Highwood Pass, Kananaskis Country, Alberta

July 25, 2011

Kananaskis is located west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the front range of the Rockies.
It takes about an hour from the south end of Calgary to get there.  Our trip today took us five hours, including many stops and a picnic lunch.
We left our home in Bragg Creek and travelled to Turner Valley, Black Diamond and on to Longview.  On the north side of Longview you head south-west on Highway 541 toward the foothills and then loop back to the north thru the Rockies on Highway 40. 

The Highway 40 going thru the Highwood Pass is only open from about the end of June to December.  Winters find the pass closed as it is goes thru a classic arctic tundra.  The Highwood Pass is the highest navigable pass in Canada.  Highway 40 climbs to an elevation of 7,200ft at the top.  The summit is about at the tree line, and the alpine areas are accessible here with interpretive trails thru the Highwood Meadows.

We turned off on the Smith-Dorren Spray Trail to go to the Kananaskis Lakes to check out the campsites for future visits.  The Lower Kananaskis Lake is a natural lake that was turned into a reservoir.  It is in the Peter Loughheed Provincial Park, along with the Upper Kananaskis Lake. 
These lakes are part of a series of natural and man made reservoirs in the Kananaskis and Bow Valleys used for hydro electric power, flood control and water reserves for the City of Calgary.

Upper Kananaskis Lake

These lakes are also used for many recreational activities.  Several campgrounds are found here.  It seems that there are only a few sites that actually are close to or back onto the lakes edge.  There are several paved bike trails connecting the campgrounds. 

Upper Kananaskis Lake

Canoeing and kayaking are great on these lakes as it is smooth and shallow at some of the shores.  The water is a peaceful emerald green with beautiful shades of blues and there are majestic mountains as a backdrop.  It is a beautiful setting.  If you are going to go boating down the Kananaskis River watch out for rapids, such as the "Widow Maker".  You can only guess the reason why it is named this. 

There is also a golf course nearby, along with fishing and hiking.  In the winter there is skiing and cross country skiing.
If you are going to hike here remember this is Bear Country so travel in groups, make noise, and carry bear spray.  Often trails where bears have been sighted will be closed or will have warnings posted.

Also, think twice about drinking from the icy cold clear mountain streams that can look so tempting.  You can get giardiasis, parasites and bacteria by drinking this untreated water and the results are not good.

It is Monday today and the highway is not busy, so we see alot of wildlife along the way today.  There were many mangy looking mountain sheep right on the road licking up salt and minerals from the asphalt. 

Along with a long-legged young moose who was drinking from a small stream that was trickling down the ditch.

There were many white tail deer and even a smaller black bear that ran out of the bush and turned around to run right back in it.  The ground squirrels were very active today, too.  The wild flowers are in full bloom right now and the hillsides are covered in purples and the ditches have alot of red flowers in them.

It was a nice day trip!

Bragg Creek Pow-Wow

July 24, 2011
Represented were the Treaty 7 First Nations of Siksika, T'suu Tina, Nakoda (Stoney) and many others.

Aboriginal Family Day, Calgary

June 25, 2011
Today we went into downtown Calgary to the Aboriginal Family Day held at the Shaw Millennium Park.  This seems great for getting  younger people involved in their culture, traditions and art.  These connections are vital in sustaining the traditions and ancestral history of the Aboriginal and Metis people.

A modern pow-wow is an event where First Nations People and non-first nations people gather to dance, sing, socialize and honor their culture.
It is a time for all Canadians to celebrate the culture of First Nations and Metis people.

Blackfoot Crossing, Cluny, Alberta

July 1, 2011
Today we visited the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park located in the Siksika Nation at Cluny, Alberta.  It is 100km east of Calgary on Hwy 1 and then 7km south on Highway 842.

This area of the Bow River was traditionally a gathering place for the Siksika and Blackfoot people where they hunted for bison.  The crossing is an important place in Canadian history as the Treaty 7 was signed here between the native nations of what is now southern Alberta and the Canadian government on behalf of the Crown in 1877.
Crowfoot, chief of the Siksika, is to have died and been buried here along with Poundmaker, a chief of the Cree who had been cermonially adopted by Crowfoot in order to create peace between the Blackfoot and the Cree.
In 1925, the federal government declared the traditional gathering site and the treaty signing site as one of the  "National Historic Sites of Canada".

In 2007, a stunning new facility was built which is a historical site and a tourist attraction.  It includes an interpretive centre, monuments, tipis and hiking trails. 

The new centre is built along the top ridge of the Bow River valley yielding a great view of the whole valley.  Being up on this naturally elevated look out point gives you an idea about what it would have been like years ago looking out over the whole valley and it has a spiritual feeling.
 The building's unique design includes elements of the plains tipi and feathers.  There are excellent exhibits and at certain times there are films and other cultural events such as ceremonial dancing.  There is a gift shop that has several beautiful native art pieces and paintings.

 You can also take a walk to an archiological dig where it is believed Mandan Indians established an encampment hundreds of years ago.

History and culture of the Blackfoot combined to make an interesting outing.   During our visit today there was only a handful of other visitors to the site.  I would highly recommend this museum to learn about the Blackfoot history, their traditions and culture, their clothing and even their language.

There are no photos allowed inside.