Churchill notes

August 15. 

We’re in the Thompson station sitting on the train to Churchill; it’s slowly filling up with passengers. Let’s just say this is not a luxury ride – more of a low-cost economy class. Folks lined up outside, a large group (43) boarded first in one car and we’re in another with lots of tourists. It’s like a plane without the stewardess. The seats are dirty and ripped but they’re big and squishy, recline way back and they have footrests.

            There’s quite a mix of passengers, from Aboriginals to Indians of the Eastern variety to the invading whites. The dome car is for the sleeper car people only so we’re stuck here with our window seats. It’s good that we brought our own food on board, so supper is assured. We’ll be in Churchill for breakfast.

            Between hotel checkout at 11 and boarding the train we spent a couple of hours at the museum, had samosas for lunch (Would you believe there’s a large and growing population of East Indians in Thompson, three Indian restaurants and lots of spice?). Jim got to know the names of most of the hotel staff so we’ve been well looked after.

            The train has an overhead bag shelf just like the old planes, and coat hooks for hanging stuff and blinds that lower over our huge 6x3 window. Too bad no one washed the window; photos are going to be a tad murky.

Tundra sunset

            We expect to have seatmates as we’ve been warned the train will be full.

            5:32 and we’re moving! We had to switch seats but I like them better – two beside each other. A group of kids just boarded; they had to get here from God’s Lake Narrows (Google that one!) and that’s why we’re a half hour late getting underway.

            So we shuttled backwards for a while, then got on another track then sat for a while. More taxiing than the reef runway. But we appear to be off! It’s 5:50.

            An hour and a half into our trip and it’s miles of boreal forest and muskeg and forest and muskeg with outcroppings of white rock and big lakes and small bogs. In fact bogs are almost continuous.

August 16, 7 am

            Although the night wasn’t used much for sleeping (the woman behind us has a smoker’s cough that didn’t quit) I am awake and happy. The landscape changed during the night – to vast plains of tundra with boggy spots, stretches of lava covered in a cream-colored lichen, and stunted trees. I have never been this far into the wilderness. Hour 15 of a train ride heading north, well beyond roads, trails, lights and humans. Of course, at the end of the journey is the town of Churchill so it’s not like we’re going to chug right off the end of the earth.

           

Sunrise rainbow over the tundra

We were graced by the most spectacular sight at 5 am – brilliant red sunrise on the right, brilliant double rainbow on the left, stark against black clouds full of lightning and rain. The morning light was an eerie orange haze.

            During the night the train made two or three stops in the middle of nowhere and a man walked along both sides with a powerful flashlight, obviously checking the train – but for what?

            We’ve seen two swans and no other wildlife.

Personal note about trains. Could any type of travel be as elegant as train travel? Flying is expedient, cruising may be exhilarating, driving is economical. But trains… sheer elegance in the movement, the speed, the front-row seat to the world passing by. The coach may not be fine stuff but as long as the seat is padded sufficiently and reclines to a satisfactory angle, the seatmates friendly but quiet, and the windows mostly clean – the elegance of traveling by rail is unsurpassed.

Churchill

            Well, wouldn’t you know it… no room at the inn. Jim’s “reservation” didn’t take and we were homeless for half a frantic hour. Fortunately we found a B&B with a room. Check-in is at 5 so we walked around town, visited some of the attractions, looked for polar bears along the shoreline and river, saw dozens of beluga whales  and are now on a minibus tour of the area. Our group is all East Indian except us.

Inukshuk on the Hudson Bay

             It’s early fall here and yet people are complaining about the heat this week. Kaitlyn is our guide and carries a gun for our protection against polar bears. She’s doing an orientation now including the warning that polar bears can swim 2 km in 5-7 minutes, just in case we wander along the shoreline. Yes! We saw a polar bear – I spotted it ambling along the beach on the other side of the river.

            We saw the Ithaca (shipwreck), the abandoned satellite domes, the Northern Studies Research Center, the polar bear jail, the port (now closed), the community building housing everything from the hospital to the bowling alley to the town administration, the rocket launching area and lots more. What was supposed to be a 4-hour tour was a tad short of 3 hours: started late and then part of our group was late coming back from an earlier tour.

Jim and our armed guide

At 5 we were met by Jennifer from Blue Sky Bed & Sled (they take bed ‘n’ breakfast one step farther, offering dog sled/cart rides with their 'crew' of 32 mushing dogs - http://www.blueskymush.com/bandb.html) and off we went to a plain but homey two-storey wood frame home and a wonderful two-day stay. She and Gerald (100 percent Metis) gave us a fine welcome and so much more: two fabulous breakfasts, always-available strong coffee and homemade bannock, a special drive out to the cape to see the sunset, advice and stories. They even arranged a massive thunderstorm the afternoon of our first day.

