5 July 2009

Here I sit at the Calgary airport, drowsy and at the same time relieved. It has been an eventful trip and the drowsiness in large part is due to the lack of stress I suddenly feel - no place to go, nothing to see, just waiting to board an airplane.

We drove 8733 kilometers or 5240 miles in four weeks and then participated in the Calgary Stampede for almost three full days. Everywhere we went there was always something to do or to see. I like to drive, but four weeks of driving, sometimes as much as 10 or 12 hours at a time, does wear you out. I was very glad that in Calgary I had booked a hotel downtown within walking distance to most of the sights and that we didn't have to worry about parking and driving while in Calgary.

Days 31, 32 - 3, 4 July 2009

The Calgary Stampede is an annual giant fair with live stock shows, rodeo events, rides, food, and games. All day long there were motorcycle stunt shows alternating with divers plunging head-first from a 90 foot tower into a small pool of water while performing all kinds of gymnastics (see the video below). Every evening the climax of the day were the thundering hoofs and rumbling wagons of the chuckwagon races (see the video below) followed by a grand stage show.

The whole town participated with events in the streets, such as square dancing where onlookers, such as us, were invited to participate (whether they wanted to or not - we had square danced many years ago and therefore didn't make complete fools of ourselves and even earned hugs from our hosts), or music by bands or individuals, and a free pancake breakfast on Sunday morning. Many people were decked out in their finest Western wear. You could hardly tell the locals from the visitors because almost everyone wore at least a cowboy hat or a bandana. We decided to join in and my friend wore a Western hat, and I tied on a colorful bandana. Furthermore, my friend finally got her wish and acquired a cow hide which will be used as a carpet under the coffee table in our living room back home.

The Stampede was kicked off by a giant parade representing all facets of Canadian life from First Nation People (as Indians are called in Canada) in colorful clothes and feather headdresses to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Army, as well as representatives of many of the other nationalities that populate Canada. The US flags carried by many of the parading groups shows the close relationship between the US and Canada that exists mainly in the western parts of both countries (I claim), because of the common heritage of settling the western frontiers. The border between Canada and the USA beyond the great lakes was unclear for many years until it was formally settled in the first half of the 19th century.

The parade was so long that we abandoned our vantage point, went to the hotel to warm up because in the shade of the tall building where we were standing the cool wind made it chilly, watched some more of the parade on TV, and still caught the end of it live as we exited the hotel again. Because of the many horses in the parade, the last entry in the parade were a series of street sweepers.

The two days in Calgary were a fitting close to our Rocky Mountain trip. Although we hated to see it come to an end, we were nevertheless looking forward to returning to our permanent home.

Day 30 - 2 July 2009

We awoke early, full of anticipation of the problems that might confront us during the return of the camper, the packing, and the transfer to the hotel that we had booked in downtown Calgary.

First thing we did was to look for a car wash large enough to accommodate the RV because the instructions were to return the vehicle free of road grime, especially tar or mud. So we scrubbed inside and out, washed the windshield, and polished the chrome. I was particularly concerned about the small chip in the windshield and the hatch on top that had been blown open by a sudden gust of wind, thereby breaking off the plastic knob that held the hatch shut. Both damages occurred during that fateful day when my sciatic nerve in my right leg acted up on the way to Monument Valley. All along the road after that I worried about these damages because when we accepted the camper a nice man went all around it with me encouraging me to make a note of any little flaw in the paint, the windshield, etc. I had to assume that when we turned in the camper it would be subjected to the same kind of scrutiny by the rental people. I had even bought some glue and buttons to try to patch the plastic mechanism of the hatch well enough to pass visual inspection, but due to a lack of the proper tools (there was a fan blade in the way) I had abandoned the attempt. I had actually tried to get the chip in the windshield repaired in Rapid City, South Dakota, but abandoned that effort also when it turned out that it would cost $30 without a guarantee that one wouldn't still see the chip in the windshield. I reasoned that if I had to pay for a new windshield anyway I would save myself the $30.

