In June 2023 my one brother and I drove to Canmore, Alberta to stay up there for a while. I would stay about a month before I flew back home. It's always a long drive, so we try and find some things to see along the way.
In Minnesota, we got the message we were Great Uncles for the first time! But, we had bigger things to fry, so to speak. In the small town of Rothsay, Minnesota, which is designated the 'Prairie Chicken Capital of Minnesota', we saw the world's largest Prairie Chicken. It stands 13 feet tall and I doubt anyone else will create a larger one.
In Montana, we crossed the Missouri River on the Wolf Point Bridge, near the town of Wolf Point. It's kind of remote up there and there's a story why this bridge was built. Basically, 2 brothers were killed trying to cross the frozen Missouri River in 1926 and, through persistence, the towns people convinced the government to build the bridge. Another landmark near Harlem, Montana we always see while driving to Canada is what we always referred to as 'the pink church'. It stands on a hill and, to some degree, looks like a Bates Motel church. It just seems out of place where it is. It was built in 1931 but has not been in use since 1964, except for the cemetery. Yes, the cemetery is the happening place to be. The last town in the U.S. at the border is the small town of Sweet Grass, Montana. Until I looked up the population (65 as of 2020), I didn't realize how small the town actually was.
Once we crossed the border into Canada, we ran into some snow. It didn't last long, but it was accumulating on the ground. It eventually stopped before we got to our final destination of Canmore, Alberta.
The month I was in Canada was filled with hiking and sightseeing. Around the town of Canmore, they have a number of trails available, I even went into town to see the Canada Day parade. In Kananaskis Country, we hiked the Elbow Pass and saw indications of bears in the area (they dropped some hints for us). We eventually found and photographed a bear. Around Banff National Park, we hiked up Tunnel Mountain to see the overlook of Banff townsite, strolled (literally) around Johnson Lake, and climbed to 'the coal pile' for panoramic views of the area. We also did a lot of hikes near the house every chance we could.
One interesting thing that happened was that I ran into a rider of an old BMW Airhead that was having some trouble in Canmore. The guy was from near Vancouver, but his daughter lived in the area and he was visiting her. Long story short, his starter motor wasn't working and the bike wouldn't start. So, after we figured that out, we push started the bike and it was running. Since his daughter lived nearby, he was going to go there and order a new starter motor. I followed up with his daughter and found out he had made it home after he got the part and fixed it.
The plan was to be there a month, fly home, then fly back in September. There were lots of small hikes and numerous walks for the month I was there.
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