Pincher Creek, AlbertaJul 5, 2009
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Our campsite on Windy Point, Pincher Creek, Alberta
Red Rock Canyon, Waterton Lakes National Park. Alberta
Red Rock Canyon, Waterton Lakes National Park. Alberta
| 7/5 – 7/7 Thirty-three miles further on PH3 brought us to Windy Point Campground in Pincher Creek. We had a beautiful campsite overlooking the Oldman River Reservoir. Although this area is considered the windiest in Alberta (the campground is a favorite with wind surfers) it was a great spot. It was also a convenient spot to visit a number of attractions. Our first stop was Waterton Lakes National Park. This park sits right at the base of the Canadian Rockies. It was a cloudy and rainy day for our visit but it was still a beautiful spot. We took a short hike on a trail above Red Rock Canyon, lovely red rock. We also walked around the huge Prince of Wales Hotel, a beautiful gingerbread lodge built in 1927 on Upper Waterton Lake. After checking out the hotel we visited the town of Waterton where we had lunch before heading back to our campsite. Another day we drove over Crowsnest Pass which provides access across the Rockies to British Columbia. Along the way we visited the site of Leitch Collieries which was a support area for the local coal mine. In this area they cleaned and sized the coal. They also had ovens that produced coke. Another stop was Frank’s Slide. In 1903 part of Turtle mountain slid down and covered part of the town of Frank. Over 70 people died. The town is still covered by tons of limestone. It is an erie site. The interpretive center had an excellent movie about the event. One morning we took an excellent tour of a Hutterite Colony. Hutterites are folks who fled from Austria to Ukraine and then to the US and Canada because of religious persecution. When they arrived in Canada they formed colonies which are usually limited to about 140 people. The one we visited has 29 families, a population of 120 who live on and farm about 8000 acres. Each family has their own house but meals are shared together. The Hutterites are very close to being self-sustaining. On their land they raise dairy cattle, beef cattle hogs and chickens. They sell chickens, eggs and milk. They make their own clothing and furniture and the cabinet shop is also used to make custom items for outsiders. They are self-educated and are schooled through the ninth grade. They speak Austrian but learn both English and High German in their school. It was an excellent tour and we enjoyed meeting some of the residents. |
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