            Around 11 our second night, they hustled us out into the bush to see a Northern Lights extravaganza with 360-degree lightning, full moon, shooting stars, fog and a satellite. The Lights were magnificent. Home around 1 am so we didn’t get much sleep before it was time to get up, shower and eat another huge breakfast. At 6 am we were woken by gunfire – an errant bear wandered into town and was being “escorted” out. That happens a lot in Churchill and we were often told to look in all directions, especially behind, wherever we walked. When we first arrived at the B&B Jennifer warned us, “Do NOT go in the back yard.” We complied.

Under the Northern Lights

            We were going to go out on a zodiac this afternoon but the fog rolled back in, the wind came up and it’s cold as anything – so the Maui Wimps cancelled. Instead, we wandered in and out of trading posts and bakeries, and had lunch with Jennifer at the Lazy Bear Inn.            

            And then it was time to pack up and say farewell to the folks who rescued us from what could have been a disappointing few days. The family who stayed in the B&B are leaving today as well.

            If we come back – and I hope we do – we’ll definitely stay at Blue Sky Bed & Sled again and take advantage of the dog sled tours they offer as well.

            And then it was time to get on the train and met up with our many new friends from all over the world.  This train was much cleaner and newer than the one that brought us up here. We both slept during the 17-hour night and feel that if we get one good night in our hotel here in Thompson we’ll be ready for the long drive to Grand Rapids (Manitoba) tomorrow.

            Thanks for going along for our Churchill adventure. More to come.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Three Prairie Provinces in 9 days and counting

We left High River on August 1 at 9am and got Robin to the Calgary airport an hour later. And off we went! After a short stop at the CrossIron Mall for breakfast and pit stop, we drove east to Beiseker where we viewed the new old sod hut and train cars; then a panorama of old barns and canola on our way to Stettler.

Stettler! Just as we remembered it with one important difference: the bakery was open! The grin on Jim’s face told the story. We found our B&B (the Phoenix) easily and checked in with Dave and Barbara-Lynn Goodwin. The room is lovely with attached bath (we got an upgrade). Dave suggested we have supper at The Other Side, which we did and it was good – and lots of it (the leftovers will be lunch tomorrow). Good night’s sleep although it was warm. Good breakfast of yogurt/berries/peaches and sausage and eggs. We left Goodwins a box of Hawaiian Host Macnuts and were off to find the bakery and thrift shop, then an oil change.

      

World's biggest lantern, Donalda AB

            Heading north we stopped at Donalda, a little village that has died a lot since our last visit. The world’s largest lantern was still there, and the museum and the art gallery where we bought a cow for the ranch. Really. But the antique store and ice cream shop were closed and gone. Next stop, Heisler for a picnic lunch in their town park. Not many people around and those we saw were mowing lawns. Off to Holden to find lots of empty storefronts and a silly little thrift/grocery/clothing shop with a handy bathroom. Next stop Vegreville and I found our hotel on the first try. The Hotello by Pomeroy is new, clean and comfy. In fact, I had the best sleep of the summer! We had dinner at Vito’s and it was another full plate of good food. The free breakfast was simple: bagel and a cup of crunchy things with red sweet stuff and yogurt. We found the world’s largest Easter egg, browsed the antique mall and were out of town by 10:30.

August 3.

                  Small villages all along our route on Hwy 45. We detoured through Myrnam and saw two Hutterite females, a guy on a mower, several beer stores and a café, and off we go again. The landscape is wonderful, rolling hills dotted with farms, forests, sheep, cattle and every low spot filled with water from recent storms. The land is lush, very green and miles of crops including corn. This road is definitely one less travelled – very little traffic and lots of opportunities to pull off and take photos. The tops of the higher hills provide huge views in every direction. We drove through Dewberry and ended up in Marwayne’s campground for our picnic. The nice lady at the village office let us use her restroom. It’s still cloudy but warming up at 1:20. It’s another 40 km or so to Lloydminster so we’re not in a rush to get on the road.

 

World's largest tomahawk, Cut Knife

Lloydminster – the Schizophrenic Town on the Border 

Maybe it’s because Lloydminster sits on the Alberta/Saskatchewan border and is neither Albertan nor Saskatchewanian. Maybe it’s the two L’s in the name. Whatever the reason, Lloydminster is the Bizarro World of road trippers. Let me cite 3 short examples:

#1

“The soup today is broccoli cheddar,” she said as she seated us.