Well, wonders never cease! Since I didn't want to be caught in a lie when the rental people discovered the damage, I decided to "come clean" right up front. I pointed out the broken hatch, but the nice man just shrugged his shoulders and showed no interest in climbing on top of the camper to look at it closer, "the boys in the garage are going to take care of it," he said. He recommended that I mention the chip in the windshield to the ladies in the office who were going to finalize the paperwork. When I mentioned the chip in the windshield, the nice lady said that things like that happen and that was it. She gave me back my entire deposit plus she reimbursed me for a water pressure regulator which I bought in Colorado and the TV extension cable which I had bought in Salt Lake City. Some campgrounds required the water pressure regulator if one was going to connect to their water supply because of its high pressure, which might blow holes into the camper's water pipes. The TV cable was useless because the TV was not set up to accept cable input, it just operated off the roof antenna which was also useless in the Rockies; besides, the US had gone to a digital TV signal and the TV set was still analog.

While I sweated out the finalization of the paperwork, my friend labored with the packing of our belongings. We had more than what we had come with: souvenirs, some new clothes, and left over food. It was eventually all packed in suitcases, bags, and boxes and when the taxi arrived we were grateful for large American cars with their big trunks. The taxi took us to downtown Calgary, to the hotel which I had selected specifically because of its location, because the next two days were to be entirely different from the rest of the trip, that is, in a nice hotel within walking distance to restaurants and other amenities normally found in a big city.

The next day the annual event called the "Calgary Stampede," a giant, over a week long, fair with rodeos, rides, and shows was starting. We had planned this Rocky Mountain trip to end on just this day so that we could enjoy the activities in Calgary for the next two days. With a preview during the afternoon and evening of what was in store during the Calgary Stampede the camping part of the Rocky Mountain trip came to an end.

Day 29 - 1 July 2009

As the reader may or may not recall, we were here near Fort Macleod at the beginning of our journey. We had discovered that off to the northwest of Fort Macleod there is a place that is on the World Heritage Register, the "Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump." At that time the place was still on reduced hours and it was closed when we got there (remember?). Well, this time we made it. And on top of it, this was Canada Day, the equivalent of the United States' 4th of July.

What a show awaited us there! There were what in Canada are called "First Nation People" performing dances, songs, and drum music. But the main attraction, when it doesn't happen to be Canada Day, is the buffalo jump. When we first passed by here we had no idea of what this is all about, but when we got to Montana we had a thorough introduction to the buffalo jump as practiced by the original inhabitants of the North American continent (see the narrative about Day 6 of our journey).

During the lunch break I had a chance to talk to one of the Blackfeet drummers. He was the one with the red white and blue polo shirt. I wanted to know if the, to our ears, monotonous drumming and chanting had any meaning and he assured me that there is a distinct meaning to all of it. None of it is written down, it is passed from one generation to another. He readily discussed the heritage of their dances and chants and remarked that I was the first foreigner who had ever asked him these questions.

I love the wide open spaces of the northern plains. I like seeing mountains in the background, but I feel hemmed in if they are too close.

We thoroughly enjoyed the visit to the "Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump" and sadly had to leave to meet our next deadline, Calgary, to turn in the camper the next day. We stayed at a campground outside Calgary which is frequented and run by people of German descent. There were, among others, German flags, little dwarfs as seen in some gardens in Germany and a band had just ended playing German songs when we got there. Not what we really wanted to experience after the buffalo jump.

With a beautiful sunset Day 29 ended.

Day 28 - 30 June 2009

This day dawned bright and clear and since we had a lot to be accomplished we departed a little after sunrise. This time we were bound and determined to travel the Going-to-the-Sun Road to the other side of the Rockies.

Along the way we passed some scenic sights which we had seen during our earlier trip through the park, but now it was summer and the weather was more hospitable. Even though it was summer, the glaciers were still majestic. We encountered many animals along the way (no bears) who were greeting the new day by foraging for their breakfast.

