Sept. 10 - Kananaskis with JDG

On the 9th, we migrated to Banff!  Moved our home to Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court, the national park campground with hook-ups.

On the 10th, I took the doggies out to pee to the sound of elk bugling!

 And then we met up with Jason, Diana (pronounced Dee-ana, by the way), and Gabo just east of Banff.  We all bundled into their beautiful big new truck for a perfect weather day, a day of guided sightseeing through a scenic set of provincial parks called Kananaskis Country.  And we could have no better tour guide, no more expert interpretor, than Jason, as he grew up in the area, and Kananaskis was their most frequent vacation destination.  D & Gabo pose in front of a very pretty lake.

 Nuestra familia nueva!

Then the three of them took turns trying to convince these gray jays to take food from their mouths!  This looks like a missed approach!

 And you can tell by his facial expression that Gabo wasn't too sure this was a safe thing to do!

 This jay had obviously already scored, but he was still considering that other raisin in D's mouth!

 Jason, who started the whole jay-feeding extravaganza, had them stealing raisins from his hand, arm, mouth, and top of his head!

 This was a great practice session for using my continuous shooting mode and fast shutter speeds!

 These birds were very cooperative - as were the raisin holders!

 Now here's a good mom-son team, don't you think?! 

And the Three Musketeers?  Or dare I say it, the Three Stooges?!  Nah!  Just kidding!  They're a cute bunch though, aren't they?

Sept. 6-8 - Stampeding to Calgary!

 Cardston to Cochrane (NW of heart of Calgary).

 From here, we were surprised to encounter more forest - both fir and aspen (more and more of the dark areas you see just a little of here)..

 Eating at Schooner's in downtown Cochrane.  Cheers!

 Why is it that every photo of Scratty shows a dog smelling her rear end?!  Our Scrattygirl must have one super good-smelling butt!  (well, we all know that dogs and cats go for that area first - that's where all the important info. is, and it's also the less dangerous end - well, I guess that depends...!?!)

 We met up with some new friends at Heritage Park, in Calgary.  While there, we checked out a brewery display - loved their descriptions!

 You gotta look at the details...

like the warthog...!  And if you'd like to see more, look here:  http://www.bigrockbeer.com/craft/how-we-make-beer

And here's half of what we came to the Heritage Park for!  Joanne!  Isn't she cute?!  She looks good in my old Ford hat, doesn't she?

And the other half - Rick.  Bill and Rick go explore the auto display museum while Joanne and I check out the over-priced (but cute) knick-knacks in the other shops.

Introducing Rick and Joanne, a fun couple we actually met at the Lee Creek Campground in Cardston.  But they live in Calgary, so while we were there, we got to meet up with them again!

OK, why exactly do I have a photo of grocery store shopping carts here?!!!  Bet you can't guess!  But c'mon try...

OK, OK, look real close at the red things and chains.  These are attaching the carts to each other.  You can't pull them apart unless you put in a quarter (Canadian, of course!).  You then leave the quarter in the little gizmo while you shop.  When you're done, you have to attach your cart to another and use the interlocking mechanism on the other cart to pop out your quarter again (upon locking the two together)!  Kind of ingenious and probably a really good way to keep carts from "disappearing" like they do so often in the states!  But...I also have to say...they sure make us uninitiated types look stupid!!!!  You should've seen me, trying to figure it out on my own!  Hah!  Total ridicularity!!!  (no, it's not a word, but if you guys tweet it enough, it might become one!)  Yes, I had to finally break down and ask someone.  And then...to add insult to injury - I had to ask someone how get my quarter back at the end too!!! 

At the back of the RV park, there was a nice paved path running alongside the river (below).  It was so great to go out in the mornings and have the doggies get to meet all the other doggies!  There were lots of folks out there in the AMs - not just people from the RV park!  People walking, jogging, biking.  Friendly people, people in groups, people obliviously yakking away on their cell phones...  And all kinds of dogs - big ones, teensy ones, super hairy ones, young ones, ones carrying huge branches,...

Definitely a fun place!  I let Senny go off-leash (like the other dogs there), but I left Ouray on-leash.  Both because I didn't want him accidentally falling down the steep hill to the river (very possible) and because once Ouray's off-leash, you'd better be ready to run - after him, that is!  He never paid a whole lot of attention to our cries to "come back!" but now that he's basically deaf, you can fuggedaboutit entirely!!

Our main reason for hitting Calgary?  Meeting up again with our new pals, JDG!  (aka, Jason, Diana, & Gabo!)  Remember?  These are the folks we met at Hebgen Lake, in West Yellowstone.  Really great people! 

In their super cute, cheery, and festive home.

And while Gabo looks terrified, we know he is a super lucky kid to have been born to this couple!!!  And v.v., they have been blessed with a great kid!!

Calgary was a worthwhile stop!

Sept. 5 - What? Waterton again? Yup!

 That afternoon, I decided I needed to make one more run to Waterton, before we were to leave for Cochrane (Calgary) the next day.

 And one of the things I did back in Waterton is the  Bear's Hump hike again.  I figured it would be a different look, virtually without clouds, on a sunny day.  And it was one of my favorite views, so...!  Here's a photo of my trail buddy!

 Look familiar?  The same but different?

 Looking out at Upper Waterton Lake - and our old campground, but without us in it.

Then I did the Akamina Parkway drive again and found another friend - a spruce grouse (at least I think that's what she is!  ...and I think it's a she...!?!).

 Still no bears.  But on the drive back to Cardston, I had to stop for these sweet momma/baby combos!

Just love some of the country roads.

Sept. 5 - Remington Carriage Museum

Cardston is famous for this carriage museum, so we had to go!  And we were not disappointed!

Mr. Remington himself.

 I tried to talk Billy into a carriage ride, but no go (probably too hard for his back).  Looked like fun though!

 Here's an example of a buggy restoration.

 The old, unrestored side...

 The new, refurbished side.  But I didn't need to specify this, did I?  Pretty darn obvious!  And amazing!!

 Hearse horses - they even dressed them accordingly.

 And the hearse carriage.

 They had a cute set-up to show folks what all was involved with learning to guide carriage horses.  You actually got up into a buggy and took the reins!  And then just followed the video directions.

 A cute snow buggy/sleigh.

 Bull whackers.  I wasn't sure I'd read that right at first, but yes that's what they were called.  Pretty descriptive!  Not much fun-sounding for the bulls!  And not just a job for the men, as Arizona Mary demonstrates here!  They had a lot of interesting historical facts and stories.

 Another cute rig!

 Movin' on up!

 A fully enclosed sleigh for the nasty weather days (I'll bet the horse wished he could climb in there too!!).  I think they used these largely for hauling kids to school.

 Horses waiting for the next carriage ride.

 Poor guys.  All dressed up and nowhere to go!  You could tell how bored they were, just standing and standing, waiting and waiting!!!  I did feel sorry for them - we'd all have gone bonkers waiting as long as they obviously had to!

And y'all know 'bout The Biscuit, right??  Well, the guy who rode him into history was from Cardston!  Woolf lived to ride and died riding.  He rode the ultimate wave of success and fame with Seabiscuit in the 1938 Pimlico, beating out anticipated-victor War Admiral (if you haven't seen the movie, rent it - but better yet, if you haven't read the book, read it!!!!  "Seabiscuit" by Laura Hillenbrand is an incredible story and a terrific read!).  But Woolf only worked this world for 35 short years.  He fell from his horse during a Santa Anita race and died the next day.  It is believed that he may have passed out - and off his horse - due to a diabetic episode.

 Ride on.