The last couple of days have been wonderful. We love the wide open spaces and the many
shades of yellow and brown on the fall prairies! Yesterday, we drove the eco tour road in
Grasslands National Park, a wonderful treat that we really enjoyed. The tour is on a gravel road and has pullouts
with plaques pointing out the salient points about the local environment. Our first stop was a prairie dog town. As we
pulled up, the dogs were barking (more like a cheep in their high voices) as a
coyote trotted across their town. Upon
closer look, we also noticed a badger sniffing at the entrances to the dogs’
front doors. Badgers and coyotes are
both major predators of the dogs. We
enjoyed a stroll through the town – some of the little guys scrambled into
their holes as we approached, some barked (flipping their black-tipped tails
with each bark); others just watched us warily as we passed. Through the binoculars, I watched the badger
sniff at prairie dog holes, lie down and dig until he could throw dust over himself,
roll over, get up and shake himself off and trot off again, bowlegged. The coyote disappeared across the
prairie. In the distance, we could see
bison ambling along. A herd was
re-introduced to this area a number of years ago and is doing well. We saw only 6 of the 150 or so in the
park. Our subsequent stops were not as
exciting but still interesting – we saw many meadowlarks and horned larks
scattering from the sides of the road as we drove, startled a couple of groups
of sharp-tailed grouse, heard the wind whistling across the prairie plateau,
walked among a circle of stones used to hold down plains Indians tepees (tipis)
on a bluff high above the valley, viewed the Frenchman River meandering through
a valley below us, walked along the river after descending from the plateau and
wondered how the original settlers chose their particular ranchland from such a
vast land!!!! We felt privileged to
watch a male bison giving himself a dust bath.
We couldn’t answer the question on the info plaque as to whether the
Indians erected their tipis on the edge of the plateau so the wind would keep
the insects away or so they could see animals to hunt in the valley below. This area has to be experienced to be
appreciated – words don’t do it justice and photos cannot capture the immensity
of the area. We loved it!!
bison on the prairie
black-tailed prairie dog
And now we are in Cypress Hills Inter-Provincial Park,
another area that has to be seen to be appreciated. Many areas are closed due to fire hazard and
many of the attractions are closed for the season but it is still worth
visiting. We are camped on the western
edge of the park in the beautiful resort (summer cottages, ski cabins in
winter) town of Elkwater on Elkwater Lake.
We drove into the park from here and enjoyed fall colours such as you
would see around Merritt in the fall but with the added attraction of
incredible vistas overlooking the prairies for miles and miles in every
direction. Back at our campground, we
enjoyed a late afternoon walk on a very crisp sunny fall day and watched deer browsing,
a badger seeking ground squirrels on the local soccer pitch, and wild turkeys running through the campsites
near us. We have also seen pronghorn antelope along the highways lately. Life may seem dull when we get
home!!
badger on the soccer field
view from Reesor Rd outlook, Cypress Hills Park
Thanksgiving dinner???
From here, we will drive to Calgary and spend a day or so
visiting Chris’ girlfriend Megan then head into the Rockies and home via the
Rogers Pass. The temperatures will
dictate our pace as we need to avoid snow and cold. We will be home in a week or so and both of
us have mixed feelings about the end of our adventure. I am sure it will feel good to be home but we
have enjoyed the travel and the trailer seems like home to us now.
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