Final Day of Adventures
Today we switched things up and explored the SW Alberta area instead. No hiking for us today. I think that my legs are okay with that though. We headed Northwest up to the Crowsnest Pass area using the Cowboy Trail. Which extends from around this area all the way north to Mayerthorpe. It was some really lovely country where the prairies meet the mountains. Which is the motto around here!
We had to head through Pincher Creek on our way out and saw another deer grazing on the side of the road. That's at least 3 we've seen while going through there.
We had a random visit to Leitch Collories (an English word for coal mine). Figured it would be a quick stop but they were offering free tours so we went for it. I didn't know what to expect but it was a walk through of an old coal mine and they brought the mine back to life really well despite the fact that very little remains. I feel like I have a really good understanding of how a coal mine runs now. They had many pictures and plaques to explain it all. And the 2 girls seemed really excited that someone finally said yes to the tour. I get the impression most people say no. The picture is of the power house, it was a huge building.
It was surreal to see the devastation in person at Frank Slide. The fact that it wiped out so much in a mere 90 seconds is a little terrifying. The crazy part now is that there is another section that is getting a little precarious above the towns in the area. They are monitoring it quite intently but if it goes it'll take out more homes. Hopefully not people. We also got to watch a movie that told some of the stories of people who survived the slide. All in all it killed around 100 people which is a big number seeing as only about 600 lived there. And there are still at least 6 people who were killed that have never been identified. It was a very transient town with many people coming from overseas to work the various coal mines. Some of the immigrants even dug holes in the hills to live in they were so poor. That takes dedication.
That was something my Dad kept commenting on, how tough these people were. But seriously, digging a hole in a hillside to make a cave to live in doesn't strike me as an option for people anymore. And the sheer amount of labor it took in the coal mine is crazy. They did make as much as a doctor but it was hard to get ahead. Or I would comment on how tough the trails could be but somebody had to come in first without a trail, and then to actually build the trail. Or hauling oil equipment through the mountains without all the modern technology we have now. Determination is what they had.
After we headed to Bellevue for a mine tour! There are 5 towns in the Crowsnest Municipality and they all had coal mines. And the one in Bellevue only shut down in the 60's and now you can tour it. We all got to wear actual equipment, including hard hats with the attached head lamps as there was no lighting in the mine at all. We went about 300m in and at the end of the tunnel our guide had us turn our lights off, it was dark. But the tour was really informative and our guide had all sorts of stories to tell us. We even got to pick a piece of coal to bring home if we wanted. And we didn't have to mine it!
On our way back to the campsite we detoured out to the Waterton resevoir. They built a dam to divert water for irrigation and they do produce some power as well. It's a fairly sizeable lake for people to boat on or camp by. And it is home to an impressive amount of birds. They were flying in front of the truck and I was convinced we would hit them, but they all made it past intact.
And we found an osprey nest. They are often confused with bald eagles. They were up on a fake power pole feeding their babies. Good thing we had the binoculars to check them out! And on the drive back to the main road we spotted another deer, this time a buck grazing in the field.
As an aside I'd like to point out that the "we" that spotted things was never really me. My Dad has his hunter's eyes and can spot anything out of place. Except for the burrow that turned out to be a bison. But it's easier just saying "we'' all the time.
Weather held up really nicely all week. Couldn't have asked for a nicer week to go. We did have a bit of a storm right as we finished dinner but it resulted in a lovely rainbow, that was even double in parts.
But that was our last day of touring. The drive home was straight through as I had to work. And there wasn't anything else that was a quick stop off of the highway for us to see. Also, the stampede had just started in Calgary as well so our goal was to just get through there as fast as we could.
Hope you all enjoyed hearing of the camping stories. I shall keep you all informed of the next great trip, right now I'm leaning towards something more exotic. Thanks for reading!
Nicole
We had to head through Pincher Creek on our way out and saw another deer grazing on the side of the road. That's at least 3 we've seen while going through there.
It was surreal to see the devastation in person at Frank Slide. The fact that it wiped out so much in a mere 90 seconds is a little terrifying. The crazy part now is that there is another section that is getting a little precarious above the towns in the area. They are monitoring it quite intently but if it goes it'll take out more homes. Hopefully not people. We also got to watch a movie that told some of the stories of people who survived the slide. All in all it killed around 100 people which is a big number seeing as only about 600 lived there. And there are still at least 6 people who were killed that have never been identified. It was a very transient town with many people coming from overseas to work the various coal mines. Some of the immigrants even dug holes in the hills to live in they were so poor. That takes dedication. That was something my Dad kept commenting on, how tough these people were. But seriously, digging a hole in a hillside to make a cave to live in doesn't strike me as an option for people anymore. And the sheer amount of labor it took in the coal mine is crazy. They did make as much as a doctor but it was hard to get ahead. Or I would comment on how tough the trails could be but somebody had to come in first without a trail, and then to actually build the trail. Or hauling oil equipment through the mountains without all the modern technology we have now. Determination is what they had.
On our way back to the campsite we detoured out to the Waterton resevoir. They built a dam to divert water for irrigation and they do produce some power as well. It's a fairly sizeable lake for people to boat on or camp by. And it is home to an impressive amount of birds. They were flying in front of the truck and I was convinced we would hit them, but they all made it past intact.
And we found an osprey nest. They are often confused with bald eagles. They were up on a fake power pole feeding their babies. Good thing we had the binoculars to check them out! And on the drive back to the main road we spotted another deer, this time a buck grazing in the field. As an aside I'd like to point out that the "we" that spotted things was never really me. My Dad has his hunter's eyes and can spot anything out of place. Except for the burrow that turned out to be a bison. But it's easier just saying "we'' all the time.
Weather held up really nicely all week. Couldn't have asked for a nicer week to go. We did have a bit of a storm right as we finished dinner but it resulted in a lovely rainbow, that was even double in parts.
Our home away from home, we were camping in style.
But that was our last day of touring. The drive home was straight through as I had to work. And there wasn't anything else that was a quick stop off of the highway for us to see. Also, the stampede had just started in Calgary as well so our goal was to just get through there as fast as we could.
Hope you all enjoyed hearing of the camping stories. I shall keep you all informed of the next great trip, right now I'm leaning towards something more exotic. Thanks for reading!
Nicole
We drove through Crowsnest Pass last fall. The Frank Slide area creeps me out every time, it is still eerie. Did you go into the interpretive center? It is pretty new I think in the last few years.
ReplyDeleteIf you kept going on the cowboy trail you would go right through Turner Valley! There's not much left of the town anymore, but it is sure a beautiful area there in the foothills. It's nice to be able to appreciate the beauty that is closer to home. Glad you enjoyed the trip!
Amanda