Medicine Hat AB to Brandon MB via Buffalo Pound MB. 2 days.

 

World's tallest tepee (claimed)

First day, Medicine Hat AB to Buffalo Pound MB 

We got away in good time on Saturday Jun 20. Soon after we started, we stopped in at the large tepee display that's right on the TCH (Trans Canada Highway). It's becoming a Medicine Hat landmark.

Even bigger than it looks from a distance

 

Lots of people at work here today, adding finishing touches and landscaping:  

Some native artwork

View of the tepee from the rear. It overlooks a large coulee

The coulee or valley

There's even a golf course down here

 

Here and there along the highway are places that look like old homesteads. It sure would have been quiet except for nature sounds out here, back in the day:

 

Later we dropped in to the small town of Maple Creek. We stopped overnight in their nearby tourist info area on the way west. The atmosphere of the town reminded us of Verden SK. It's small but healthy looking. We got a few groceries and some genuine Western Pilsener-style beer, got to balance those diets.

Maple Creek street

 

Often there are flags denoting sited of historical interest along the highway. We stopped at this one for a look. It's in honour of the hamlet of Antelope. Yes, the animal:

Hope you can read this ok.

 Across the highway, a little old (?) house all by its lonesome:

The house that's across the highway looks maybe Antelope vintage 

We were aiming to stay the night at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park SK. Our GPS search picked the Buffalo Pound View Campground instead, a bit out of our way, and definitely not part of a provincial park:

The road got a little patchy, but still paved ...

  

... until it wasn't. Sharp drop and curves

 

Guard peacock

 

I think I heard banjos strumming...

With the friendly proprietor's help we got sorted out, and on track to the actual park about 6km away. We found out at the park that the lake is Buffalo Pound Lake, and many businesses etc in the area use Buffalo Pound in their name. 

We were too tired to drive back to the Bison area tonight, will have some supper and a short walk. It's a beautiful evening.

Our little outdoor gas cooker does a good job

  

The slope on the other side of Buffalo Pound Lake from us

 

 

Next Day, June 21 

So after we broke camp today we drove to the buffalo area for a viewing. The interior road went from decent pavement to very bumpy, and that was still the paved part. The road into the buffalo area was gravel of some sort:

Lots of washboard

 

and mud. I wasn't sure we'd get out of here without help. As usual these pictures make the grade look less steep than it was:

We had to climb this hill with our 2wd street tires. Made it!

 

We made it out because I knew to turn off Traction Control on the van, and that was needed here. Traction Control limits your wheel speed and power when the drive wheels are spinning. To get up a muddy road though, you need power and spinning for this mud.

There were other slippery patches, but none so much fun!

 

We saw the compound where the buffalo had hay to eat, but never did see any animals. The road in should have been closed, so on the way out I moved a barrier across the entry road. The barrier was clearly there to close this road when needed, but nobody was out there warning us today.  A couple of times I thought we'd be calling Matt's OffRoad Recovery to get out of the ditch.

 

Back on the highway, it's really hard to see what this is. It was more obvious while he was passing us than from this angle. As you can tell, a wet windy day:

It's a helicopter, being trucked somewhere

 

As the rainy windy day progressed, we decided we'd head home now. Our plans to visit Moose Jaw were canned by the weather, and the forecast for the next few days all across the prairies is not good. Several areas have been virtually drowned out.  

So we picked a reachable destination for the day, and ended up at the Brandon MB WalMart. We've stayed here before, and it's still open to RV's to overnight.

 

Cranbrook BC to Medicine Hat AB

 

Today was a travel day. We left in good time, stopped for a couple of breaks and a bagel in Fernie, and arrived at Medicine Hat AB about 3pm.

Lots more mountain views and curves early in the day:

 

These eroded tiers of rock seams looked like a giant's staircase

 

We got stopped by some construction, and could feel we were being watched:

 We stopped in Fernie BC for a break and a bagel (actually we got 6, a mixed bag). We've had bagels from this place before, and they are fantastic:

  

 

Two others were like these two. The cinnamon raisin ones didn't last til the picture.  :))

Some garbage bin art nearby:

  

Later we passed the site of the Frank Slide, one of the most serious rock slides in Canadian history. Over 60 people were killed, and many remain buried under the rubble that is still here. These beautiful mountains can be treacherous:

We noticed a new-looking sign advertising a showing of Frank Slide history and background, but didn't stop.  If you Google Frank Slide Interpretive Centre you can read all about it.

 

Still later we noticed some orange shelters in grassy fields:

  

Hard to see, but we have seen shelters similar to these on an earlier trip, and found they were field homes for leafcutter bees that farmers use to help pollinate some crops like alfalfa or some canola varieties. Here's a link with more info and much better pictures:  <Leafcutter LINK>.

 

Lots of windmills in the hills in Alberta:

We had another early stop in the Gas City campground in Medicine Hat AB. No reservations, so we got an unserviced site in their overflow area. This gives us access to their washrooms, showers etc for just $22. No non-resident surcharge in Alberta. Of course there is no non-resident surcharge in BC parks except for the Provincial ones either, as far as I know.

