A Few Days in Canada: Alberta and Saskatchewan

September 12, 2017

While planning our route to Havre Montana we realized that we were going to be less that 40 miles from the border crossing at Wild Horse.

When would we be this close to an opportunity to visit these Canada provinces again?

Not knowing the answer to that question we pointed the wheels North and headed for Alberta.

Medicine Hat, Alberta is the closest city to the border crossing so we opted to stay there. We found a great coffee roaster on our first afternoon in town. Mad Hatter Coffee Roastery has a great downtown location and is staffed by friendly knowledgeable people. We sipped our double shot Americano’s and spent an hour talking to local folks about places to go and things to see in their city.

The one thing that they all agreed was a don’t miss is Medalta Potteries.

Medalta’s once flourishing Clay works are preserved as they were in 1912.  The factory’s production line was state of the art for the early 20th century.

It is amazing to walk around the once bustling factory and breath in the air that still smells of clay. We were able to watch actual film of craftsmen and laborers performing the backbreaking work that it took to keep the production line going. Imagine lifting and carrying 100 lbs of wet clay many times over the course of a day, or pulling carts of green ware by hand, or painting plate after plate with the same details, or attaching handle after handle to teapots and teacups.

The room sized round kilns are now exhibit rooms. It felt odd to walk around in rooms where temperatures were once high enough to fire pottery.

Medalta made everything stoneware and pottery. We were familiar with their huge stoneware crocks that are used for food storage. The museum has examples of them in sizes from 1-40. Oddly the measurements are in american gallons because the original equipment was purchased second hand from a company in Ohio.

Medalta made dishes, for hotels and railroads and schools and hospitals.

They made giftware for business promotions and promotional dishware for tourist attractions.

We saw examples of beautifully colored mixing bowls and bakeware.

Even the bricks that line the iconic beehive kilns have Medalta’s name on them.

We found Nipper, in Alberta!

Our favorite find of the day were sets of salt and pepper shakers designed to look like Nipper the RCA dog. Nipper still lives in Albany NY at the top of what is now the Arnoff Moving and Storage Building on Tivoli Street. The 28 foot tall terrier is a Capitol District landmark and we did not expect to find him in Alberta.

The facility is still a working pottery and is a community hub in the Historic Clay District. There is a weekly Market showcasing food and other goods made by local vendors.

An ongoing hands on education program provides learning opportunities for children and adults.

Fun Fact: Medalta got it’s name from the town of MEDicine Hat and the postal code ALTA, short for Alberta.

Fort Walsh, Cyprus Hills, Saskatchewan

Fred and I have been following the story of Sitting Bull since we left South Dakota.  

Fort Walsh in Saskatchewan is the North West Mounted Police Outpost that was charged with keeping order in the Northwest Territories. We thought it was going to be a quick drive through Cyprus Hills Interprovincial Park to the fort but the Western gate of the park was closed not allowing through traffic due to the danger of wild fires. We made the trip anyway. The long way around was a lovely drive through Canada’s Northern Plains and Badlands and then up into the elevations of Cyprus Hills.

Uniform of the North West Mounted Police

Sitting Bull, unwilling to surrender to US forces, led about one thousand of his people to the Cyprus Hills near Fort Walsh the Summer after the Battle of Little Bighorn.

We wanted to hear stories of the time that they spent in Canada.

In Fort Walsh Sitting Bull and his followers had to obey the laws of Queen Victoria's England.

Sitting Bull was met by a delegation from the fort lead by by Commander James Morrow Walsh. Walsh explained to Sitting Bull that if he wanted asylum in British Territory that he must abide by British law. That law included the understanding that Sitting Bull and his warriors would not use their position in Canada to make raids in the United States.

Sitting Bull agreed to the terms and spent the next 4 years living in the Cyprus Hills. He grew to be friends with Commander Walsh who became an advocate for the Hunkpapa Leader and his family.

Life in the Cyprus Hills was difficult. Buffalo were not as plentiful this far north and he became dependent on the Canadian government for rations. His younger warriors grew tired of life in exile. Canadian government officials encouraged him to surrender as relations between the countries became strained.