I ordered the soup. A few minutes later a bowl of brown glop was placed in front of me and identified as harvest mushroom.

“I thought the soup was broccoli cheddar,” said I.

“It is,” was the answer. “It hasn’t changed yet.”

I looked down at the glop. It showed no inclination to change anytime soon.

“Would you like me to take this back and wait until it changes?”

I nodded.

A few minutes later a bowl of creamy broccoli soup was set in front of me. I ate it quickly just in case it decided to change back into brown glop.

#2

The open sign was out, the door was open, the lights were on but when I walked in the lady said, ”We’re closed today.”

#3

There’s a 52^nd Street in Lloydminster. Well, actually there are a number of them, not quite connected to each other. And one 52^nd Street turns into 54^th Street with no announcement at all, kind of like soup.

We braved the oddities of the town and spent two nights in Lloydminster. The motel was funky and old but comfortable and clean so no complaints there. The weather was good, not too hot and a nice breeze to keep away the mosquitoes when we biked around the Bud Miller All Seasons Park – lake, community gardens, mural, art center, lots of good bike paths. And train whistles in the distance. Bakeries and thrift stores next on the agenda.

Biggest, Longest, Tallest. The world's biggest lantern and tomahawk; Canada's longest baseball bat; the world's tallest border markers. Well, who wouldn't stop to take a look and a photograph?

World's tallest border markers

August 5

Saskatoon is a lovely city on the South Saskatchewan River. The day was warm and brilliant so we drove to the river park, off-loaded our bikes and toured for 2 hours. The bike trails are wonderful: no traffic, just a few other bikers and joggers. We visited the farmers market and wished we had an RV to fill up with fresh veggies and fruit. Just as well we don’t, though, it would be filled with baked goods first. Jim found a delightful bakery right next door to a delightful antique store so we were both delighted for an hour.

Canada's longest baseball bat, Battleford

August 7

Next stop, Prince Albert on the North Saskatchewan River. This is a much smaller city but still friendly and easy to navigate. Our motel was on the south side so after checking in we drove around for a while, getting a view of the whole place including the casino, prison, downtown, and the Mann Art Gallery. We picked up some curry and had a picnic in Mair Park next to the river, all alone as usual. Naturally I found the thrift store and Jim found the advertised bakery but – dang – it was closed up and gone.

                  We toured the Mann Gallery and discovered a local artist named Grant McConnell. His paintings and drawings are cleverly humorous with a satirical bite.

Tuesday July 9

We’re up early and heading off to Flin Flon on Highway 106 – something I have looked forward to for a long time. It’s paved all the way so should be a good trip. Some cloud cover but looks like it’s going to clear soon.

                  The 200-mile trip that would take normal people about 3 hours to drive, took us a good 6 hours. We stopped several times, including a lunch break at Ballantyne Lake.  The mosquitoes are so large, so plentiful that the kind folk of the little settlement have built a “screened-in” picnic shelter. On closer examination it appears the kind folk believe the mosquitoes will never notice the six-inch space at ground level nor the wide-open space at roof level that aren’t involved in the “screened-in” process. Still, we appreciated the effort, ate quickly and jumped back in the Jeep.

  

Flin Flon sunset

                The highway was mostly good, with patches of lumpy fixes and bouncy frost heaves. We reached Flin Flon around 4 and immediately found our old hotel – The Royal – on Main Street. Now, there’s a relic of glory times past. The walk up three flights of stairs in stinky stale air was not too welcoming but the room was clean, cool and had an interesting view of the alley out back. We drove the town easily, walked the path around Ross Lake, parked near the 777 mine to enjoy the 7 o’clock (am and pm) underground detonation, got to know the downtown area well, did a little shopping and enjoyed the heck out of Flin Flon.

Disaster averted!

When we got into the hotel I went online and found a notice that the hotel we had booked in Churchill has shut down. I immediately tried to book somewhere else through all the travel sites but everything was booked solid. Well, here we were, holding prepaid nonrefundable tickets on VIA Rail from Thompson to Churchill and back; plus prepaid nonrefundable hotel rooms in Thompson - 2 nights before and 1 night after our train rides. And VIA and Hotels.com wouldn't let us solve the problem online - we had to phone. But Jim's cell doesn't work here and the hotel's phone wouldn't allow toll-free or calling card calls. What a mess. I didn't sleep all night. The next morning we went to the Flin Flon Tourist Info place and explained our situation. The wonderful lady there gave us their phone and said, call anyone, anywhere - it's on us! So I got on their wifi and got all the details of our reservations and Jim phoned VIA first. No way they were going to refund, even when he explained we had no place to stay for 2 nights in Churchill. Nope. We even called the research station, hoping they would have a couple of spare bunks. Nope. Jim was about to call the Thompson Hotel to see if our reservations could be refunded or changed when I got another message from the defunct hotel, suggesting we phone the Polar Inn to see if they had a room. So he did - and they did! Whew. What a relief. For a while it looked like we would lose about $650 and NOT see the polar bears to boot. 

