After we visited the Bar U Ranch on August 7th, we traveled to Banff National Park and took the 2,292’ gondola ride to the 7,486’ summit of Sulphur Mountain. The views were a little smoky, but stunning. After hiking a mile and a half, we rode back down. After we finished, we checked into the…
Canmore, Alberta: The Hidden Gem of the Canadian Rockies
Before we hit Banff, we had lunch in the cute town of Canmore. After a yummy flatbread lunch at Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company (who knew Apple Chicken flatbread was a thing?), we explored the town. Canmore began as a coal mining town along the Canadian-Pacific Railway route. Mining operations were shut down in the 1970s….
Alberta’s Authentic Bar-U Ranch Historic Site
After Glacier, we headed north to Banff. The first stop of the day was the Bar U Ranch, a Canadian National Historic Site. When we arrived, Wyatt and Hawkeye met us outside to talk about the ranch. Established in 1882 as the North West Cattle Company, it was known locally as the Bar U (their…
Stunning Glacier National Park is the Nation’s Tenth
The day after visiting Waterton National Park and Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village, we headed south into Montana to visit Glacier National Park. Glacier became a National Park in 1910, the country’s 10th. It covers one million acres and straddles the Continental Divide. Glacier became part of the International Peace Park in 1932. There are 50…
Pincher Creek’s Authentic Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village
Pincher Creek’s Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village preserves and proudly displays area’s pioneer roots.
Between Alberta and Montana, The World’s First Peace Park
Early the next morning, we boarded the Caravan Tour bus with 45 others and left Calgary and the rolling prairies for the Rockies and the first International Peace Park. We snagged the front seat. Tomorrow we’ll move back 3 seats until we reach the back of the bus, then we’ll work our way forward. Bah-bye…
A Walking Tour of Calgary, the Tower & Art Everywhere
After a 13 hour, 770 mile drive, we went sightseeing in Downtown Calgary. We started with a two-hour walking tour. Afterward we toured the Calgary Tower then ate lunch in one of the many food courts in the elevated walkways that connect the city. So impressed with how clean the city is and how public…
A Scamp-less Canadian Rockies Adventure
We’ve been flirting with the Canadian border all Summer with our Scamp. This morning we got up at zero-dark-thirty because we’re headed on a 9-day Scamp-less adventure in the Canadian Rockies. A couple of fun facts about Canada: The US/Canadian 5,000 mile border is the longest undefended border in the world, and Canada is the…
Picturesque hikes at Effigy Mounds National Monument
On our way back to the Twin Cities from Illinois, we stopped at Effigy Mounds National Monument. Located in northeastern Iowa, President Harry Truman declared Effigy Mounds a National Monument in 1949. The animal-shaped mounds were built as the final resting place of mound building tribes. The Visitor Center has an exhibit of the types…
Sabbona Lake State Park and Klehm Arboretum
After Iowa, we headed to Shabbona Lake State Park in Illinois. We found out the locals pronounce it Sha-bah-naw, not Sha-bone-ah like us yokels The 1,500 acre park west of Chicago opened in 1978. As awesome as Backbone State Park in Iowa was, Shabbona was not. If we had brought kayaks, a pontoon, or fishing…