Airplanes and Dinos

Grain elevators along the way to Calgary

On our way to Calgary, we stopped in Nanton for a visit to their Bomber Museum. It being Father’s Day weekend, we were stopping at places that Russ has a particular interest in; airplanes and anything military.  

Russ next to a Lancaster, a Canadian bomber used during WWII

The rain hasn’t stopped for a few days and we got to set up camp in Calgary in the midst of a drenching. Have to say, this is not my favorite part of camping. But our trailer is very warm and snug, so once we got dried off, we were quite comfy. And I actually like being inside the trailer hearing all the rain coming down outside. Much better than being outside.

Calgary is a large, sprawling city. It has a nice pedestrian section downtown, but the weather was so inclement, we didn’t really explore it.

Beautiful flowers were displayed all over the downtown area.

On Father’s Day, we visited the Canada Military Museum which had displays from all of their branches; Air Force, Navy, Army and some special regiments. Lots of airplanes, guns and tanks. The day was finished off with dinner at a very nice Alberta steakhouse.

Took a day and went out to the Royal Terrell museum which is a world class dinosaur museum. Alberta is a hotbed of dinosaur finds from the Crustaceous period (this is the last period of dinosaurs, before they were all killed off) and this museum is the center for the dino research. I really enjoyed the write-ups for the displays and read nearly every one of them. This is unusual for me since I usually lack the patience, but these were so well written, like reading a story about the animal. The research lab area had a window in the museum so you could watch the researchers doing their work on current finds. I have never seen dino fossils presented in such an interesting fashion– some were setup in scenes showing how the various critters might have interacted (that is, usually attacking one another.) They had one gallery that was setup like an art gallery with the fossils framed.

The world's largest T-Rex model - over 80 feet tall!

This is a fossil of a shelled creature.  The mineral is ammolite, which is used for jewelry

This is an Albertosaurus, an ancester of a T-Rex and much bigger.

A raptor, of Jurassic Park fame

Our litttle stowaway carefully checking out his roots (he found out that birds derived from dinos)

Our visit to Calgary was finished off with a visit to Canada’s largest quilt shop, of course.

Next stop is Edmonton.

Oh Canada...Oh Canada!

We have finally entered Canada!  We took a scenic route recommended by one of the quilt store owners in Great Falls.  Highway 89 skirts Glacier National Park and passes through the Blackfoot Tribe reservation.  It was beautiful, but also much slower than the more direct route on I-15. 

The view from Highway 89

On the way, we stopped at the Remington Carriage Museum but only had an hour to tour.  Still it was worthwhile.  I’ve read descriptions of carriages such as a hanson cab and a four-in-hand, but had not actually seen them.  It was nice to see that my imagination wasn’t too far off from reality.

An older version of a gasoline tanker.  Notice where the driver sat - alot of concern for safety in those days!

Drove over to Lethbridge to buy a pre-paid cell phone for our stay in Canada (iphone charges are absurd).  Also visited the Lethbridge bridge and walked through the nature reserve that is directly below the bridge.

This is the longest and tallest trestle bridge in the world.  While we were there, two trains passed over....very slowly.

Spent a rainy hour going through Fort Whoop-up.   The fort owners, Americans, had been banned from trading whiskey in America, so they moved to Canada. It was quite rowdy in the area since there were no law enforcers.  This was a primary reason the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were formed. The fort is actually a replica, but there were great interpretive displays and audio.

A couple of residents at Fort Whoop-Up.

Lots of wildflowers everywhere

Today, we visited the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.  Aboriginal people had hunted buffalo by stampeding them off the cliffs for thousands of years. It was an amazing site with lots of great displays and videos.  Hard to get my mind around how “modern” man was able to almost completely wipe out a species that numbered 50 to 60 million within two generations.  Of course, this destroyed the lifestyle of the aboriginal people because the buffalo was at the core of their livelihood and culture.

The cliffs were originally 60 meters high, but the carcasses of the many buffalos piled up over the centuries so that currently the cliffs are about 30 meters deep.

There is a sizable herd of buffalo right near our campground.  They look pretty mangy because they are losing their winter coat.

Also took a drive out to Frank’s slide.  This is west of Fort Macleod, in an area that has a lot of coal mines. In 1903, part of a mountain slid, partially burying  the town of Frank and killing at least 90 people.  Today there is an interpretive center with displays of the event as well as a geological explanation of what happened (the coal mining was a contributor, but not the whole cause.)  Along the way we passed many, many wind turbines.  They are harnessing the energy from the Chinook winds that frequent the plains area.

It took about 90 seconds for this mountain side to tumble down in 1903, leaving a rock bed over 30 meters in depth.  Geologists are monitoring the mountain using a very sophisticated set of instruments in an attempt to be able to warn of another slide in the future.

I have to say that all of the Canadian interpretive centers we have visited so far are top notch.  They have been designed to keep you interested with a variety of interactive displays and videos.  All have been well maintained and the staffers have been more than friendly.

Well, tomorrow we head to Calgary and then on to Edmonton.  Making progress towards Alaska but there are so many neat things to see and do in Canada.  Definitely enjoying our trip, in spite of the less than ideal weather.  Except for Las Vegas, the weather has been cool and in many places, rainy. By the way, the new bathroom sink is working wonderfully!