A side trip to The Pas

Pisew Falls near Thompson

On to The Pas (pronounced “Paw”), a bit out of our way but we have two extra days to fill before our train leaves Thompson on Monday evening. And we're glad we took the time. We spent a couple hours at the Sam Waller Museum and could have spent many more. What a fabulous record of the indigenous people for thousands of years, and their interaction with white people for the last 200 years. The history in this museum certainly made a rather colorless town much more vivid to us. We found a lovely wooden bowl in the gift shop, created by artist Ron Scott. 

                  A little time in the casino wasn’t too productive, so we were off to Thompson, our next stop on the road to the polar bears.

End of the road

The highway from The Pas to Thompson is a lonely one. In five hours we passed – or were passed by - maybe two dozen vehicles, all in a hurry to get somewhere else. We took our time as usual, stopping at Pisew Falls and Reed Lake. The rain started at Ponton and we drove into some heavy stuff as we arrived in Thompson. We’re here on a weekend, so most of the stores and attractions are closed, giving us a good break to catch up on laundry, emails, and blogs.

Tomorrow we board the train for our 17-hour excursion to Churchill and the polar bears!

July - rodeo and rockslides

We have water! 

And it’s clear, sweet, cold and comes out of the tap! If you didn’t read my previous blog you’ll have no idea how wonderful this news is. It squirted out of the pipes just in time: All our visitors showed up just days after the new system was activated. Robin (our friend from Maui) got here on the 10^th and Sherry and Sharon drove in on the 15^th.

            

A day at the Stampede

Robin wanted to see the Calgary Stampede, so Jim and I, with cousins Shane and Myrna, treated her to a full day at “the grounds”, starting with a walk through the midway, a tour of the house being raffled, horse barns, western art gallery and lunch.

Shane, Joy, Robin

At 1 we were in our grandstand seats for the rodeo and enjoyed every minute although it threatened to rain the whole afternoon and, in fact, parts of south Calgary were flooded while we watched the bulls, bucking horses and other rodeo events. We had time for a walkabout and supper before the evening show started with the world-famous chuckwagon races. I can’t think of a more exciting three minutes in all of sportdom. Google Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon Races if you haven’t had the opportunity to see for yourself the heart-stopping action.

Aloha and howdy!  

When the Barnettes arrived they parked their huge motorhome in the usual spot and kicked back with the rest of us. During the past two weeks we’ve had visits from Tony and Debbie from across the creek, my old friend Allen Hembree and his lovely wife Virginia, and Peter and Shane.  It has been a quiet, peaceful time.

Jim and I came down with nasty coughs two weeks ago and although we’re both much better now it took a few days of bed rest to get past the fever and congestion. Just about the time I thought we should check into a hospital the fevers broke and we rejoined the living. Unfortunately, a couple of our friends are now coughing and not feeling great.

Doing the tourist thing     

Looking west from Coutts Center for Western Canadian Heritage

Our day trips have been a hoot. We drove to the Crowsnest Pass area for lunch at a fabulous new down-home restaurant in Bellevue – the Chefs on 213. The owners were previously the chefs at the Bar U and have now set up their own establishment in the little town near the World Heritage Site of Frank Slide. After lunch we visited the interpretive center built on the site of Canada’s worst rock avalanche. Our guests were appropriately enthralled by the historic exhibits and movies of the disaster.

Jim painting at Coutts Center

By chance we heard about a plein aire paint-out happening the next day near the town of Nanton so Jim, Robin and I headed out in the morning and found the delightful Coutts Centre for Western Canadian Heritage. What a gem. The restored buildings of the 112-year-old homestead are surrounded by extensive gardens planted with prairie grasses, native flowers and introduced ornamentals. We spent the entire day in the dappled shade of trees, watching the artists (including Jim) as they recorded the beauty of that place. The day was magnificently clear as only an Alberta summer day can be.

