Category: Travel posts

With another blip up in weather it was a good time to take advantage of our proximity to the border with another foray into Montana.

We had been looking at the tourist maps of things close by that might make good day trips for visitors.

First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park boasts being the largest Buffalo Jump in America…. It’s right by Great Falls

On previous trips we had spotted a greasy spoon type independent breakfast spot…. The Golden Harvest off the highway en route to Great Falls….. There’s no greater adventure than a sketchy looking breakfast joint….. The menu looked promising….. Home made bread… 4 kinds…. Never mind Gold Harvest….this could be a gold strike….!!!

Hopes and dreams laid waste on the rocks….. Not only was it not open when Google promised…. It had changed its name…..another COVID casualty we suspect since its reviews as a family restaurant had been stellar…..

The choice we had now was to sit in parking lot for an hour ’til opening…. Or decant to Great Falls and find another spot…. So the Black Bear Cafe it was….I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of it….must’ve been too hungry by that point…..

Breakfast was better than decent…!! Since we were now in Great Falls it was time to pick up a few American groceries ( I do love Albertsons…….all kind of flavours of Tostitos that you can’t get in Canada and excellent coupons in my Albertsons app……. 😁) Next stop…. First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park….

This Park feels like it is in the middle of nowhere…. the access road winds through the small town of Ulm, and then after driving across a stretch of prairie…..

The Rangers in the visitor centre were very nice and helpful…….but it seems to be the way of it in State and National Parks….There was no one else in parking lot…….not surprising…..it was a warmer day than we have been having…..but still chilly….and veeeeeery windy…!!!

I made my purchase of park badges for my collection and we took the little tour through the visitor centre.

The Taft loop is the 5km trail around the park and across the top of the cliff. Did I mention it was windy…….and muddy……….but very pretty.

Montana has that big sky thing created by the vastness of the prairies and the circle of mountains waaaaay off in the distance…..

Its not a particularly difficult hike…….but it is hard work walking into the wind…. (we found a few fungi on the path…..to my delight…!!)

Its another one of those frequent stop hikes. Not to catch your breath as much as to gasp a little at the view….

At the top there’s a quite spectacular view of the surrounding countryside…..the mountains on the horizon…..

…….and the prairie dogs…….!!!! These guys are black tailed prairie dogs….not gophers…!!!

At the top of the loop there is a big parking lot……this is a place you can cheat a little and drive up to the viewpoint….if you want to……

From the parking area…as you walk forward….you don’t really see the cliff ’til you are right there……..I guess that’s why it worked so well for harvesting buffalo….

It’s quite an impressive drop…..

The ‘accumulation’ of stuff at the bottom of the cliff is apparently the remains of 5,000 years of buffalo…!!!

If you are interested in more information about this hunt method…click here

I always felt an incredible sense of history walking the stone steps in Edinburgh…the same ones that people had been climbing for 500 years…….well this place is so much more. As you stand on the cliff you can imagine thousands of bison grazing the plains……this place has the feel of thousands of years…..

If you look closely at this next picture, and the two above….the little building you see in the middle is the visitor centre….

Just in front of the visitor centre is this structure …which is the Pow Wow Arbor built by the local tribe around 15 years ago for the annual Pow Wow at the site.

There are many activities they run from wildlife watching to night sky events……

It’s a very beautiful place…..so open, you just want to gaze out and breathe deep…..a good one to come back to with visitors….who’s coming out to see….? 😁

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Thoroughly enjoying our dose of Emily, a trip to the Rockies was an essential part of the itinerary. It’s her favourite part of the world after all. The weather network promised us a sunny day above freezing, and to add to the perfection of the day Bronagh and her friend, Andy, were available to join us.

Its a 90 minute drive for us to Waterton. Chief Mountain is part of the Waterton skyline……and we can see it from the house…..!!! This means we can see it all the way there and for some people we were not closing in on it fast enough.

As they were driving down from Calgary, and we were driving straight west to Waterton…..we met them there. Bronagh said when they arrived at the sign declaring ‘proceed at your own risk’, that had to be the right way to find us. The trail was snow covered…but we had high hopes of hiking at least far enough in to get some views.

