It felt like our
summer from hell . . . like a roller coaster ride . . . we had our ups and
downs . . . the highs were great and the lows had me wondering if we would ever
climb back up. But we survived and had
some interesting road-time.
Waterton
The mountains are
my 'go-to' place when I need to get a perspective on life.
Once I see Chief Mountain, I just sense the anxiety starting to
dissolve.
The mountains are
so majestic and encompassing . . . they remind me about my place in the
world . . . but I feel protected and serene.
Cameron Falls in the middle of Waterton’s Townsite
exemplifies the beauty and overwhelming power of nature.
The road to Red Rock Canyon winds through the hillsides of wildflowers
. . .
only to meet up
with a local Mountain Sheep
and culminate at a crossing of the river that runs through the
Red Rock Canyon.
The Bridge
We haven’t done
much touring around Lethbridge for years so when we have visitors we see all
sorts of new sights as well as enjoy showing off some of the features exclusive
to ‘The Bridge’.
Yes, of course . .
. there is The Bridge.
This is a
wonderful shot taken by Chris Oates of The Bridge during the eclipse.
And then there is Fort Whoop-Up. Lethbridge has a replica of Fort Hamilton
– a fur trading post - that was renamed Fort
Whoop-Up in honour of the infamous Bug Juice traded with the natives
for furs.
It now sits in the
Indian Battle Park in the Old Man River Valley that runs through the
middle of Lethbridge.
Originally it
stood a few miles south of Lethbridge and became a legal trading post and
then a North West Mounted Police fort in 1875. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Whoop-Up#History) It does have some colourful history.
A local historical
group was the custodian of the Fort until just last year when it was taken over
by the museum (Galt Museum) and the City of Lethbridge.
The Native/Arts
Program at the University had exhibits there that we went down to see.
Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens
The Japanese
people have a significant presence in this Southern Alberta community. For the most part, they were
relocated here from BC temporarily during the war to get them away from the
coast and alleviate fears of their supporting the actions taken by Japan during the Second World War.
As was typical for
this region, outside people were considered very useful during the War,
but were not particularly welcome to stay after. But stay they did and became
integral and respected parts of the communities.
In 1967, symbol of Japanese
and Canadian friendship.
When our friends
from New
Mexico
(Deb & Jer), arrived, it was just in time to help celebrate the 50th
Anniversary of the Gardens.
Aspen Crossing
We wanted to show
Deb & Jer the Blackfoot Crossing (http://www.blackfootcrossing.ca/)
so off we went. The Crossing was closed so Aspen Crossing became
our destination. One of the few times we have been misled by our GPS. He wanted
us to proceed off road – across country – to get to Aspen Crossing. Needless to
say – we took the long way around on the paved roads.
Aspen Crossing It’s just past
Mossleigh on a secondary road to Calgary.
The name Aspen comes from one
of the few tree species that grow naturally in the Southern
Alberta prairie area. The term crossing
is a natural outcome of Jason’s (the owner) extreme passion for trains.
It has developed a lot since we were there in
2011.
They have acquired more train cars and now
offer a number of different train excursions.
And John Diefenbaker’s (an old Canadian Prime Minister) dining car has
now expanded into two cars and they now have three caboose-cabins that have
been transformed into cabins that sleep up to 6 bodies.
The Museum and Gift Store have also expanded.
Aspen Crossing is a labour of love that keeps growing and growing and
growing.
Bar U Ranch
Many, many, many
years ago, my Grandfather was a fur trader along the Fort Benson Trail out of Montana. We know he worked further north in Alberta – Edmonton, Wetaskiwin – and he later ran a Clothing
Store in Calgary. I remember my father talking about Pat
Burns being a good friend of Grandpa so the Bar U Ranch has a special
significance for me.
Pat Burns was an
eminent ranching and food processing magnate in
Southern Alberta and he purchased the Bar U in 1927.
The Bar U’s
development really started after the signing of Treaty 7 between the Government
of Canada and the Southern Alberta Native Tribes . . . Blackfoot, Blood,
Peigan, Sarcee and Stoney . . . in 1877 and grew existentially until the final
cattle drive in 1948.
In the 1890s, the
rangeland covered 157,960 acres with 10,410 cattle and 832 horses. The cowboys
on the Ranch included the famous African-American Cowboy, John Ware and Harry
Longabaugh reputed to be the Sundance Kid.
The Ranch went
through many stages and phases in its 125 years . . . the growth of the
ranching and the cattle industry; the Percheron (work horses) Breeding Program;
training and developing working cowboys; and finally the inauguration of the
Ranch as a National Historic Site.
The cattlemen who
were involved in the Ranch over the years were influential in preserving the
character of ranching on the prairies of the Southern Alberta foothills. They were instrumental in
starting the Calgary Stampede and Exhibition and are memorialized by the Big
Four Buildings on the Exhibition Grounds.
In
1991 Parks Canada acquires 367 acres comprising the original ranch headquarters
to commemorate ranching history in Canada.
Historically, the
Bar U was where cowboys learned to be cowboys and still is.
The Visitors’
Centre reminds me of a typical sprawling ranch home and a bronzed statue of a
working cowhand watches over the operation. The dedication plaque below the
statue reads: “Dedicated to respect the initiative, resourcefulness and
persistence of the cowhands of the open ranch era, and to honor the ranchers of
those early days.”
And the wagon waits at the gate to take the guests down to the barns, workshops, bunk houses, kitchen and the other dozen or so other out buildings.
As we travelled
towards the working area of the Ranch, young Joe tells us some of the history of
the Ranch.
We pass all
different types of farm equipment and out buildings.
The wagon drops us
off at the Fire Pit where Miriam pours a cup of coffee from the pots hanging
over the fire and tells us about the life of the Cowboy on the ranch.
Then we wandered through the buildings . . . bunk houses and
kitchen . . . and watched the staff working with the horses. Most of the folks
working there seem to be from ranches in and around the area.
Even though the
ranch dates back over 125 years, the cowboy spirits still roam here.
