Cody, WY August 21-27

At Cody Historical Center

The Poker Chip Church

For a town of 9400, Cody sure can put on a show!  We spent two days at the BB Historical Center, as it housed 5 different areas:  Buffalo Bill, The First People, Firearms, Natural History of Wyoming, and Western Art.   The greatest part of our time was spent in the Cody and First People wings.   Very well done.   We took the Trolley Tour to see the various points of interest and to help us sort through what we wanted to see/skip.   

Bill Cody was one of the 5 founding fathers of the town of Cody.   In the event you're ever on Jeopardy, the other four are George Bleistein, H. M Gerrans, Bronson Rumsey and George Beck.

We visited Old Trail Town which is a collection of old buildings gathered from around the state on the original location of Cody.   The town moved 1 mile from this original location because of the difficulty of getting water.   When we visited Old Town, I could almost hear the horses and the clink of spurs on the boardwalks!   The Bill Cody Dam was built in 1910 and was originally called the Shoshone River Dam.  It was renamed in honor of Bill Cody.   The dam provides irrigation to the farms and ranches in the area.

The Poker Chip Church came into being when the founding fathers were in a high stakes poker game.   The stakes got to $500, and Bill Cody suggested that the winner should donate the winnings to build a church in the town.   It had 11 bars, but no church.   As a result the Poker Chip Church was built.

Our final excursion was to the Cody rodeo on Friday night.   It was great fun watching the bull riding, bronc riding, barrel racing, the cattle roping and team cattle roping contests.   Even the kids got into the act when all kids under the age of 12 were invited down to the arena floor.    It was explained that 3 calves would be let into the arena and that there would be red bandanas attached to their tails.   The three kids who were able to get the bandanas each got a prize.   In the barrel racing, the youngest contestant was a three year old girl who could barely sit on the horse.   Naturally she didn't race -- the horse walked slowly around the barrels and her Mom rode beside her on another horse.   Her time was 1 min. 11 seconds as compared to the winner who completed the course in 20 seconds.   The youngest bull rider was 7.   They start them young in WY!

Sunday we left Cody for the Grand Teton National Park.   We will be there about 5 days.   More on that later.

Lethbridge, Alberta

We arrived in Lethbridge in the afternoon of Thursday, August 18, and since it was early we set up and then went to the Japanese Garden at Henderson Park.   It was a beautiful, restful place, with a tea house that was constructed in Japan without screws or nails, and then was dismantled and sent to Lethbridge where it was again set up.   Outside the tea house was a rock meditation area and on the otherside a very nice area with a small pagoda overlooking a small pond.   It took about 45 minutes to complete the walk through the garden.  

On Friday we went to the Gault museum and spent about three hours, then explored the outdoor trail and went for lunch.   After lunch we went to Fort Whoop Up, named Whoop Up because fur traders and Indians would come in to trade and the Americans who ran the fort would sell them liquor.   The other residents of the town could hear them "whooping it up", hence the name.   It was because of traders such as these that the North West Mounted Police was formed and sent in to bring law and order to the area.

Since this was our last night in Canada, we went to dinner at a local restaurant recommended by one of the guides at the fort -- the Streat Side Cafe.   No, I didn't spell "streat" incorrectly, that's how it was spelled on the sign.  

The thing that impressed me so much about Canada was the outdoors activities of people of all ages and health.   There were bicycle/walking paths throughout the country -- even in little Daysland!   The most fascinating part of it all was that there were PEOPLE USING THEM!!!!!    We could step out of any campground and within a block or two find a trail.   Really neat.  

We drove back across the border on Saturday, August 20 at 10:00 a.m. at Sweet Grass,  MT.   Glad to be "home", but so very glad we went!

Banff National Park

At Lake Louise, Banff National Pk.

At 7450 Feet on Sulphur Mountain

We arrived in Canmore, about 14 miles from the gate to the Banff National Park under rainy skies on Monday morning.   We set up in the campground, and ate lunch and then since it was rainy, decided to go in to the Canmore Visitor's Center to get the scoop on visiting the National Park.  
We drove up to Banff and spent at least 20 minutes trying to find a parking space, since it was raining, all the tourists were shopping!   Finally got a space on the top of a parking ramp, and set out to shop.    We wanted Banff sweatshirts and magnets, post cards, etc.   VERY few sweatshirts in Banff that did not have a hood.    GRRRR not our style.   Got the magnet and a fistful of postcards and headed back to Canmore to plan our touring for Tuesday.  

