On the Road - Day 38

Disappointment. Pat wanted to sit in the hot tub before showering. (It had been full of kids last night) Pool area was being cleaned at ten, and did not open until noon, and check out is at eleven. Then there was a long line for showers (1 loonie for 6 minutes) Bother. Vance will have to put up with a stinky me.

Went to the IGA in Fort Macleod, and tried other stores for postcards of Calgary, which I did not pick up there. No luck. Followed locals into a bakery/cafe and bought a tasty "butterhorn" which we shared. Heard music and was drawn to the Fort where riders in Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniforms were putting their horses through precision maneuvers.

Drove to "Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump", a fine interpretive center about buffalo hunting and the culture of the Plains peoples. Started at the top of the cliffs to see where the buffalo were herded to their deaths. Then went through the 5 levels of the center which included a movie and a documentary about the archeological work at the sites. It is designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because "it is among the oldest, largest and best preserved buffalo jump sites." The survival of regional tribes depended on their cooperative efforts.

Took Routes 3 and 6 towards Waterton National Park, Alberta. The countryside turned from flat prairies to green rolling hills, and nearest the park, mountains sprung up. We have seen a lot of ranch land. Here are some of today's photos.








Settled in at Waterton Springs Campground. We're on "30 amp. service," so we turned on the air conditioner. Then the refrigerator sounded an alarm which indicated that the voltage was too low and switched over to LP gas. So I turned the air conditioner to low. But then it, too, stopped. (Never a dull moment when you are on the road!) So here we are, with enough electricity to charge our cell phones and camera batteries and run the air conditioner on fan only. Could be worse! :-) (We got a partial refund for the site.)

Checked out the facilities, and discovered that, again, there was no Wi-Fi available (bad weather the Sunday before). Vance went back to the RV and I hiked up a trail. An area of the site is cordoned off and has a bear trap set on it! I whistled the rest of the way, just to give a bear notice that I was in the vicinity. (If I was the bear, I would have said "Yum!" - Vance)

Chatted with our neighbor and shared photos. Talked about loving the Icefields Parkway. He grew up in Banff and Clearwater. Turns out his family has, since 1853(!), owned about three-fourths of the property around Dutch Lake - which was a favorite RV campground for us. Small world! His great-great relative was in the lumber business, and his grandfather was a guide.

Canadians refer to a cash register as a "till", and the Continental Divide as the "Crown of the Continent" -- Southwestern Albertan roads are in excellent condition, and run straight as an arrow -- Taking our time, we have become "drifters". Feels better than going for whatever is over the horizon. This seems to be a lesson we keep relearning.

Ended at Waterton Springs Campground, Waterton Park, Alberta
Odometer 61,298.5 (85.5) Total: 3172.0