Day 19 Summer 2012 Road Trip

We didn’t have to be on the road until 10:00 am this morning, but we awoke at 7:00 am and decided to get up and get going. 

We had breakfast and got the car loaded and were on the road out of Calgary by 9:00 am.  We headed South on Alberta 2A and it is nice to see the speed limit is 110 km/hr.

 

We are going in search of the Okotoks Erratic or otherwise known as The Big Rock.

For those who don’t know what an erratic is, basically it is a rock that is out of place, it is not the same type of rock that is found in the area.  These rocks have been transported by a glacier and deposited many many miles from their origin.  

A rock of this size would have fallen from the mountain side, onto the top of the glacier and the glacier and the rock kept on moving until the glacier had melted enough that it could no longer support the weight of the rock and this is where it landed, out here in this field.



The Okotoks Erratic is the largest known erratic to exist in the world.  We have seen many erratics in our previous vacations and we have seen some big ones but this certainly is the biggest we have seen.  In the next photo, you can read a brief description and see the path of this erratic. 

This rock moved over 400 km from the Jasper AB area and landed here.

  

After leaving the Okotoks Erratic, we continued Southward on Alberta 2A.

 

Driving through the town of Nanton Alberta, we saw a roadside museum of old airplanes.  We didn’t have time to stop, but captured these photos as we drove by slowly.

  

We are now heading West on Alberta 785, our next stop is ahead.



We are going to visit “Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre”



Before the Native Americans met the White Man, they basically had no weapons, or very crude weapons.  But by herding and luring the buffalo into a corridor that kept narrowing, they were able to stampede the herd to the point of no return and the buffalo went off the cliff, dying by crashing on the rocks below, where the natives could then butcher and process enough meat to survive the winter months.

 

The interpretive centre is comprised of 5 levels.  On each level you learn more and more about the significance of the buffalo jump and the process that was involved to lure the buffalos along and then stampede them over the cliff.

  

On the 5th floor of the building, you exit onto a pathway that takes you to the actual cliff edge where the buffalo would meet their demise after stampeding over the edge.

  

The view from up here is uninterrupted by anything manmade except for this teepee (and the road, and the fence, but you get the idea) and the view goes on and on forever.

 

We left the Interpretive Centre and the GPS put us on to this 30 km gravel road to our destination of Pincher Creek AB.  We thought of going the long way on paved roads, but this road had been recently graded so we decided that we would take the chance that it wouldn’t get worse and pushed onwards.  We were in no hurry and the scenery was beautiful.  Average speed was 60 km/hr.

 

Storm clouds were building ahead of us.

 

We could see the Rocky Mountains ahead underneath the clouds.

 

We drove through a large wind farm.  It is said that the winds are the strongest in this part of Alberta so it makes sense to put a wind farm here.

  

The storm is really starting to intensify as the clouds are forced over the mountains.  It is off to the NorthWest of us enough that it shouldn’t bother us.

  

We arrive in Pincher Creek and go directly to our hotel.  It would be nice to get checked in and the luggage into the room before the rains start.  This cowboy has the same idea, get his horses into the barn before the storm.



This is the view from our hotel window of the Rocky Mountains.

 

And the view of the Wal-Mart from our window.   We walked over and bought a few things and had dinner at McDonald’s.



Karen took these photos of the sunset.  Actually Karen is taking about 90 percent of the photos, she is getting very good and developing an eye for good photo content.

 

I am very happy with the internet in this hotel, I have a very fast connection and am able to upload several days worth of photos and videos that I was unable to do from the Calgary hotel.

To see all of the photos from today, you can find them all on our FLICKR site.

Day 18 Summer 2012 Road Trip

We slept in a bit this morning, getting up at 9 am. 

We had a quick breakfast and then headed out to visit the Heritage Park Historical Village here in Calgary, not far from our hotel. 

This site is listed as the number 1 thing to visit in Alberta so we had to check it out.



We entered and paid our admission fee and then we headed to the Gasoline Alley segment of the village. 
There is an extensive antique car and gasoline memorabilia in this building.  One of the nicest collections I have seen in all of our travels.  There are 3 levels to explore.

 

There is a 1915 Cadillac Tow Truck.

  

There was plenty of signage and gas pump glass globe tops.

  

Our friend and fellow road warrior and blogger Denny Gibson had told us about the 1930 Nash 450 Sedan that was on the lower level, so we went to check that out.   This old Nash was found in Saskatchewan in an old barn in the 70’s and restored enough to make it road worthy and then in 2004 it was driven the entire length of Route 66, a distance of about 2500 miles.  The top speed of the Nash was 35 mph.  The Nash was then brought back on a trailer and donated to this museum.

  

There are many old cars, all looking like they did the day they were manufactured.

 

This Shell fuel truck caught my eye.  It is a 1912 Benz Gaggenau Fuel Tanker.

 

Gasoline memorabilia has always interested me, perhaps because my first job was working at a gas station.  I like these old fuel pumps and the old signage.

  

Karen really liked this car, it would be fun to own this and drive along Route 66 or the Historic Lincoln Highway.

 

I had never heard of or seen this brand of gasoline.   Polly Gas.

  

We could have spent hours in here looking at everything, but we also want to see the Historical Village.  Along the walkway to the Historical Village were these statues.

  

There is a functioning steam train that will take you for a ride around the village.

  

Visiting the heritage village is to step back in time.  The village comes alive because it is a fully functioning prairie town as it was in the 1890’s.  Other heritage villages that we have visited are static displays, homes and business where you peer in windows and doors, but this village is unique because there are volunteers who dress in period clothing and walk the streets and talk to you in the period dialect.  They drive their horse pulled wagons throughout the village.

 

All of the stores and businesses are open and fully staffed.

  

A delivery truck passes by on its way to some store to make a delivery.



The fresh baked smells coming from the bakery were irresistible and Karen insisted we go in and buy some freshly baked sweet rolls.

 

Even the school was in session, when we walked by the school, the teacher and the kids were out in the yard for recess playing a game.

  

There is also a functioning ranch house and barnyard full of animals.

  

We spent several hours at the Heritage Park Historical Village and we got a good overview of the facility, however I would suggest that you could spend the whole day here and not see everything.  We will come back to Calgary some year and re-visit this site.  I can see why it is the number one attraction in Alberta.  Highly recommended.

For the rest of the afternoon and evening we finished our route preparations and started to pack and prepare for our departure from Calgary.

To see all of the photos from today, you can find them on our FLICKR site.