Hungry, weary and wanting to find peace Sitting Bull with 180 members of his group surrendered at Fort Buford in the Summer of 1881.

Fred Here:

I have liked the name Medicine Hat having read about the area in a few western books. Plus a person I met at RPI hockey games back in the early ‘80’s was from Medicine Hat. So on Tuesday Morning we traveled about 287 miles from Glasgow, Montana crossing the border at Wild Horse up into Canada to a little campsite called Ross Creek RV Park, Medicine Hat Alberta.

One of the stops we made was to the Canalta Center Hockey Arena, home of the Medicine Hat Tigers hockey team of the WHL.

We walked around the arena, got a look at the ice, took a few photos and got a new shirt (Medicine Hat Tigers) and a few gifts for the boys.

I got to talk with a very nice lady who was in charge of season ticket sales. She was so nice and just loved talking about the Tigers players and the team in general.

This was just a great day. Would like to go back and see a hockey game.

Fred and the Medicine Hat Hockey lady talked for a very long time and actually exchanged email addresses. She offered to provide him information on any former Tigers that he was interested in learning about and encouraged him to come back and visit again.

We enjoyed a great three days in Canada, adding two new provinces to our map. The border crossings were smooth and pleasant and none of our produce was confiscated this time.

The little side journey reminded us how much we are enjoying this flexible lifestyle that allows us to indulge in spontaneous changes in plans.

Mad Hatter Coffee Roastery

513 #rd St SE

Medicine Hat, Alberta

Canada

Medalta and the Historic Clay District

713 Medalta Ave SE

Medicine Hat, Alberta

Canada

Conalta Centre

2802 Box Springs Way NW

Medicine Hat, Alberta

Canada

Fort Walsh

Cyprus Hills Interprovincial Park

Maple Creek, Saskatchewan

Canada

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

Dingy in Peggy's Cove.

We have arrived in Nova Scotia and chose to stay in the South Shore region to enjoy the Atlantic Coast.  The landscape is dramatic and much different than the Fundy Coast of New Brunswick. Here we find a rocky granite coast line with exposed boulders and tide pools next to wild flowers and lush grasses. 

Saturday morning we drove around the coast to the Hubbard's Barn Farmers' Market. It was more of an event than we anticipated. We were able to stock up on fresh produce and found coffee from a local micro-roaster all while listening to live Acadian Music.

Peggy's Cove home.

The coastal road is very  twisty here, the coast line full of small  bays and inlets. There of dozens of tiny islands off shore. This irregular coastline is home to many lighthouses including one of the most famous at Peggy's Cove.

 

Peggy's Cove is a tiny fishing village. It's picturesque buildings and rocky prominences have played  scenes in a number of movies, including some of Fred's Favorites in the Jesse Stone series starring Tom Sellek.  (more about those in a later post)

We found it to be as beautiful as promised (sometimes with great intention) and very crowded.  There are a number of small shops selling local crafts alongside those offering tee shirts and bumper stickers. Amos Pewter has a comparatively large store that offered handcrafted pewter giftware as well as casting demonstrations. My favorite store was Hags on a Hill, a co-op style market for artisans of St Margaret's Bay. There is a great Espresso booth in one of those shops with Adirondack chairs on the back deck. We took the opportunity to sit for a while in that quiet place and enjoy the atmosphere of the cove.

Peggy's Point Lighthouse.

Peggy's Point Lighthouse is impressive. It stands alone on a huge expanse of grey and pink granite. It was built in 1915 and remains an active aid to navigation. The 50 foot tower  is topped with a fixed red light that marks the entrance to St Margarets Bay. We were able to walk around it and enjoy the sounds of the Atlantic crashing against the rocks. A Canadian Coast Guard cutter passed by.

Canadian Coast Guard Cutter on St. Margaret's Bay.

William deGarthe Memorial.