Much to our astonishment we also met some curious species directing traffic at a construction site along the road at this early hour.

Having traversed the pass, for which the size of our RV was again just at the allowed limit, we came to the West Entrance of the park and a Restaurant where hordes of tourists were already feasting on the opulent western-style breakfast being served. Luckily we found an empty table and eagerly joined in.
Outside the West Entrance to Glacier National Park there are a lot more attractions and facilities than outside the eastern entrance at Saint Mary. The area seems to be geared toward hunting and fishing and family activities, that is, it is more "touristy." Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to enjoy any of it because we wanted to get to someplace within an easy day's drive to Calgary, Canada, where we had to turn in our camper the day after next. We arrived at the Buffalo Plains Campground near Fort Macleod, where we had been at the beginning of our journey, in time to enjoy the sunset. Sunsets on the prairie are more enjoyable to me because you don't have a bunch of mountains blocking your view of it.

That concluded day 28 of our trip.

Day 26 - 28 June 2009

We departed Cody, Wyoming, without seeing much of the famous town. Too bad, after all "Buffalo Bill" Cody founded the town and there is a Buffalo Bill Historical Center, a Buffalo Bill State Park, and a Buffalo Bill Reservoir. But we were in a hurry because my friend wanted to see a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park and travel the Going-to-the-Sun-Road in Glacier National Park before our trip ended.

So we headed up into the mountains on the scenic "Chief Joseph Highway" in northeastern Wyoming and entered Yellowstone Park at the northeastern entrance. We drove along much of the same stretch of road which we had traveled on our first time through the park and still didn't see any bears, not even a black one.

Disappointed we left the park at the northern entrance and headed for Helena, Montana, to try to take a boat ride through the Gates of the Mountains the next day, which we had missed because of bad weather as we passed through this area earlier.

There isn't much to report about this part of the trip, except that the campground we ended up in was the worst we had experiences so far. The campground itself wasn't that bad, only that it was full except for one slot between some semi-permanent campers. It looked like we were in a junk yard. But it served the purpose and that was day number 26.

Day 25 - 27 June 2009

Bright and early we drove into the park that surrounds the Devils Tower National Monument. In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument under the new Antiquities Act to protect it from commercial exploitation. His action made Wyoming the home of both the first national park - Yellowstone in 1872 - and the first national monument.

The unusual shape of the tower is a geological story, but more interesting to me is the legend shared by several Indian nations of the Great Plains about the origin of the prominent butte. The Kiowa people say: "Eight children were there at play, seven sisters and their brother. Suddenly the boy was struck dumb; he trembled and began to run upon his hands and feet. His fingers became claws, and his body was covered with fur. Directly there was a bear where the boy had been. The sisters were terrified; they ran, and the bear after them. They came to the stump of a great tree, and the tree spoke to them. It bade them climb upon it, and as they did so it began to rise into the air. The bear came to kill them, but they were just beyond its reach. It reared against the tree and scored the bark all around with its claws. The seven sisters were borne into the sky, and they became the stars of the Big Dipper." This quotation is from N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain, The University of New Mexico Press.

According to the National Park Service, approximately 5,000 people climb the Tower every year. We saw some climbers way up already, although it was only about 8 O' Clock in the morning, they must have gotten an early start.

Because the day on which we had to give back our RV was drawing near and we had many miles to travel and some more sights to see, we departed the Devils Tower toward the west, stopping only for a little lunch in one of the few towns that we encountered on the way. As was the case several times before, we had a buffalo burger - lean meat without hormones or antibiotics.

Along the way we had to make a major decision - do we go back to Grand Tetons National Park to see the Grand Tetons Range which we did not see because of the low clouds and fog, or do we go back to Yellowstone National Park to try to get a glimpse of a grizzle bear. As it turned out, my friend was more disappointed in not seeing a grizzly as in not seeing the Grand Tetons. Therefore we headed back to Yellowstone by way of Cody, Wyoming.

We were in Cody before sunset and without much ado the day, number 25, ended.