Deja Vu

You may be thinking,  haven't the Trolls been here before? Yes, they have, about 3 years ago, on their first road trip. Today they were sharing the experience with others, who hadn't been. Rob actually worked for the Carriage House Theatre in the 90s, a paid acting position, but had never been to the museum. Even though his family all live in Magrath, he and his kids have never been to the museums and historic sites in the area. We never play tourist at home! Good thing they have me, to remedy the situation. 

Leif and Saga are ringing 
up the phone bill!

The Remington Carriage Museum in Cardston is beautifully curated. There are a few carriages you are allowed to sit in. Some have a video, to recreate a journey or teach about harnessing a horse. I love that the enclosed winter sleigh is called a caboose! I miss cabooses! (caboosi? cabeese?)

Riding a Caboose to School

The Trolls do love miniatures! They were excited to feed the horses

Last time I was here, I only had about half an hour until closing, so it was a quick trip. This time, we got to visit the restoration room. One of the craftsmen showed us how they restore the carriages and could answer all our questions. 

New for me on this trip, is navigating tourism with a 30 foot motorhome.  Since it's not a trailer that gets unhitched, we don't have a vehicle to run around in. On the plus side, we have a fridge and a bathroom with us at all times! For part of the journey, I sat in the back for the first time. I have to say, it felt rather luxurious to be on a comfy couch, surrounded by pillows. I also had a huge window with a view of the mountains.  We plan our excursions on driving days, so we schedule our time accordingly. One thing to keep in mind it that many places are closed on Mondays.

Main tourist stops generally have RV parking, so that's not a problem, although count on it being a bit of a hike sometimes! Many small towns have a parking lot, which we found in Cardston. So we could park and walk down to main street in search of lunch. We try really hard to avoid chain restaurants and support local. Unfortunately the local spot we were headed to was closed for renovations.  So we were stuck with fast food. You can't win them all.

If you haven't been to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, you really should make the trip. The building itself is an architectural wonder, it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has incredible views and 6000 years of history.  I love history and archeology, so I never tire of visiting places like this.

Unlike most museums, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump has six floors, each with it's own time period or theme. But you don't start at the entrance. 

I recommend watching the short film first to get a sense of the buffalo hunt. Then you go all the way to the 6th and outside to the cliff top. Hold on to your hats, both figuratively and literally - I almost lost mine and it wasn't a particularly windy day.

You can drop people off at the door, if you have strollers or family members with reduced mobility.  There are elevators, as well, so everyone can get the full experience. I'm going to be honest, we took the elevator up - it's 6 floors!!

There is a trail, about a kilometer long and the base of the cliff that you can do either at the beginning or the end. It has way signs along the way and a detailed brochure to follow.

There are picnic sites scattered around. Conveniently, there is one by the parking lot, at the site of the original archeological dig from the 40s. So you don't have to lug everything up the hill with you.  I wish we would have thought of a picnic. That would have been so much nicer than fast food!

After the cliff top, you work your way down, each floor of the museum, winding around displays. You often have to look up too! We think of Canada as a new country, because we don't have the old buildings and cathedrals of Europe. 

Canada has a rich ancient and prehistoric culture that we to easily forget about. Instead of monuments, the nomadic tribes built their stories and traditions. There was a beautiful skin on display. Cave painting style pictures started in the center and spiraled out. Significant events, like the time the bear came into camp, were added as they happened. I could visualize a grandparent sitting down with all the children, telling the stories on a cold winter night. Everyone else in the tipi chiming in their bits, to flesh out the tale. We were honoured to sit and talk with a Piikani man whose great-grandfather was one of the 100 survivors of their band.

You turn your back on Leif and Saga for
one minute, and they are playing with
the microscope!

The views are spectacular. Inside the museum and at the cliff top, there are wonderful sign boards with sketches of the horizon, naming all the mountains, hills and rivers. It really gives you a sense of the scope of the area. 

I hope the architecture of the museum won awards. The way it blends into the cliff side is reminiscent of ancient cliff dwelling people.

As you can see, we had an incredible day for our visit. My summer in Sundre has been very cloudy and wet. I don't think we have had more than two days in a row without rain. My sidewalk between my house and garage is literally turning green with algae. So coming to Southern Alberta with the impossibly blue skies and a view that goes on forever made me feel like I could finally take a deep breath.