NWMP at Fort Walsh

After a leisurely cabin breakfast (Norma, Randy, Don, and me) and french toast (Glen), we left Elkwater Lake Lodge to drive through to Fort Walsh. There were several lookouts along the way which we hoped to view should the rain stop. As we entered the park, we discovered the road to Fort Walsh was closed. The map I downloaded mentioned that sometimes roads were impassible if it were wet. Disappointed, we turned around and headed back to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan which was the alternate route to the fort.

After leaving this small town, Randy realized he should get gas as there were no services until the Canada/U.S. border. I suggested Glen do the same. The FasGas station had a Subway restaurant so we also picked up some sandwiches for lunch as we had no idea what was at the Fort (it does have a small snack bar). In the meantime, Randy discovered another route to the fort.

This turned out to be a scenic road with very few cars. It gave us a great view of the Cypress Hills rising above the rolling prairie (and no, not all of Saskatchewan is flat). A steep switchback took us up the side of the Cypress Hills plateau and reminded us of the harrowing trip up to Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper National Park done when we 'stomped' around western Alberta years ago.

Fort Walsh National Historic Site has two phases. The first is a modern interpretive centre, the second, a reconstructed fort. We were welcomed by a guide dressed in a North-West Mounted Police (later known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) uniform and told the next 'tour' was at 2:30 (a cost of $9.80/person). We had our lunch outside on the deck since the rain had stopped. After a brief movie giving us a history of the fort, we piled on a bus to drive to the fort. A tour group of seniors joined us.

Fort Walsh began as a trading post set up by Abel Farwell in 1872-73. He and rival, Moses Solomon, traded European goods brought up the Old Forts Trail from Fort Benton, Montana with the natives (Nakoda or Assiniboine) for furs.

On June 1, 1873, there were also American bison hunters and wolfers (wolf hunters), illegal whiskey traders, and Metis freighters in the area. The wolfers had come north hunting natives whom they thought had stolen some horses. Alcohol flowed freely among all the traders and when one man's horse wandered off, the natives were accused of its theft. The hunters and Metis fired upon them and 24 died in the Cypress Hills Massacre.

This incident enraged Canadians who felt the Americans threatened their sovereignty over the west. Sir John A. MacDonald created the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) in response to this and established Fort Walsh, named for James Morrow Walsh who headed the force of fifty men. It served as their headquarters from 1878 to 1883.

Originally set up to deal with the whiskey trade, the NWMP soon became involved in an international incident in 1876. After the Battle of Little Big Horn, the Sioux nation fled to Canada, to settle in Saskatchewan. Among them was the famous holy man, Sitting Bull with whom Walsh developed a deep friendship. The Canadian government wanted these natives to return to America and Walsh was to persuade them to do so.

The fort was dismantled in 1883 to be rebuilt in the 1940s as a breeding centre for the Mounties' horses and now, it is a tourist attraction. In 2004, it was also designated a dark-sky preserve for those interested in astronomy.

During the tour, our guide set up court in one of the buildings and selected Glen to be one of the prisoners. He portrayed a native accused of horse theft in a mini-trial. There were lots of laughs and Randy was called as a witness to Glen's theft.

As we waited for the bus back to the parking lot, Glen wandered over to read a plaque (anyone who has ever toured with him will know this is typical). Norma and I joined him and she spotted a 13 lined ground squirrel. It is the first time I'd seen one alive (I'd studied skins at university).

Glen and I had wanted to see Fort Walsh and the Cypress Hills having read the book, The Englishman's Boy, by Guy Vanderhaeghe. Also, our road trip last year followed the Old Forts Trail and we had visited Little Big Horn (see July 2010 archives below) so it was good to bring the history of the area into prospective. For Glen's sister, Norma, the area had been on her 'bucket list'. When asked why, she said tales by Farley Mowat, especially, Owls in the Family, had evoked her interest. So, two Canadian authors had inspired us to visit the Cypress Hills, "Where Pines Touch Prairie Skies".

That evening, after enjoying some drinks in Norma and Randy's room, we had supper at Bugler's. The name arises from the sound male elk make during the fall mating season (rut) to establish their dominance over other males and to attract females. Listen.

Since it was still raining the next morning, Father's Day, we decided to head home. We had a big breakfast so didn't stop for lunch and got back to Calgary at 2:30. Just in time to mow the lawn, unpack, and prepare for the week ahead.

Stompin' Around Alberta (and Saskatchewan)

Thirty years ago, Travel Alberta ran a campaign encouraging Albertans to see their wonderful province. They sent everyone a passport and if you visited certain sites, you could have it stamped. It was call Stomp Around Alberta. I invited my in-laws to join us for my version of this tour and we saw a rodeo in Stettler, the Badlands around Drumheller and Lethbridge's Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens. So, when my sister-in-law suggested we tour the Cypress Hills together, it brought back memories of how much fun we had travelling with them. Bonus, they organized it so all we had to do was show up.

Geographically, the Cypress Hills are unique as the area never experienced the crushing ice of the last glaciation. It is a high plateau rising above the prairies and boasts the same elevation as Banff, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. It got its name from a mistake made by Canadian Metis who thought the lodgepole pines were jack pines which in French translates as cypres. There are no cypress trees in the area.

We were to meet Norma and Randy Friday evening at the only hotel in the park, the Elkwater Lake Lodge. It is a three hour drive from Calgary, through Medicine Hat, to Elkwater so we decided to book a tee time for one o'clock at the Cypress Hills Golf Course. It is a nine hole course set in the pines of Cypress Hills. Little did we realize the park is unique in more ways than one.