Since Tuesday was beautiful, we took the Lake Minnewanka boat cruise.   The scenery was nice, but the guide was not very interesting....unless you liked to hear about the wild animals in the park.   We were hoping for more information on the lake.   Oh well, the ride was fun.    Drove back into Banff for lunch and then headed up scenic highway 1A to Lake Louise.   Seeing Lake Louise has been a dream since I saw the brochure when we were on our Alaska cruise in 1995.   I was not disappointed.   It was beautiful with the glacier across the lake and the Chateau Fairmont on the end of the lake.   We took loads of pictures and stayed about two hours wandering through the Chateau.  

Wednesday dawned cloudy and iffy, so we had to decide whether to spend the $16 to go back into the park, and would we be able to see anything from the Banff Gondola, which was our destination.   After breakfast we decided this was a once in a lifetime deal, so off we went to Banff!   Found the museum and enjoyed two guided tours -- one of two houses on the site, and the other an introduction to 10 women who had contributed much to the area -- and lived in pretty rugged areas, sometimes not being able to get out for months.   By lunch the sky had cleared so we ate and then headed up to the Gondola.  I'm very uncomfortable at heights, so I was a nervous wreck all the way to the ticket counter.   It was all I could do to marshall the nerve to get in that tiny capsule for the 8 minute ride to the summit.   However, the trip was a delight, and I'm glad I went.  

Thursday we left Canmore and headed south to Lethbridge.  

Calgary Alberta

After Daysland we spent 2 days in Calgary.  We camped at the same campground we had stayed in on our way up to Daysland - Calgary West Campground.   The campground is right next to the Olympic Village so we had a great view of the ski jump and other outside winter activities.   We spent Saturday at the Heritage Village and had a great time exploring the rail cars in the train garage.   Of special interest was the railcar used to bring emigrants from the States and the east to the plains of Alberta.   The ride took about 6 days---and there were 70+ people in each car -- cooking, eating, sleeping.   The men generally spent their time in the animal cars taking care of their horses, pigs, oxen, etc.   That left the women to take care of their children, cook, and it certainly wouldn't have been a pleasant trip -- slop buckets, cooking smells, unwashed bodies, heat....you can get the picture. 

We toured several homes that had been moved to the site, the various 1800's, 1900's businesses.   On our way out of the park, we stopped in Gasoline Alley, which contained a huge collection of antique gas pumps from gasoline stations across Canada, and also several antique cars.  

Sunday we drove to City Centre and visited Lougheed House, a 3 story home built in the late 1800's.   The home is the last of the substantial mansions that had dotted the area.   After members of the family died, the house became a training school for maids and cooks, then a Red Cross blood collection center and finally the house was bought by forward thinking city councilmen and restored.   The house is lacking most of the original furniture, but they have hopes of rounding up more of it.   From the house we went to the Fort Calgary Interpretive Center.   While we were downtown, we drove through the business area to see their architecture.   We were impressed with the buildings - very modern.

Monday morning we left under cloudy skies for Banff National Park.    

Daysland Alberta

Daysland, on the Crocus Trail, as the town's slogan goes.   The population of the town is about 850 people.   Our first day in Daysland we made contact with a cousin and he was a great tour guide!   We visited his mother who is in her 80's and was very helpful with information about the history of the family, and we drove to the little church where many of Jack's aunts and uncles are buried.   That evening we went to a seed dealer's appreciation dinner and enjoyed meeting another cousin.    It wasn't long and our week was filled with invitations to various cousins' farms and we talked until late into the evening.   Haven't met a person we didn't really enjoy.    I've gained two pounds, so will have to cut back and get the weight off.  

The area's main crops are canola (the yellow field in the picture) from which canola cooking oil is made, barley, and flax and some farmers grow peas.   The canola is a beautiful yellow color when it is blossoming.  When we first saw in down around Lethbridge we thought it was mustard, but couldn't figure out why anyone would irrigate mustard.   Asked at the tourist info center and we were assured that the yellow fields were canola, the main money crop.  

The only reliable public access to wi-fi is in their library, so we spend about an hour a day when they're open checking bills, sending an occasional e-mail, etc.   There is no cable hook up in the campground, so our television consists of one channel - CBC and the reception isn't good.   Daysland is too far from Edmonton and Calgary.   I'm getting a lot of reading and cross stitch in the evening!    We took a picture of a fire hydrant in town -- much prettier than our red ones!   

We generally drive 21 miles to Camrose (population 12,000) for breakfast at Tim Hortons.   I'll miss it when we're gone.   One of Jack's cousins lives there, and we have spent a lot of time with him and his wife.  

The picture of us with the street in the background is the main street in Daysland.   It's a very busy town.