It was quite lovely as we headed out from the trailhead following a path made by a snowmobile that looked close enough to where the trail should be.

About a kilometer in the snowmobile tracks stopped and we were off to the left of the trail….and the snow was becoming a little more difficult to traverse.

There was absolutely no sign of the trail though we bravely continued searching for a bit.

As we disappeared up to the hips in the snow…..much hilarity ensued.

There were parts where…in order to avoid disappearing into the snow, crawling was a better option…….shades of Parker Loop in the Okanagan last year.….. but with arms disappearing as well as legs.

A lot of the time we couldn’t continue simply because we were all laughing too hard…..

It was time to bail on the trail and head back. (Crawl back…!!!)

It was bloomin’ hard going……!!!

….but eventually we made it back to firmer ground…….

It was kind of a perfect day for this sort of adventure…… warm enough that we were not cold, but cold enough that the snow was not melting and soaking us as we struggled……I think we managed about 1.6 kilometeres in total….but it was fun….!!!!

There is viewpoint of Waterton on the road back……it was a little icy at the viewpoint (but, thanks Parks Canada, the washrooms were not locked….!!!)

….and the view of Waterton is……well….absolutely magnificent….

Since we were right here by the gate, we took a drive in to the park…..

…..to get a few more captures of those most majestic peaks….

A grand day out indeed…!!!

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(All of the pictures are clickable if you wish a clearer view)

(link to Emily comes to visit part 1)

November blasted us with some brutal storms and unbelievable cold. Snow drifts in the driveway, power outages and a bit of ‘living in a snowglobe” experience. The upside of blizzard conditions in high winds…..the trailer is bright and shiny……snowbath..!!

Finally the polar vortex shifted and the weather has become quite pleasant…….but then after weeks of below -30 Celsius anything above freezing becomes quite joyful……..and we are finding that here in Alberta….or at least here in the southern part……the sun does like to shine….!!!

…and the wildlife likes to visit…..

I think the whole of Canada reveled in a white Christmas this year, and so very beautiful it was too…….

With the warmer weather and our Emily visiting from Ontario, a trip back to our ‘local’ (Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park ) seemed like a plan…!!!

Writing-on-Stone…….the badlands landscape in miniature, with less snow than our last visit making the Hoodoo trail less perilous. We lucked out with a beautiful blue sky day. It was wonderful to strap on the boots again and be out in the fresh air, especially a chance to share our neighbourhood with Emily.

The Hoodoo trail has a series of numbered viewpoints. There is a guide which tells the history and geology of the place……..but there were none in the box on this visit…….I should pick up a couple of extras for our next visitors…!!!

The Milk River frozen and snow covered.

There were no snakes this time either….!!!!

The views are hard to beat…..especially on a day like this one….

The light was quite a bit different from our visit in the fall…..giving us a very different view of some of the pictographs.

….and that battle scene is just ….well it’s something…!!!!

With so few other people around every time we come here……it’s a very peaceful and reflective place………

It’s a pleasure to be back outside again………

Such a lovely place…..

The unusually cold start to the winter season here in Alberta seems to have curtailed our adventuring for a spell. Not that staying home here is any kind of chore.

Just love the Sweetgrass Hills sunrise view…….None of these pictures have been retouched by the way…..this is the colour they were…!!!

The activity of late has involved a lot of gathering, cutting and stacking wood. …(…and then burning it at a frightening rate…..!!)

We are informed by our neighbours ( the two legged ones ) that this is unseasonal for this area….both the severe cold and the excessive snow…(thats what they told us in Penticton last year…LOL…..we are beginning to think it might be us..!!)

One upside of the weather is that the wind blasted snow has left the Airstream sparkly clean…LOL

The wind blows a channel down the north side of the house, drifting an ever growing wall of snow on that side of the house…….we are losing our view from the kitchen and the bathroom…!!!

I continue to be impressed by the hardiness of our little barn buddies ( I did build them an insulated box in the shed….and ran heat tape under it..!!) they play out in the snow at minus 20 celsius…….this last week at minus 30 they don’t leave the shed tho,,,,,,,!!!…and for anyone that is concerned…yes I am out there topping up fresh (unfrozen) water for them a few times a day….even tho it takes me more time dressing up in multiple layers of insulated clothing than I actually spend out there.