First, it is the first interprovincial park in Canada (created in 1989) and straddles the border between Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Second, it has three components--the Alberta park called Cypress Hills, Alberta and two Saskatchewan parts. Of these, the one that borders the Alberta park is called Cypress Hills Saskatchewan West Block. The other, south of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, is Cypress Hills Saskatchewan Centre Block. To add to the confusion, the Fort Walsh National Historic Site is Federal and is in the West Block park.

After Glen had booked our tee time, I hunted down the driving directions. That's when we learned the golf course was not close to the Elkwater townsite. It actually is situated in the Centre Block south of Maple Creek. We quickly added another hour onto our travel time, rose early, and headed out.

Just as we crossed the border, I remembered Saskatchewan never changes its time over the course of the year. Were we an hour early or late? As we passed through the bustling town of Maple Creek, I noticed that an outside clock read the same as my watch. Turns out Saskatchewan is on Central Standard Time but because it's in the Mountain time zone, it is essentially on Daylight Savings time year round.

As we drove south on highway 21 toward Cypress Hills park, the road followed the contours of the rolling prairie. I hunted in vain for pronghorns as it was a landscape reminiscent of Wyoming. Little did I know that Canadian antelope migrate south during the winter and their route back north this year was blocked by flooding due to a record snow pack in the mountains.

The road seemed to stretch forever but then a dark shadow fell across the horizon. The Cypress Hills loomed above us like an eerie shadow. The park gate was not far off the highway and after paying $7.50 for a day pass, we went through the main park area with its swimming pool, lodge, and small grocery store up into the hills where the golf course sat.

During our trip east, it had rained off and on and when we arrived the weather was iffy. We paid our fee ($28 for both of us plus two pull carts--a real bargain) then returned to the car to eat our lunch since we had 30 minutes before our tee time. It began to pour so our spirits sank. It is no fun playing golf in the rain.

But, as we finished eating, the clouds grew lighter and off we went. The course had broad fairways lined with pine trees which lulled us into a false sense of security. There were no water hazards and all the bunkers were grass. Fields of yellow dandelions divided some of the fairways adding colour to the dull day. It was the greens that provided the challenge of this course. Due to all the rain, they had become bumpy. This meant our balls never quite did what we expected of them.

The rain also kept other golfers off the course so we had the place to ourselves. This meant I didn't have to worry about someone creeping up behind us. During our game, we had some good drives and I got a feel for using my 3 wood on the fairway. Glen began using his hybrid clubs and of course, sent several balls sailing down the fairway with his driver.

Unlike the mountain park course we'd played on, we didn't have to watch out for elk or bears but there was a warning that cougars wandered this park. Fortunately, we didn't have to deal with this wild cat.

After our game, we had coffee in the tiny clubhouse and watched the U.S. Open. A couple of young boys came in 20 minutes later. The campground was close by and I'm sure their parents had sent them out to golf. The rain began again as we packed up the car.

We headed back to Alberta and arrived at the Elkwater Lake Lodge in time for dinner. The restaurant did not have an extensive menu but we enjoyed an appetizer of beef, bison, and pork meatballs with homemade garlic toast then Glen had their beef burger and I had their chicken one. The bread was what I would write home about. It was absolutely delicious, ranking up there with the best I've ever eaten.

About eight forty-five, Norma knocked on our door and invited us down to their room which had a couch, easy chairs, and a fireplace. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and wonderful conversation before going to bed.

If You Go to China

Here are some tips to know before you go.

• Visas--you must have a valid passport (expiry date no later than 6 months prior to departure) and a visa. To obtain the latter, contact the nearest People's Republic of China consulate or their embassy (for Canada, click here). You will need two passport-like photos, information on where you are staying and if applicable, your host, $50.00 CAD, and if travelling on business, your letter of invitation.
• Vaccinations--none are required unless you are travelling to China via a country that has Yellow Fever. Consult your physician on whether or not you need an inoculation (rural areas might have typhoid or Japanese encephalitis). Hepatitis is a problem in China so you may wish to have the Hepatitis A or B vaccines (these require several inoculations so plan ahead). Glen and I had our Hep A&B shots when we visited Ecuador so didn't get any other inoculations to go to China.
• Money--take cash or traveller's cheques as few places accept credit cards. ATMs require 6 digit PINs which means adding zeros before your number but this may not work on all machines. Canadian banks only issue Yuans in denominations of 100 RMB which was worth $14.50 CAD when we visited.
• Baggage Tags--keep them handy as they will be checked as you exit the airport.
• Electricity--China's system is 220V so it is wise to carry a plug adapter. Our hotel and the university had no problem with North American plugs but it's always better to be safe than sorry. If you can't charge your camera batteries (remember to do so every night), then part of your holiday memories are lost.
• Tissues--carry several small packets of tissues to use as toilet paper or napkins. Often restaurants will provide sani-wipes but it doesn't hurt to carry a few in your purse or pocket.
• Water--do not drink tap water in China as it is unsafe. Most hotels offer bottled water or a kettle which you can use to boil it. I drank water from a fountain in the Beijing airport and didn't get ill but Glen figured it was probably treated. Bottled water is cheap but make sure the bottle is sealed and of clear plastic as street sellers often refill old bottles. Beer (always served at room temperature) and soft drinks are also inexpensive but even if the label says it is Pepsi, it's called Coke.
• Practice with chopsticks while in the privacy of your own home and if possible, use the plastic variety as they are challenging (and the better Chinese restaurants use them). Don't gesture with your chopsticks and never leave them stuck in a rice bowl. Basically, use them as you would a knife and fork. Glen saw a man eat a fried egg with chopsticks so it is possible but he wouldn't do so.
• If you have trouble breathing, consider wearing a face mask. You won't be the only one doing so. The air quality in China is bad and with all the construction, dust mixes with whatever else is in the air. Please, don't forget any medication that might make breathing easier.

If you have anything you'd like to add to this list, please comment below and I'll modify this post.