Shane arranged for the three of us (Jim, Robin and me) to tour the Cayley Hutterite Colony last week and it was an eye-opening, very pleasant three hours with Jolene. We toured the kitchen and dining areas, sheep barns, slaughter house, machine shops, leather shop, woodworking shop and community gardens, and then enjoyed fresh saskatoons in her kitchen, surrounded by four of her five girls. What a lovely afternoon spent with a lovely family.

Destiny, Shane, Jim, Robin

Fishing and fauna  

Robin and I fished once only, mainly because the water is so low and so warm that we hesitate to disturb the trout – they would not be good eating. The one time we ventured out, we both caught smaller fish and threw them back; then I caught a nice 13-½ inch cutthroat, which is now in the freezer. I’m hoping the water level will be up and the current colder when Jim and I are back in September. We saw a lot of wildlife action in July, including black and grizzly bear, moose, elk and deer with lots of coyotes, two jackrabbits and a black wolf was seen in the area.

Morning sun on the mountains to the west.

Sherry and Sharon have now hit the road on their slow drift homeward to Arizona, and Robin flies home tomorrow. Jim and I will drop her at the airport and then head north from Calgary on the first day of our road trip, which will take us as far as Churchill, Manitoba where the polar bears and beluga whales are waiting for us. At least that’s the plan right now. I’ll let you know how it works out in my next blog.

The Maui–Alberta Connection

What’s the difference between living on Maui and a holiday in Alberta? Just about everything. Many people, when they hear we’re from Maui ask “What are you doing here?” ('here' being anywhere in Southern Alberta – the hardware store, WalMart, a local Chinese restaurant, a community lobsterfest). We’re here for so many reasons, all of them good. For starters, my whole family is in the area and the older I get the more I miss them – my mom, my brother and his wife, my cousins and my nephews and their families. Usually I manage to visit Alberta twice a year – the other time during the winter – but now that Dad is gone it just isn’t the same; a February trip once meant his birthday celebration.

            We arrived in Calgary on June 9^th after a red-eye flight from Maui. Those overnighters are taking a lot longer to recover from – have you noticed that? We spent a few days with Shane and Peter in High River, got our shopping done and headed for the hills.

“The hills” 

The Webster Ranch is in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, about an hour and a half drive southwest of Calgary off Highway 22, a.k.a. the Cowboy Trail. Tony and Debbie raise cattle on their place (and run Chimney Rock B&B) and on Mom’s land – and Jim and I live in Mom’s house, built in 1950 and still as snug and welcoming as when Tony and I were growing up there. It has power, gas, phone and a big old wood-burning stove to take the chill off in the morning. Alas, no indoor toilet so trips to the outhouse in the middle of the night are common.

            Tony has been concerned about the water quality in the house for several years so we have been working on building a new springhouse to protect the artesian water source that has provide clear, clean water for more than 100 years. Until the structure is completed, Jim and I don’t have running water; we’re getting darn competent at heating water for dishes, spit baths, shampoos and spot cleaning. And because this has been a pretty dry year, I conserve all the used water to pour on my small garden – radishes, carrots, beets and onions and a potted tomato plant. The learnin’ I received as a child is paying off.

Fishing

Three weeks ago I ventured forth with my worms and brought home two large, fat cutthroat trout. They’re in the freezer, waiting for additional fish to make a real feast. My friend Robin (no relation) Webster will be here in a couple of weeks and she's as avid a fisherman as I am, so.... stay tuned.

Wild animals

Yep, they’re out there. We’ve seen elk, dear, moose, coyotes and the other morning the cattle were disturbed by a big momma grizzly and three yearling cubs. They were heading south down the valley but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them again this summer.

Jim has been spending time in his studio in the attic (when not working with Tony on the springhouse); while I work in my own studio. This summer is dedicated to expanding my comfort zone – using lots of embellishments on bags, getting fancy with the accessories, and designing hats. 

Back to the ranch

The view out every window in the house is outstanding: mountains in the dining room window, the kitchen window frames the ridges to the north, the bedroom windows look out to the east ridge and meadow, even the bathroom window gives me a great view of the creek. And right now things are green – every shade of green – the cattle are fat and happy, the calves are growing like crazy. The bird life is amazing, from raucous magpies to tiny chickadees and today we saw a hummingbird. Hawks circle above the meadows, flickers, jays, swallows and starlings swoop and dive for the mosquitoes; and a pair of Sandhill cranes clack their way overhead occasionally. We have two saucy squirrels in the pine trees surrounding the yard, and newborn kittens in the barn. Life goes on and we love being here to enjoy it.

            We do miss Jim’s mom and our own loving cats but know they’re all getting attention from our house sitter – a kind and lovely lady.