Intrepid hunters that they are……(look closely at the first picture to find the black and white cat)

We continue to host the local wildlife……it just never gets old….

…and then there is the Pronghorn herd that gather in the neighbours alfalfa field….

I built an ‘homage’ to the Christmas tree this year……and it spontaneously developed an ‘ornament’…!! Someone loves tinsel…!!!

Last year it was the picture-perfect snow hikes in the Okanagan…..this year it’s the homegrown vistas of our Christmas card retreat here at Rancho Relaxo..!!!

Here’s wishing everyone all the best for the season, and a happy and healthy start to 2023. As soon as the bitter cold lets up….we will be back out there finding mischief to get into…and beautiful places to make memories and share with you all.

Before beginning this next mini adventure, I have to share my little troupe of barn kittens………eagerly headed for their breakfast table (the greenhouse…!!)

The early Alberta winter weather has held us captive at home for longer than we have become accustomed to, forcing us to be relatively inactive.

The weather ‘broke’…. well…… it warmed up to -3 Celsius…so we took advantage and escaped the driveway (it has spent much of the last few weeks buried under drifting snow…!!) and headed for Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park.

Since we were there last, and been quite enthralled by this beauty, we had been keen to get out and see it in snow.

It did not disappoint.

The access roads were well ploughed, but there were no other visitors on this particular day……not of the human kind at least..!!

On arrival there were a couple of Mule deer quietly grazing by the visitor centre. The doe was completely unfazed by our presence, and we were able to walk right to her without her fleeing.

A few steps further and a hare hopped across the path and sat by the bush to have some p0rtrait work done.

As we headed down into the Hoodoo’s that wonderful ‘Big Sky’ was particularly impressive as the sun began its descent in the early afternoon.

The crisp snow on the landscape also held the patterns of the various local critters from hares to deer to bird prints……and then our two sets of people prints on top of them.

The campground is not open in the winter, so we took the opportunity to investigate a little.

Down to the beach there is a path marked on the map…..but with the snow covering the river and the banks…I voted not to try going that way.

At the other end we were able to get out along the top of the bank….we saw beaver prints in the snow….but no beavers…..

Now here is a thought…..you can canoe this whole stretch of the river…..not in the winter I’m guessing tho…!!!

We did the very first part of the Hoodoo trail that we had hiked previously…..but with the snow covering those rock steps……again…it did not seem prudent to hike too far in….maybe another day if we start earlier and bring walking poles…….

On the way home we had to stop for the photographer to get some shots of an old barn we had admired just off highway 501.

…and a little futher on….a whole flock of Pronghorns were close enough that we shrieked to a halt to try and capture some images of them….they were too skittish though and started moving off as soon as we stopped………cool looking creatures……!!! Very distinctly different to the mule deer…

The backdrop of the Sweetgrass mountains adds that other-worldly feel to the place !!!! Its like living in a scenic calendar…!!!!

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Alberta has given us quite the winter show……and yes …I know…Ontario is still basking in warm late fall weather…..but …as cold as it has been….it’s a whole ‘nother kind of beautiful.

The downside of a kilometer long driveway…which is less of a driveway and more of an easement on the side of an alfalfa field…….it makes for some exciting trips to town……actually some pretty exciting trips out to the highway…..

No surprise then we had a few days there when we did not attempt it…..not because we thought we’d get stuck…..more that…if we did get stuck we’d be digging out with the temp below -20 degrees Celsius…..brrrr…..

This white stuff adds a bit of drama to the sunset….

……..and then there is the sunrise experience…!!!

….and to the full moon in the snow………it was was quite spectacular…..

Another visit from the neighbours…I actually heard them crunching through the snow outside the bedroom window……

The big guy just kind of stood and stared right at us…..!!

It was pretty cool………😁

Anyway……being kinda trapped for a few days….we came up with a project for some grain elevator lumber….and emptied out some moving boxes ..!!

It is supposed to warm up again this week….so I’m sure we will get out and about to find some mischief….and some snowy vistas to share…..

