June 3-4 Buffalo Jump To Great Falls, Montana and into Canada

 Sunday, June 3

A Driving Day.  Not many photos as we head north through Montana.  

We spent some time last night looking at maps and timing, and decided to bypass the Tetons and Yellowstone, rather than driving through them heading north.  We are certain they are extremely crowded this time of year. Instead, we may hit them on the return – after Glacier and Cody.  For now we’ll drive long days to reach Canada. 

Lots of antelope, then into more farming and ranches.

Wyoming, as we've seen in Montana and in Canada, has created animal bridge crossings over some major highways.

   Looks like they had lots of snow here, as the Hoback river is overflowing in some places, into pastures and surrounding some homes.  The landscaping becomes much more green and then we enter the beautiful Bridger-Teton range with tall evergreens and a smattering of aspen. 

 With grazing cattle in the valleys, and snowcapped mountains beckoning.

 We see deer, rather than antelope, here.  The air is so clear and smells wonderful!

Jackson (Hole) is an upscale tourist area with every amenity you could want.  We want gas, a few groceries and wine.  Then we head west, across the high mountain pass and into Idaho. The poor Trek is used to sea level and huffs and puffs a bit, as Greg uses those gears we seldom have use for.  Some nice wild flowers in the high meadows.

These were white and yellow but their leaves blend into the grass so they don't show up well in photos.

 We will parallel the Teton and Yellowstone road, only on the western side of the Tetons.  The mountains are there, to our right, but we travel through green valley land with ranches, businesses and a smattering of tourist lodges, etc.

As we near Montana, we are back into lower mountains with occasional lakes like Henry’s lake, and more small towns.

 Fishing seems to be the big draw here.  As we continue north on 69 to I15, the rivers are swollen and rushing.  There is little in the way of state or national forestland. Fishing is a huge business  (Think “A River Runs Through It”)and we see plenty of lodges, guides, boating, bait and tackle shops, etc.  We figure they want people to support the industry, so don’t encourage camping.  The one campground we find requires a fishing license! So we continue north to  Great Falls and good old Walmart.

First, we stop at an Applebee’s for dinner and wi-fi, and our sweet waitress tells us to take as long as we want and finds us a booth with an electrical outlet even!  Greg watches some of the NBA playoff game while Beth catches up a little with the blog.  While pictures are uploading, I call AT&T to check on our Canadian service and end up changing our cell phone plan – better deal, less money – I won’t argue – and Canada and Mexico are included now, with no additional fees.

The Missouri River through town is “dangerously high” according to our waitress and some of the businesses and schools near the river are sand bagging.  Still we see quite a few boats out there.

We go across town to a newer Walmart that had better reviews, and have a pretty quiet night except for a quick-moving thunderstorm which Greg doesn’t even hear!

Monday, June 4

We catch a coffee and breakfast sandwich at McDonald’s this morning before continuing north. This part of Montana is very flat and  apparently fertile too.  Farmland and ranchland as far as the eye can see.

We reach the Sweetwater crossing into Canada around 9:30 AM.  Easy peasy crossing with passports and a few friendly questions.

In a few miles we stop at Milk River Welcome Center.  Nice folks here, too, as we pick up a road map and some information on Alberta and Banff. The person we speak to recommends making a reservation for camping in Banff, so we do that, and visit downtown Milk River to exchange a little US money for Canadian – exchange rate; 1 dollar US = 1.27 dollars Canadian. More farmland and the first of a dozen or so falling down empty barns we will see over the next few weeks.

We’ve decided to head over to Lethbridge and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump historic site.  It is a World Heritage Site that we tried to visit once before but found closed.  It is open today and when we go to pay, the girls at the counter say “Hey, Congratulations!  It’s Your Lucky Day!  It is free today!”  We are a bit startled, but find out that today is Alberta Senior Day and admission is free for all seniors.  If I’ve got to be old, I at least like these little perks! Thank you, Alberta!

This is one of the oldest and best preserved Buffalo Jumps. What is a buffalo jump?

Back before the introduction of horses, the American Aboriginals hunted buffalo by basically stampeding them off a cliff.  It involved building pathways lined with cairns, having one person in a buffalo calf hide disguise lure the herd in one direction by pretending to be in distress. Meanwhile, others disguised as wolves also made the herd uneasily move in the desired direction.  At some point, the hunters would jump and shout and cause the buffalo to stampede.  Other hunters along the route kept the buffalo headed toward the cliff where their momentum sent them tumbling.  Any not killed in the fall were finished off with spears, clubs or whatever weapons available.    

We watch a film at the Visitor’s Center and then walk to the cliff.  The cliff today is about half the height that it used to be due to accumulation of bones, erosion, etc.

Then back inside for three stories of displays and artifacts. The name Head-Smashed-In came from a youth who went under the overhanging cliff to watch the buffalo fall and was killed - his head smashed in.  An interesting fact was that at one point the buffalo bones were mined for some mineral - calcium or phosphorous? - so many were dug up and destroyed.

  At the last level, we

meet Little Leaf, who is a Blackfoot Indian.  He  shows us a photo of a group of Blackfoot from 1920 and points out his Grandfather and an Uncle, and names all of the men in the photo.

 We had noticed several Indian youths working here as well and Greg asks if the Blackfoot run this Center.   What an explanation this brought!  It seems that he and one other Blackfoot are full-time (because they are educated and look good for business), the rest are seasonal help.   He has a degree in archeology and is very involved in keeping his heritage alive.  He touched on how his people were treated unfairly and how the white man tries to make it appear that the Blackfoot people are so well cared for.  All lies.  You can tell he is treading a fine line between telling the truth and I guess still keeping his job.  I tell him we will be staying at the Blackfeet Reservation in a few weeks, down by Glacier.  That brings on a explanation of the four tribes and how the Blackfoot name came about and how one tribe decided they like Blackfeet instead, etc. etc.  He could have talked all day!  Interesting to hear him, but a bit uncomfortable since it was difficult to know how to respond.  

Greg wants to avoid Calgary, so we spend the next few hours on back roads through countryside, mostly farmland, 

 and small towns till we reach highway 1 and Canmore.  Last place for “reasonable” gas - about $3.75/gallon before Banff.

 The Canadian Rockies loom large and beautiful, capped with snow, as we wind our way into them and to our campsite at Tunnel Mountain Village I. 

 Turns out they have quite a few sites available and we could have avoided the $12 reservation fee….oh well, live and learn.   Dinner and good-night, though it is still daylight at 9:30.