Canadian Rockies Vacation 2019 Days Seven, Eight, and Nine

Day Seven.

We got a late start leaving our Calgary hotel. Sometimes it is hard to keep track of where the key card is and who has it. It was a little sad for me leaving Calgary. We got coffee from Tim Hortons in High River. I was happy to find a grain elevator in southern Alberta. They are pretty rare now.

Our main destination on day seven was Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump in southern Alberta.

What is a buffalo jump? Before horses were introduced, First Nations peoples used jumps to kill buffalo/bison. Buffalo runners would drive them over a steep cliff (36 feet) and the bison would be killed as they landed. The buffalo runners would disguise themselves as wolves or bison. The Head Smashed In title refers to a young man who wanted to watch the hunt from below but was buried under the falling buffalo.

There is a museum that explains buffalo hunting and First Nations culture.

They used every part of the buffalo after it was killed.

We visited on a Wednesday so we got to experience Drumming and Dancing. My favorite was the older lady who was very regal.

Another dancer.

Drummers.

There was crowd participation at the end, which we didn't join.

We continued on to the Crowsnest Highway. We had lunch in Pincher Creek at Harvest Coffeehouse.

I took lots of photos of the Alberta sky, which I miss.

We changed drivers in Frank, Alberta. Frank is the place where a devastating landslide happened in 1903.

J drove through extremely heavy rain in the mountains. We saw some lightning. We arrived in Cranbrook, BC. We had a little trouble getting the right room at the Best Western. We had supper at Mr. Mike's which was across the street. Good food. I had a lobster avocado salad.

The colour of the hotel's pool was green so we skipped that!

Day Eight (Cranbrook, B.C. to Spokane)

We had a reasonably priced hot breakfast from restaurant inside the Best Western. Omelettes for less than $10. Our wait at the U.S. border was 30 minutes. We stopped in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, for coffee and baked goods at Under the Sun. It is both a charming store and a coffee shop. I'd go back there if I'm ever in that region again.

We stopped in Sandpoint, Idaho, which is one of our family's favourite places. We had lunch at Trinity at City Beach. We ate outside with a view of the beach.

I laid out on Sandpoint City beach for an hour and read a book.

We drove to Spokane. We stayed at the Centennial Hotel which was unfamiliar to us. It has a very modern interior. We hung out in and out of the beautiful, large pool in the sunshine. I wanted to stay another day at this spot!

Day Nine (Spokane to home)

I woke up early. I think I was still on Mountain Time. I got tea from the lobby and read newspapers.

Breakfast from McDonalds. A did some driving in eastern Washington. We had lunch in Moses Lake at Taco del Mar. We stopped at the Thorne fruit stand. We got home at about 4 pm.

This was our longest vacation we've every had. I think J survived! :)


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