            June has been a kind of settling-in time for us. I’m tasked with sorting and disposing of Mom and Dad’s personal items; Mom no longer needs two easy chairs and a dining table, right? Fortunately, we can find room for a few things in her ranch house and the rest of her things? Well, I’m not rushing the process so it could take me the remaining three months of our summer holiday.

            So to get back to the question, What’s the difference between Maui and Alberta?… well, the weather comes to mind. I think we’re past the nighttime freezing now although I still worry about my tomato plant. The other morning there was new snow on the mountains just to the west. The wind blows almost always, mostly from the southwest, although no guarantees. We had a good thunderstorm the other day but not a lot of rain and yesterday brought the wildest, wickedest hailstorm anyone around here has ever seen, “here” being High River where we’re staying for a couple of nights with Peter and Shane so we can do laundry and catch up our Internet doings. Did I mention there is no Internet at the ranch? No cellphone service? No TV? And other than Tony and Debbie, whose home is a quarter mile away across the creek, we cannot see another house, we rarely see vehicular traffic on the road (we’re more likely to see riders checking their cattle or moving bulls), and the quiet is broken only by the wind in the pines or the yap of a coyote.

            We're so blessed to have two homes: Maui the tropical paradise and our ranch house in the Alberta wilderness.   

Oh give me a home… where Jim and Joy roam...

Aloha once more, as we continue our road trip through four western states and back home to Alberta. When last I blogged we had reached Lead, South Dakota. And now we turn west.

Buffalo, Wyoming

As we drove west from the Black Hills the scenery changed abruptly from treed and pleasant hills to a landscape of vast stretches of dry basins and treeless plains. Plenty of antelope but no livestock, no farms, no towns, and very few signs of habitation. The craggy hills offered visual relief in the form of sandstone hoodoos and eroded columns. Eagles, hawks and turkey vultures soared in the hot and never-ending desert wind. We were happy to find our next stopover, the town of Buffalo. And it really was just a one-night stop with little time to explore.

The following morning we left early going west on Highway 16 and discovered our brand of heaven. The road climbed quickly to the 9665-foot Powder River Pass and if yesterday was a trial of hot winds and sifting sand, today was our reward. The mountain at the top of the pass has been dated at 3 billion years old; the shale tumbles down from the heights revealing the area’s ancient history. Stunted pines dot the rocky terrain and brilliant moss and lichens cover granite boulders scattered like jacks from a giant’s hand. We hiked up a hillside to the nearest collection of rocks and discovered open views for miles around.

High above the Powder River Pass

This day of discovery wasn’t over. A few minutes later, as we drove down the west side of the pass we spotted a structure high on a promontory off to the south. A small sign directed us to the St. Christopher Chapel so we turned off the highway, crossed a cattle guard and slowly made our way along a dirt trail. It was soon obvious that the building we saw wasn’t the chapel; another trail led off to the right. So we continued along, over another cattle guard and followed the steadily climbing trail through a herd of cows and calves and slowly approached the cliffs on the top of which our goal perched. We found a small parking area at the head of a hiking trail and a sign describing the CCC fire spotting station above. The hike was moderately easy, the trail winding through a forest of pine trees and boulders as it ascended 300 feet. And there it was – a simple wooden building, built in the 1930s with a 360º view, a walkway all around, and air as fresh and clear as the top of Haleakala. It was magnificent.

Open-air St. Christopher Chapel

Back at the bottom of the mountain we turned onto the dirt road leading to the chapel and, after a short walk we discovered a lovely open-air sanctuary with rough-hewn logs for pews, a clever jack fence to keep out the deer, and a stone pulpit. A doe and fawn joined us for a peaceful meditation under the pines.

Thermopolis, WY

The great attraction for me to visit this town was the dinosaur museum. I was curious to see how it compared to the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, and I wasn’t disappointed. Although much smaller in size, the Thermopolis display seemed more complete, with fossils of every critter from every corner of the world and descriptions to boot. We spent a couple of hours in the museum, then another couple of hours walking the thermal springs boardwalk nearby, and another couple of hours enjoying the monthly Art Walk downtown. I would say we made the most of our day in Thermopolis.

Fossils

Legend Rock petroglyphs

Legend Rock is about five miles off the road from Thermopolis to Cody, and about 500 years away from today. The vivid petroglyphs are outstanding. Just watch out for the rattlesnakes.

