North Yellowstone

Saturday was our first day in Yellowstone.  Only Chris had never been here, so we decided to divide the part into two parts, traveling one today and one on Sunday.  Don even offered to cook breakfast before we left, which was yummy, but it did put us behind a little.

Our first stop was at Yellowstone Falls.  We had not visited them for many years, and they never cease to amaze us.

Yellowstone Falls

We drove through the Hayden Valley, which is populated with many buffalo.  I can see why - the rolling plains reminded us much of the Flint Hills, where buffalo used to live.  

We ate at Mammoth Hot Springs and then headed down the canyon for home.  

The two most exciting sights happened within about two miles of each other, and both were of animals fording a stream.  It was toward dusk, and watching a large buffalo and then a huge male elk walk across the river was spectacular.  Unfortunately, we could not get a picture of either one, but the vision is imprinted in our brains.

Since Chris had never seen (nor smelled) a geyser, it was fun going with her.  We can't wait until tomorrow when we walk through the paint pots and go to see Old Faithful, Morning Glory Pool, and the other geysers.  The Dragon Mouth geyser, the one that roars, was great - can't wait to show her the others!

Into Yellowstone

After visiting the Lewis and Clark center, we headed for Yellowstone.  We went the scenic route, rather than the four-lane.  Great decision, except that it was a considerably longer drive than we had anticipated.

The drive from Great Falls to Livingston reminded us so much of our drive in the Pecos that even Katie commented on it.  We loved it.  There wasn't really that much out of the ordinary except that it was green with small tinges of fall color, it had a river at the bottom of the canyon, and the road was very winding.

By the time we reached Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs, Don knew we would be arriving at Fishing Bridge in the dark.  That was not good, as it is hard to see animals at dusk.

As we entered the park, Katie saw a ewe bighorn sheep.  Eventually, we saw several elk, numerous bison, several deer, and a bear.  We even had to drive past a wreck.  Willie was almost too wide to fit between the wrecker and the side of the road.  We made it but a buffalo, perhaps startled at the RV, began pawing and acting like he was going to charge.  We didn't really see that part, but Katie and Chris did.  We were too busy noticing the sunset.

Arriving at Fishing Bridge at 9:00 was not what we had hoped for, but it is what happened.  By the time we had set up, we were too exhausted to eat - except of course for Babs, who was up eating until after 1:00 a.m.  No wonder I am tired all of the time.

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center

Katie's first big trip in her fifth-wheel was going to be to follow Lewis and Clark's trail from Omaha to the Pacific.  Unfortunately, life got in the way and she didn't get to do it.  Then our trip came along and she came with us instead.  But when we got to Great Falls and saw the Lewis and Clark interpretive center was there, we took the time to go see it.

The museum was beautifully done, with artifacts and displays that told the story of Lewis and Clark's adventures in the Montana area.  We watched a movie describing a part of the journey, and then the docent told us another story of a narrow escape by Lewis.

We also found out there is another buffalo jump in the vicinity - apparently the biggest in North America.  The docent said that even after a fertilizer company ground tons of buffalo bones for their fertilizer, there were still tons more there.  Sounds like an interesting place to visit.

After visiting the center, Katie has decided that her next big trip is exactly this - to follow Lewis and Clark's path.  And I have decided to read Undaunted Courage to learn more about the journey.

Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump

I didn't even know what a buffalo jump was until Rick, our neighbor, told us about the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump near Fort McLeod, Canada.  Once Don had heard about it, he had to go see it.  Luckily, it was not far off the trail home.

The visitor center is camouflaged into the bluffs where the jump is.  Once inside, visitors go to the sixth floor and first observe the bluffs where the buffalo were stampeded off.  

Then we came inside for the story of how the Native Americans used the buffalo.  Included is a beautiful movie that simulates the preparation for and execution of the stampede.  The thought of stampeding animals to their deaths is rather repulsive, but the native people greatly respected and were thankful for the animals.  They used every part they possibly could, and it was obvious that without the buffalo, they would not have survived.

Since we saw the jump, we have heard about several more in the area.  Funny how once you hear about something, then you are more attuned to it.  We learned a lot that day, not only about the Native Americans but also about perseverance and survival.

Farming, Alberta Style

I made mention in the post about Rocky Mountain House that this farming area reminded me of home.  Well, as we got south of Calgary, it was even more so.

Near Rocky Mountain House, not only were they growing wheat but also oats, flax, and malt were being grown.  South of Calgary, it appeared as if it was almost all wheat.  Miles and miles of it.  The fields appear to be much bigger than fields in Kansas, and the fields are rolling hills, not flat.  Also, Canadians thresh their wheat.  Don explained that by doing so, they can cut it a little earlier, which makes sense.  Much longer and they are going to have snow on the ground.

They also still use many of the old-style grain elevators.  These are just a few of the examples we saw.

After it rained, the sun came out on the newly-cut fields, which caused them to glow gold in the sunlight.  These pristine and quaint scenes repeated themselves until we left Canada.

Doesn't this picture make you think you are driving on US 54 west of Kingman?  It does us.

Barns

As we have driven through Canada, we saw some wonderful barns.  I love barn pictures - we have a whole wall of them at home - and although these are not the professional quality those are, they will bring back many memories for us of the wonderful sights in Canada.

The variety and beauty of the barns probably is not appreciated by all, but for those of us from Kansas, it is a fascinating look at an industry with which we are very familiar.

Rocky Mountain House, Alberta

Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, I sang to the John Denver tune of similar name.  Well, it isn't quite the same.  At Rocky Mountain House, we left the mountains behind and entered farm country.  But I love the name of this cute little town between Saskatchewan Junction and Red Deer.   

Once we entered the city, we saw flower pots hanging from light poles, a nice visitor center, and many places to eat.  Although the population sign indicated about 7500 people live there, it certainly seemed bigger than that to us.  As we left the town, we saw field after field of wheat that was just being harvested.  Imagine waiting until September to harvest!  They were also growing oats, canola, alfalfa, and flax.  

The main industries appeared to be farming, oil, and logging.  Farming and logging are an interesting pair, but on one side of the city stand large mountains, and on the other side lie the plains.  So they have the advantage of both logging and farming.

I took several pictures from the RV of the fields.  Had we not known any better, we would have thought we were already back home.