Alaska redux #2
Our
stay in Challis was much too short! Early Monday June 25th, we left
headed for Anaconda, MT with Steve taking the lead of our little caravan. For several miles we followed the Salmon
River winding through beautiful canyons with the river on one side and rocky
cliffs on the other. 
Not long after, the road followed Beaverhead River and the
Big Hole River. We waved at fishermen on the rivers.
As we approached Anaconda Steve found a “short
cut” to the RV Park through Wisdom, MT. It took us through a beautiful
stretch of forest, but Steve’s GPS must have thought he was driving his Jeep,
or that his motor home was a “four
wheeler”! LOL…
The weather cooperated for the drive, but let loose with a
powerful rainstorm overnight. Fortunately, the sun was out in the morning
providing a beautiful day for Steve and Rob to play golf at the Jack Nicklaus
course, “Old Works”. The course is built over the remains of the old copper smelter
in Anaconda. Meanwhile, Jeannie and I were free to rest, clean, walk the dogs,
etc.
Anaconda is close to Butte, Montana. Butte is known for its extensive copper mines, one of which is the Berkeley Pit. The pit is a former open pit mine, a mile long and half a mile wide. It’s approximately 1700 feet deep. The mine was closed in 1982. When it closed, water pumps from nearby mines were turned off causing water to begin seeping into the pit. Water continues to rise in the pit, however, measures have been put into place to keep the water level currently below the water table. The water is toxic, containing high concentrations of heavy metals. Should it reach the water table the contamination would affect Silver Bow Creek, headwater for the Clark Fork River. Elevators providing access to the mines dot the landscape in Butte.
Copper ore mined in Butte was transported to a smelter in
Anaconda. Both the mine and the site of the smelter are now Superfund Cleanup
sites. The picture below, with Steve and Jeannie, is one of the buckets which took to the smelter.
Shelby, MT was our last
stop before crossing the border into Alberta. The drive to Shelby was beautiful
crossing the Missouri River along the way. Who knew the Missouri was actually
in Montana?
The RV Park was
basically a parking lot with hookups and part of a motel/Casino complex. Nugget
met a distant relative on a short trip around the RV park. This old gal didn’t
seem too anxious to play with the pup!
At the top of the hill is a beautiful memorial to our
fighting men and women in uniform.
And then into Canada
Our first stop in Canada was Granum, Alberta. Passing
through Customs was no problem. Just a few questions, then entering our info
into the computer and we were on our way.
Alberta’s agricultural
claim to fame seems to be production of Canola Oil based on the number of
fields of Canola we passed on the way to our campsite.
After getting the RVs parked and hooked up we ventured a
few miles away to the Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump historical museum. The
museum is built into the side of a cliff blending into the landscape making it
almost invisible.
The exhibits chronicle the life of Blackfoot when they inhabited this area.
Blackfoot warriors drove buffalo off a 36 foot high cliff. Buffalo that weren’t
killed by the fall were killed by the warriors. The animals were then processed
as food, clothing, tools, shelter, etc. by the Blackfoot. Every part of the
animal was used for the survival of the tribe. Archaeologists have estimated
the site was used for 6000 years based on bone deposits at the base of the
cliff. The name of the jump is derived from a legend that
describes a young warrior who wanted to watch the buffalo fall from below, but
was buried by the animals. He was later found, dead, with his head smashed in.
The Old Man River can be seen in the background behind Steve and Jeannie. This area of the plains of Alberta provided adequate resources for life.
Our stay in Granum was only one night. We had beautiful
sites in a County Park looking out at a small lake.
Early the next
morning in a driving rain storm, we headed to Stony Plain, Alberta, near
Edmonton site of the West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping mall in North
America. Jeannie and I “had” to go shopping while the boys stayed home and did
repairs or “whatever”. I wanted to look for a pair of hiking boots suitable to
wear on our Halibut fishing trip. The mall is completely indoors and has a
hockey rink, water park, a replica of the Santa Maria, over 800 stores and
services. Jeannie and I walked and walked and walked, about 5 miles (I checked
the health icon on my iPhone), but I didn’t find any boots. Later in the day
Steve needed batteries for his tire sensors. Rob volunteered to go get them
since he likes to see the countryside. Jeannie and I went with him. We called a
couple of places to see if they had them, but no, they didn’t. Best place would
be London Drugs we were told. Google maps took us right to London Drugs…in the
Edmonton Mall. The mall was packed when Jeannie and I went earlier so we
advised Rob to find the first parking place he could. Notice
the distance between the roof of the car and the ceiling. That’s the actual
distance. Jeannie stood up on the
running board to make sure we fit.
Rob and I have been looking for is “Butter
Chicken” sauce made by KFI in Canada. Costco offered it about 2 years ago for a
very short stint. It was easy to fix and absolute delicious. Of course, Costco
was sold out the next time we went and didn’t expect to have it in the future.
A call to the company confirmed that it is only sold in Canada. Aha! Now that
we are in Canada we can look for it in the local groceries. Rob and Steve made
some trips to local grocers for various reasons as did Gerri and Jeannie.
Finally, on the way back from the mall, we scored!!! We found one jar in the
normal area one would usually find such sauces. Rob asked a store manager if
they had anymore and he led us to an area totally unrelated to Asian sauces. It
looked like the display was entirely Tika Masala sauce. By checking each jar we
found 4 more. I bought one jar from a
competitor for a comparison. We had dinner the next night, but the rest of our
haul will be going home. Perhaps we can add to it in the next few stops.
The weather for the past few days has been off and on
stormy with occasional thunder storms. Sunday, July 1st, is Canada
Day, celebrating the nation’s birthday. There are events all over, but the wind
is keeping us inside. Perhaps if we can stay up late we’ll be able to see the
fireworks. The sun doesn’t set until 10:58 tonight. Fireworks is doubtful.
Jeannie and I, with dogs, decided to explore a public park
next to the RV Park. Through a forest path we came upon a small lake complete
with a family of ducks…most like the ubiquitous Mallard family.
The art work is made up of individual pictures on cards,
mosaic style. Very artistic.
Tomorrow we move to Grande Prairie, Alberta. More rain
predicted
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