The next morning we were headed to Lovell with a stop in Cody. By this time we were about museumed-out, especially museums filled with the utensils and artifacts of yesteryear; you know, the things we still use at the ranch! So we bypassed the Buffalo Bill museum and headed straight to the Buffalo Bill Dam where – as chance would have it – the once-a-year Dam Day was in full swing. The public was invited to go through the gates and down the narrow road to the canyon below where the Shoshone River flowed from the 100-plus year-old dam. This is where the word “awesome” truly fits. Towering cliffs guard this narrow gorge; we were glad it was late afternoon by the time we reached the bottom and the sun was disappearing behind the cliffs. Volunteers from the Cody community had stations set up to hand out iced bottled water and give cart rides back to the top; I took advantage of both!

The gorge below Buffalo Bill Dam, Cody WY

Lovell, WY

Another stop along our route to Billings. We had little time to explore the town, opting for one of our “bed picnics” for supper and getting an early night after a full day of adventure. Lovell is the sugar beet capitol of the area and sports a huge multi-cylinder storage tower at the sugar beet co-operative.

Billings, Montana

Yes, we’ve been to Billings many times before. No, we have no clue how to get around in the maze of streets, one-ways, railroad tracks, interstate highway, overpasses and cloverleafs. In one place, six roads converge under a bridge and only one road escapes on the other side! It isn’t Minot, but it’s close.

As I was checking into the motel Jim phoned his daughter Gillan who was due in from Boston that morning with our granddaughters. They had just landed, picked up their rental car and met us for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. It was a fine reunion. They left for their home on the Lazy EL ranch, where we joined them a couple of days later.

Jim enjoys the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings; I enjoy the Marketplace – a 40,000 square-foot antique mall with dozens of individual stalls. During our second day in Billings we parted ways and spent several hours doing our things before meeting for lunch. And we were happy to get out of town the next day.

The Lazy EL Ranch, MT

Michael’s family has owned this sprawling ranch for more than 100 years. It lies in the rolling grasslands just north of Yellowstone and has magnificent views of the northern ranges of the park’s mountains. Charlie Russell was a regular visitor to the ranch in the early 1900s and one of the cabins is named for him and contains many of his paintings, tools and personal items.

View from the living room window, Lazy EL Ranch

We enjoyed one perfect day at the ranch and then the smoke from wildfires in Washington, Idaho and western Montana crept it, hiding the mountains and triggering my asthma. I ventured out occasionally but the breathing was difficult and the view was nil. The day Michael arrived from Boston the three of us drove back to Billings to pick him up and drop off the rental car. The following day the air cleared a little so we ventured out in the truck for a picnic on the West Rosebud.

Great Falls, Montana

Now THIS is a great town, easy to figure out, drive in, locate places and it offers a casino on every corner. We spent two nights in a funky little motel on 10^th Avenue South (the main thoroughfare from points east, north and south) and made several trips around the town, including a drive along the Missouri River.

Did you know the “great falls” of Great Falls was really a series of five falls, none of them large but all of them an impediment to river travel. 

Lethbridge, Alberta

It’s always a relief to be back in Canada. Of course, it’s always wonderful to be back home on Maui as well. I guess it’s the border crossings that give me the willies. At any rate, we left Great Falls early in the morning and by noon we were crossing into Canada at Coutts. About an hour later we were checking into the Quality Inn in Lethbridge. Now, if you ever have reason to overnight in this southern Alberta city, I recommend you stay at the Quality Inn. It wasn’t just the fine buffet breakfast included in the price, or the proximity to the casino, or even the iced bottled water in the lobby. But when the gal told Jim she was serving chocolate cake and cookies in the lobby at 7:30 that did it – they have us hooked for life.

Yes, the mountains have had their first covering of snow.
This is the view from our house at the Webster Ranch.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

All good trips come to an end. We had a great time, meandering through the West, crossing the Lewis & Clark trail many times, visiting the haunts of Custer and Crazy Horse, discovering ancient sites and historic places. We had no schedule and no set route. Try it; you’ll like it.

We have another couple of weeks in Alberta before flying home to Maui. The past three months of summer have disappeared into memories of fishing, travelling, reunions and family gatherings. There’s more to come and I’ll make one more entry at the end of our trip.

And away we go!

August is our Road Trip Month! This year we covered 3400 miles and visited towns and sites in two provinces and four states. Here is the First Chapter; the second to follow in a week or so.

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Tunnel tours, two of them in fact. One covered the history of Chinese workers who were imported to work on the trans-continental railroad. Considered at the time to be less than second-class persons, they were relegated to the underground where they developed miles of tunnels connecting their living quarters, laundry, apothecary, kitchen and a few private areas. The other tour involved the exploits of none other than Al Capone who, during Prohibition, made Moose Jaw the hub of his activities. He hid out there, used the tunnels to evade the law, brewed hooch, shipped barrels of illicit grog to the parched States, and generally contributed to the growing town.