Now that it’s officially ours…there is a bit of work to do around the place. We have a couple of sheds, a greenhouse and an old blacksmith shop on the property……..and thanks to both previous owners, a substantial quantity of junk….!!!

Some of the junk just involves plastic barrels, old fencing, farm totes and old tires.

The most significant project though……..is the woodpile…!!!

A bit of the back story is that Milk River used to have classic wooden Grain Elevators by the rail tracks in town. They were demolished in 2020. The previous owners of our house/property did some kind of deal with the town whereby the debris from said demolition is on the bottom third of our land…..!!! Reclaimed barnboard anyone…?

Our woodpile is so substantial you can see it from space…….LOL…..

It has proven useful as the colder weather closes in……we have ample firewood supplies………probably for the next 5 generations of the family…….🤣

Gathering firewood at the woodpile…….

Let’s just say….it’s a work in progress……

Scott, up on the roof adding strapping to the chimney to stop it ‘squeaking’ in the wind..

On the upside this small town is very civilized……not only do we have a firehall, elementary and high school, golf course, curling club, bowling alley, hospital complete with ER, grocery store, liquor store, post office (and a population of just over 800…!!)...but the municipal dump is no additional charge for residents….!!!

Consequently, Scott has made many dump runs with old tires, old windows etc. etc. etc. Very nice guy that works there too…..!!!

We had our first major snowfall…….or should I say snowdrift…..the falling snow is not the problem……the blowing snow is…..

We busied ourselves inside…..with a beer, made some pineapple black pepper jam, popovers, roasted some garlic………and big roaring fires

Then along comes the chinook and blows it all away again…….

The sunrises are amazing…..the view south east is towards the Sweetgrass Mountains in Montana.

The last picture there is of one of the lights inside the house. The guy who sold us the house reclaimed some of the explosion proof lights from the grain elevators. They suit the house….we like ’em……Scott took a couple from the shed to make a “chandelier” for the dining room…!!!

The birds and wildlife are plentiful….. (partridges…!!)

….and then there’s the barn kittens……..

The cat seems to like it here too……

We might stay awhile………😁

Well its been a busy few weeks now that we have become earthly bound again.

Moving in and preparing for winter has somewhat curtailed our adventuring for the moment….but luckily, I still have a few adventures to catch up on..

This is the third trail we completed in the oh so beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park. The trailhead is deep into the park, a long and beautiful drive through the skeletal forest of the burned parkland.

The trailhead is at a ranger station by Cameron Lake. It’s a spot where paddleboarding and kayaking seem to be the main activity.

…and the trail heads off upwards almost immediately. The path is bounded by the lush greenery of the opportunistic raspberries taking their chances with the access to sunlight in this part of the cycle of the forest..

As we came around the first corner there was a local standing right on the path in front of us. She stood and took a long look at us before she bounded off into the trees.

The climb up to Summit Lake is a series of long steep switchbacks.

…up, as usual, the upside of the up grade…is the view down…!!!

…and of course, appreciating the view is the greatest excuse to stop and catch a breath from time to time…!!!

Nearing the top we were starting to see more signs of bear activity. Scratched up trees…….scat on the trail…..

As the top neared, the landscape leveled out, and the raspberries gave way to tough grasses….

Summit Lake was a very small body of water….

….there were people there already with their picnic, so we walked a little further on to see if we could see in to the next valley

Its hard to believe that its been four years since this burn. The charring of the tree trunks looks so fresh. It also makes some quite spectacular patterns…!!

Time to head back down. It was starting to get a little cooler, fall is definitely in the air….

…another upside of the changed tree-less landscape….the visibility for marauding wildlife is that much clearer…….hopefully they see us coming as well as hear us (we are not quiet…!!)…ie we saw no bears…!! (phew..!!)

I keep saying it, but its true……the walk down gives you a prolonged look at the views….spectacular……

We even found an especially weird looking fungi……and tons of wild raspberries..

We started out fairly early to this one. Turned out to be a good plan…there were lots more people heading up the trail just as we neared the end…….we had it mostly to ourselves…….most of the way…

Another beautiful trail, another beautiful day.

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