was a sobering day. Some history is filled with tragedy and the Crowsnest Pass has had more than it's fair share. In the space of a few years, only a few miles apart, were the deadliest rock slide and the deadliest mine disaster ever seen in Canada. The effects of the Frank Slide in 1903 and the Hillcrest Mine Disaster in 1914 are still felt, over a century late

Saga and Leif had quite an adventure today. We visited the second of 48 National Parks today, Waterton National Park. It was a gorgeous day, low to mid 20s. I may have gotten a bit of a sunburn. The perfect thing to do on such a day is take the boat ride on the lake. So my first stop, after the visitor center for maps and coffee, was to the marina to check the schedule and buy a ticket (Trolls ride for free!) I had about 90 minutes before boarding, so we wandering up and down the side of the lake, took some pictures, did some gift shopping, the usual touristy stuff. Being off season, most of the restaurants and shops are closed. That didn't stop me from finding Christmas gifts though! The official Parks red chairs! The iconic Prince of Wales hotel built in 1926 The Trolls got a little carried away with posing! "Miss Waterton" has an upper viewing deck, a lower inside deck which provides shelter from wind, and the aft sundeck. So we finally boarded the boat and got, in my

  Even the most careful planning and extensive list making can't account for everything. Today, I left Saskatchewan and the Cypress Hills, and crossed the entire width of Alberta. I made one very important stop, which I was very excited about. Some of the most dramatic and beautiful views our province has to offer.  And my camera battery was dead after two pictures. I forgot to charge it.  Writing-On-Stone is a fantastic destination. They have a wonderful interpretive center at the top of the cliffs and a campground at the bottom, by the river. There isn't much in the way of services. At this time of year the Hoodoo Hut, the little store at the campground was closed. It's a bit of a drive, so packing food and water is a good idea. There is a guided bus tour through the area, for those who want to take part. My time was limited to an hour or so because I still had a lot of driving to get to my next destination. I only did one short hike. The helpful attendant at the interpre