We enjoyed a few hours at the Moose Jaw Art Museum as well and it was there I discovered a use for old neckties. Introducing the newest Bag of Joy line: ReTies! Look for them on www.BagofJoy.com beginning October 1.

Estevan, SK

We planned to spend two nights in this small prairie town so we could take a tour of the hydroelectric dam, the coalmines and the power plant. Wouldn’t you know… the tour guide took the weekend off! So we shortened our stay, did our own tour of the Rafferty Dam and the prehistoric rocks at nearby Roche Percee.

Roche Percee near Estevan

Minot, North Dakota

Have you been there? Don’t bother.

Did you know that
three-quarters of the
country’s sunflower
crop goes to the food
industry in the form
of sunflower oil and
snacks? The rest of it
(500,000 acres worth)
is sold as birdseed.

Custer House at Fort Abraham
Lincoln State Park

Prairie storm on our way to Pierre

Bismarck, ND

Have you been there? A wonderful city, right? As we arrived we missed our motel entirely and ended up at the capitol building where the annual art fair was taking place, so we joined in and toured the entire fair, had a terrific plate lunch and listened for a while to some local gospel music. We enjoyed everything about Bismarck, especially the bike paths in their city park along the Missouri River.

Fort Abraham Lincoln is a short drive from Bismarck through Mandan (you Lewis & Clark buffs know about Mandan) and we spent a couple of hours in this historic spot, biking and exploring the re-created Mandan village and the Custer Home. This fort is where General Custer mustered his troops for the fateful journey to the Little Bighorn in Montana.

Fort Yates, ND

The Prairie Knights Resort and Casino is located in the Standing Rock Indian Reservation of the Sioux and is the only viable commercial entity we could find. Of course, my modest jackpot win deprived them of some profit but they really didn’t seem to worry much. By the way, Sitting Bull is buried in Ft. Yates; we made a point of visiting his gravesite and giving thought to his words.

Pierre, South Dakota

This was a return trip for us; we were here in 2005 with our new-to-us RV. This time we stayed in a motel and biked La Framboise Island, did the tour of the Oahe Dam and hydro plant, and toured a little more of this lovely city on the Missouri.

Right about this time we realized our plan to head to Deadwood wouldn’t work due to the 1.5 million bikers who had descended on Sturgis for the annual Harley rally. Every hotel, motel, B&B and campsite in a 200-mile radius was booked solid. So we turned south, thinking we could spend some time in Nebraska quite happily.

Winner, SD

What comes to mind when you hear the words “prairie town”? Tree-lined streets, friendly folk, quaint shops, lots of churches? Yep, that’s Winner. We biked most of the town, visited a few little shops, and learned that Winner is the Pheasant Capital of the US – as in pheasant hunting.

On a hunch, before leaving Winner I checked hotels.com for rooms in the Deadwood area, knowing that the rally had come to a close and hordes of bikers were now seen migrating in the opposite direction. Sure enough, we had options to stay in Hot Springs and Lead, so we stayed in both!

Hot Springs, SD

If the history of this town wasn’t spectacular, and the mammoth digs didn’t yank your crank, and the magnificent museum bored you, well…  maybe you really would like Minot. We were enthralled by this gold rush throwback of old homes, storefronts, mineral springs and living history. The museum, a converted three-story sandstone schoolhouse, is the best I’ve ever seen. The Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery is breathtaking. The ongoing mammoth dig is a fascinating look into a 26,000-year-old mammoth graveyard. And the buildings – well, for Jim I think the architecture was the highlight for him, from the 100-year old Lutheran Hospital (abandoned on a hilltop) to the gabled and colonnaded mansions of yesteryear.

Digging mammoths in Hot Springs

Lead, SD

Lead, Deadwood’s civilized sister, is just three miles from the notorious capital of the gold rush days. We found a wonderful place to stay – the Blackstone Inn – and made a few trips around both towns when not playing in the casinos. Our self-guided tour included the infamous Mt. Mariah Cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok is buried alongside Calamity Jane, and the huge Homestake goldmine, which has been taken over by the Sanford Underground Research Facility. 

Did you know that of the 3200-plus people buried in Deadwood's "Boot Hill", one-third of them are indigents - drifters and hobos in unmarked graves.

And now we leave you for a week or two to give you time to read and digest, or hit delete. Chapter Two will follow soon.