 

The view from the side door of our van. There's a deep valley between us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving Okanagan Falls, east to Cranbrook BC via Syringa provincial park (2 days!)

Campsite #7 at Syringa park

Wed June 17 

Today we headed out from Donna's place, starting to head east and home. Not real early, away about 8:30 PDT (11:30 EDT).

It was garbage pickup this morning. Before we left, Donna chatted with a neighbour and they had some visitors in the background:

 

Neighbour Bren with her walking companion

The background doe had some company too, 2 really young fawns

Very scenic heading south on Hwy 3 this morning, with light traffic and minimal construction delays: 

Some huge rock formations along the way

Not the Rockies, but makes one feel small anyway

Lots of irrigated greenery. Grapes, various fruits etc.

Lots of markets too. Mostly cherries this early in the season

 

A left turn at Osoyoos had us heading for the hills along hwy 3:

Looking back down on part of Osoyoos

Hwy 3 gets pretty twisty in places

We just carried on easterly on hwy 3, stopping here and there:

 

A couple of seniors enjoy trying for a fish at a rest area

Stopped at Christina Lake park for a picnic lunch. Ominous.

After considering various destinations for today, we decided we were ready to camp for the night. Both of us were tired. Now to find a place to camp.

A couple of places didn't appeal, so we headed for Syringa provincial park, a nice campground we visited 2 years ago:

Settled in to site #7

Lots of nice site choices

Even a scenic playground area

That's us again, from the path behind our site

Nobody was on the gate when we arrived, so we walked up later to register: 

A huge free-standing rock along the path to register

 We did get a bit of a shock when registering. This site was likely $25-$28 two years ago. Today the site is $37.50. Bad enough, but then the provincial govt adds another $20 per transaction because we don't live in BC. So $57.50 to camp for the night.

Just to add insult to injury, BC seniors get a site for half the posted rate. So a BC senior would pay $18.75 as opposed to our senior $57.50. Rather a steep difference, yes? Like double taxation on non-BC seniors.

The increased rates only apply to the more popular parks (ie the accessible ones we may want to use). The non resident fee applies to all BC parks though. I guess the good news is that it may be easier to find a campsite in a BC park now. The fee is per "transaction", so would be less per day if you registered for 5 nights say. The fee would still be $20, so then only $4 per night.

Other than the great campsites and gorgeous views, the park also had:

-  no electric or water at our site (electric is available on some other sites for an additional 7 or 8 dollars)

- water from park taps has a Boil Water advisory

- no showers in the park

- no Wifi or cellular signal, so no communications last night 

 

We debated carrying on, but were tired enough that would have been unwise. So we paid, under protest. The park is privately run, but the provincial govt decides on pricing. Sympathy and empathy from the gatekeeper, but no discounts. Very disappointing decisions, not in keeping with the current moves to improve inter-provincial relations and removal of trade barriers. We won't be looking for provincial parks in BC anymore.  

 

Thu June 18

Today we carried on to Cranbrook from Syringa provincial park. Lots more scenery along the way:

Many looong uphill and downhill grades today, like 10 km or more in each direction. The van keeps track of average mileage for the day, and it varied from 7.1 L/100km to 10.2 L/100km. Low at the bottom of some of these grades and high at the top after a long ascent. 

After only a bit more than 2 hours of this we were ready for a good break already. We stopped at the tourist info place in Creston BC, having enjoyed the service and the art show there 2 years ago when through this area. A good stop once again. Here's some local art that caught Cathie's eye (to Look At Only!). No purchases today. 

During the stop we started to look for campsites for the night and  preferably over the weekend. Really nothing available. The National parks like Waterton Lakes are completely booked starting Friday, as the National Park cost reductions start then for the summer. 

We did stop in to Yahk, a basic BC provincial park, just to see what the rates were there. We (I) had misunderstood that the non resident fee applied only to the more popular and accessible parks. Not so, the $20 transaction surcharge applies to ALL BC Provincial Parks. Just the price increases were limited to some 68 of the popular parks. So no increase for a night at Yahk, same price of $21. Plus the $20 non res fee to almost double the cost to $41 for a night. The park didn't really appeal to us today, especially for that price.     

So, here we are in Cranbrook BC. After spending some time in the Walmart parking lot, and some store time too, we moved over to the nearby Home Hardware store when the 6pm overnight period starts. This is the store that welcomes RVers with a nice sign we haven't seen before or since.

Here is a link to our previous trip through here in 2024. More details about the camping etc. < LINK to 2024 trip > 

 

While we're enjoying the slow pace, especially through the winding  mountain roads, I figure it will take over 25 days to get home at this rate. Not a bad idea in some ways, but we hope to not take quite that long. :))
 

P.S. the horizontal line across the bottom of both these maps is the US border.