Fathers Day

We decided to head out to Kananaskis today, to the Sheep River falls, west of Turner Valley, to celebrate Father's Day with a picnic in the woods. The weather was less than great with rain showers and cloud covering most of the higher peaks, but nevertheless, it was a breathtaking spot. We kept a look out for wildlife after my 'moose' spotting last weekend, and sharp eyes spotted a fleeting glance of a wolf by the roadside. No bears, although a tomato that Neil dropped during lunch mysteriously disappeared from under the table at some point - so there must have been a little critter about the place!

Parade Day

Today was the annual Okotoks Parade. It all kicked off with a pancake breakfast on Elizabeth Street first thing (yum!) followed by a fabby parade of all things and people Okotokian down the main street. We decided to pitch a spot on the beer terrace outside 'The Willy' - a local pub just by the main intersection, and enjoyed a drink in the warm sun while we watched the various cars, floats and trucks drive by. A great morning!

Day out to South West Alberta

Today was my birthday, so we decided to take a day trip south and see more of our province. We started at 'Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump' (catchy name eh?) which does exactly what it says on the tin! It is a UNESCO world heritage site, which kind of puts it on a par with the Pyramids in terms of historical importance!

Thousands of years ago, the First Nations people of the Northern lands used to drive herds of Buffalo over the edge of this erratic escarpment to their deaths below. They would do this so that they could kill enough bison to last them through the long harsh winter. None of the buffalo was wasted, from the meat to the skin and bones, all was used in their daily lives, from making skins to cover their tipis, fat for cooking, and of course the meat. The drop was twice as deep thousands of years ago, but even now it is impressive. We marvelled at the views from the top, as well as enjoying the very impressive museum which has been cleverly built into the hillside. I was impressed with how much Jake and Jasmine already knew about the traditions of the Blackfoot tribal people. They've learnt loads at school, so were very interested in all the artefacts and exhibits.
We then headed west towards the mountains again, stopping for lunch by the Oldman River at Pincher Creek, which was very pretty. We decided to drive up towards the Crowsnest Pass and visit the Frank Slide museum, deep in the mining areas of Crowsnest. In 1903, almost the entire mining village of Frank was buried under a huge mountain slide as Turtle Mountain partly collapsed. We loved the interactive museum , and learnt loads about how and why the disaster occurred. The rubble has been largely left as it fell, and it was eery driving through the site and seeing the devastation - even though it happened 95 years ago!
We drove back through the foothills, along the Cowboy Trail, and saw our first moose! Cool!
A lovely memorable day for all of us