Alberta

We’ve left Saskatchewan and are now in Alberta. We spent a few days near Calgary at a nice campground on a lake, but it didn’t have wi fi, which explains the absence of posts the last few days.

In fact, the campground we’re in now, which is in the Canadian Rockies near Jasper, is supposed to have wi fi, but it’s not working. If you are reading this, it means that we managed to get on line at the local McDonald’s, which we’re told has wi fi.

If you’ve ever wondered where canola oil comes from, it comes from the yellow flowering plants which seem to be a primary crop in Saskatchewan and Alberta. BTW that paved road beyond the stop sign is the trans Canada Highway. Canola is a really important crop here, and in some places the striking fields of yellow flowers continue all the way to the horizon. Now, we’re 99% sure the crops in the photos are canola, but mustard is also grown in the area, and mustard also has yellow flowers, and since there are no signs identifying the flowers, we’re going with canola.

We had a great time at the Calgary Stampede. We spend most of a day there since the rodeo is just a small part of the show. There was a terrific agricultural exhibit which included lots of horses of all sizes and shapes. The Stampede Park is open until the wee hours of the morning for all types of musical shows, an ice show, a midway with carnival rides an lots of food. You’ll find no photos of the Stampede here since the forecast was for rain and I didn’t want to juggle the raincoat and the camera. As it turned out, the weather was fine. 

The rodeo is an invitational meet with very high prize money. The participants are all champions on other rodeo circuits, and about half the bull riders are currently on the PBR tour. The famous chuck wagon races take place every day at 8:00 pm, but you need a separate ticket for that event. We realized that the way the track is laid out, we would only be able to see the start and finish of the race, so we didn’t see the chuck wagons. No matter, since local TV carries highlights of the races every night.

As I mentioned above, we’re now near Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, which defy description. So here’s a photo. And yes, the water is really that color.

The campground rules and regulations includes the following: “Please be aware that deer and elk frequently wander into the campground during the evening. ALL deer, elk, bear, cougar and coyotes are WILD. Please DO NOT FEED or APPROACH any wildlife that may wander into the campground.”

We saw four elk on the way here and heard on the news tonight that a grizzly bear was hit by a car in the area last night. I guess we’re not in New Jersey anymore.