And then...
Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump turned out to be a museum and not an address in a new five word format. Or maybe it is the address in a new format for the museum? But these weren't five random words. Although, quite clearly, one was being used in error, this was where the Blackfoot hunted bison. The technology was simple. They herded the bison, they gave them a scare and then stampeded them over a 20m high cliff, all this without horses. Apparently bison need some help from Specsavers. The museum is built into the cliff where the bison became previous incarnations of burgers and sausages. However the museum wasn't just about bison pretending to be lemmings; it covered far more than that and provided excellent insights into the life of the Blackfoot and how they were impacted by European settlers. The bison were soon on the brink of extinction, but now herds total hundreds of thousands.
A couple of years ago we hosted a Canadian biker couple, Elle and Jeremy, who had ridden down from Canada to Patagonia and got stuck in Uruguay during Covid. It seems that we have, more or less, been doing their route in reverse but taking twice as long to do it. Elle and Jeremy very kindly offered to host us in Canmore, just outside Banff. Thanks to them we were able to see some of Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise. Otherwise we would probably have skipped the area. The fact that the area is one of the most visited places in Canada, coupled with it currently being the height of the holiday season means that there are not that many 'economic' accommodation options available. None in fact.
Françoise has been known to say that Mr Garmin, our GPS, has prolonged, if not saved, our marriage. Her map reading skills have never been the best. The best we can say about declining eyesight is that it has not made things any better. So one of her worse nightmares came to pass. We have been without Mr Garmin for a week now as one of the power connectors in the cradle broke. When we are outside of major towns or cities it is relatively easy to find our destination. However stress levels rise proportionally to urban density. We decided to replace the wiring and connectors which meant us riding into the city of Calgary to find a Garmin shop. Armed with Google Maps on her telephone and shouting over the road and engine noise she proudly managed to direct us from the North West of Calgary to the South East and then to the North East on our quest. So efficient were we that we managed an afternoon sightseeing in downtown Calgary. We now have a functioning Mr Garmin again. All is well.
Jasper was also in our outline plan but fires have destroyed a significant part of the town and the road North there has been closed. Perhaps we might come back that way.