Great Falls is not an overstatement

Painted buffaloes are all over the city (like the cows in Chicago and the angels in LA.)  This one is a buffalo trout, I guess.

The Missouri River is running at max volume in this area. We were able to get down to the riverbank when we visited the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and see it at close range. Viewing nature's power is a humbling experience.

There are five falls on the Missouri at Great Falls.  This caused Lewis & Clark no end of trouble because they had to portage their stuff around the falls.  The interpretive center did an amazing job of depicting the difficulties the group had during their travels.

Russ exploring what kind of energy it took to pull a canoe upstream.

I appreciated that the center also provided alot of information on the native tribes's cultures, lifestyles and challenges.

The area along the river provided lots of lookouts to view the falls. They are really spectacular because of the river level.

All but one of the falls now has a dam atop it.

 

The sound of the falling water was thunderous!

This is not snow!  The cottonwood trees are "shedding".

Took a day to enjoy the local culture and visited the C.M. Russell art museum. Known as the "Cowboy artist", Russell's home and log cabin studio are also located on the museum's grounds.

Lilacs are everywhere!

Visted a couple quilt shops in the city.  The people are very friendly and offered some tips on what to see as we travel north into Canada. Hopefully, the sink gets fixed tomorrow and we will be on our way on Wednesday. 

A Broken Sink and…What’s This? A Stowaway???

Now I know… a can of shaving cream when falling from the height of the top shelf of a medicine cabinet can punch a fist sized hole through a sink.  So new trailer rule – no heavy objects in the medicine cabinet.  We have now won an extended stay in Great Falls, Montana while we await the arrival and installation of a new sink.

The drive from Idaho Falls to Great Falls was beautiful.  Huge expanses of green meadows, mountains with snow, and grazing cows and horses.  Had a pizza lunch in the historic district of Butte, Montana. Lots of brick buildings, many of which are empty.  Interesting that mine shafts are collocated with buildings and houses – makes for a huge environmental mess. Read that in the 1990s, people were not allowed to drink the tap water because it was so contaminated.  The water pipes were wooden!

A view from the driver's side passing through Idaho and Montana

When Russ was setting up the trailer for our stay in Rexburg, Idaho (just north of Idaho Falls), he discovered a stowaway.  This little guy was part of the rookery of flamingos that we have been keeping in our garage for the infestation fundraiser the Cal Heights youth have been working.  We aren’t sure whether he will be able to make it across the border to Canada, since he is an exotic bird and all.  But so far, he hasn’t been much trouble.  

The water in Idaho was a little too cold for his liking.

He and the local wildlife were checking each other out, keeping a safe distance.

Stopped by the Idaho Potato Museum and saw the world's largest potato chip.  The area we were in provides 30% of the potatos consumed in the United States.

The world's largest potato chip - where's the dip?

While we were passing through the Salt Lake City area, stopped at a quilt shop in Sandy, Utah.  Quilts, Etc. is a very nice store with two buildings of fabrics, kits and more pattern books than I have seen in a single store. 

Drove out to Kennecott Copper Mine visitor center west of Salt Lake City area.  Talk about feeling like a little ant.  That hole in the ground is HUGE – ½ mile deep and 2 ½ miles wide!  The dump trucks that look so small are each carrying almost 400 tons of rocks to the crusher.  Each truck uses six tires with a replacement cost of about $150,000 a year.  I guess I won’t complain about my Lexus’ tires anymore. The scale of the whole place is mind boggling.

Each scoop of rock is 90 tons

They have 80 of these trucks hauling rock 24/7

One tire costs $25,000

Since leaving Las Vegas, the weather has been cool and a bit rainy.  I have been told by locals that it is wetter than usual for this time of year.  The rivers are swollen with snowmelt and there are many flooded fields.  But so far, no troubles for our travels.

We're on our way, first stop Las Vegas!

I don't know why we can't seem to get out the door much before 10 am.  I always have the goal of leaving by 8 am, but...

This time, the water valve to the house wouldn't turn off. And, of course, there is all the last minute "I forgots".

But once we were on the road, things went smoothly.  Got to Las Vegas about 5 pm.  Staying at the parking lot, called Circus Circus KOA campground.  Nothing to recommend it other than it is right by the Strip.  Had a great steak dinner at "THE Steak House" at Circus Circus.  Who knew they would have such a wonderful restaurant.

Weather started out stormy looking, but when we got over El Cajon pass, it cleared and was very pleasant.  Not overly hot in Las Vegas, about 85 degrees. Looking nice for tomorrow.

Onward....

Van troubles

I guess it is better this happened now, rather than at 55 miles an hour going down I-15. The window mechanism broke on the driver's side - the window disappeared down into the door and couldn't be coaxed to come back up.  Fortunately, it will be fixed by tomorrow (along with the passenger's side window, which was on the verge of going the same route).

Packing, packing, packing

We are busy getting the trailer and van ready for the great adventure.  Lots of sifting through the seemingly endless lists and deciding what we have to bring and what we think we need. Hopefully we will get most of it right.

Continuing to figure out the mechanics of this blogging stuff.  Think I set up the blog so that updates will be posted to my Facebook profile.  This post is the first test of that.