 We also enjoyed the memorial created by local artist and sculptor William deGarthe. The bas relief sculpture is chiseled and carved onto a 30 foot granite rock face next to his home as a monument to the lives of local fishermen. He began the 10 year project in the 1970's at the age of 63. The sculpture includes the images of 32 fishermen, their wives and children, Saint Elmo, and "The Peggy" a young woman rescued from a shipwreck as its sole survivor and married into a local family. Legend states that Peggy's Cove was named after her .  Others, with less imagination, attribute the name to the fact that Peggy's Cove is at the entrance to St. Margaret's Bay. 

Fred enjoying the Peggy's Point Lighthouse grounds.

Canadian Railway Museum: New Brunswick

The Canadian Railway Caboose

 

 Hillsborough New Brunswick is home to The New Brunswick Railway Museum that preserves the history of the Canadian Railroad.  We have always commented on train whistles whenever we hear them. There is something about that sound hanging in the breeze that catches the imagination. It makes us think about journeys and wonder where that train is rolling off to and what it is carrying. So when found the museum by accident, seeing all those train cars in the yard pulled us right off the road.

The visitors center, which is a replica of a rural railway station,  was staffed by two gentlemen that were members of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association. They had a lot of knowledge about the Canadian rail system and  great enthusiasm for everything train.

The museum had a large collection of cars and engines. We were able to walk and sit inside many of them.  It was interesting to see that one of the cars had ties to Schenectady, New York.

There are also two buildings filled with train related artifacts that told a pictorial story of the railroad. We were fascinated by the large rail yard consoles that were full of switches to change the directions of the tracks.  Here we also saw a Velocipede meant for solitary rail travel over shorter distances of track.

There are  two snow plows on display. These plows operated independently leaving the engine free of impediments. One is double sided so that it didn't have to be rerouted to change direction in inclement weather. The other is a Jordan Spreader which was advertized as a Spreader,  Flanger, Scraper, Bank Builder,  and Snow Plow. Quite the versatile piece of equipment!  I am sure that both were necessary to keep the rails open in the Canadian Winter.

This double bladed snow plow can be used in either direction.

Fred particularly enjoyed the railroad firefighting equipment.  Each tank was able to hold 10-12,000 gallons of water and one had a self contained fire pump.  The flat bed car in between was used to hold hoses and other related fire fighting tools.

Vintage Railroad Firefighting equipment.

There are rails set up in the yard and we were able to take a short ride on a work wagon that would have been used to transport rail layers after a day of carrying timber and swinging heavy hammers at metal spikes.

Fred tried out the drivers seat of this retired Canadian Railroad Engine.

Fred and I kept thinking of his Grandfather Bonneau as we walked through the exhibit.  Pipere had worked for the railroad in Canada before moving to the United States.  We don't know what it was he did for the railroad but being in the museum sure made us curious.

We couldn't pass up visiting the Creaky Cranky and thinking how much our boys would love it.

Cape Enrage, New Brunswick

Cape Enrage Lighthouse

 Cape Enrage is home to one of the oldest lighthouses on the Fundy Coast of New Brunswick.   The original light was commissioned and built in 1840.

Cape Enrage is considered a very hazardous area for marine traffic.  The Cape got its name because of a rock reef that causes very turbulent waters during Fundy's dramatic tidal changes. The reef extends out into the Bay almost halfway to Nova scotia.

Walk down a series of metal staircases to reach to fossil rock strewn beach.

The light was built as an aid to navigation for a well traveled shipping route.  Ships heading toward Moncton, the Peticodiac River and Shepody Bay settlements  all passed the dangerous coastline of Cape Enrage.  Shipbuilding and stone quarrying were important industries in the upper Bay at that time.

Cape Enrage light house and fog horn.

Cape Enrage boasts two beaches, one of sand and one covered with rocks containing fossils that have fallen from the eroding cliffs. The beaches are only navigable at low tide.



Fossil Rocks

 

Cape Enrage has recently added 2 attractions, Zip-line and Rappelling adventures.

The Zip-line is a 600 foot ride across the rocky coast.

The rappelling is down a 142 foot cliff that hangs over the Bay.

We did not do either but people looked like they were having fun.

Shipyard Park

On our way back to the campground we passed Harvey Bank Shipyard Park. The park was built to honor a local heritage of shipbuilding. It was an interesting site and was also home to the Anderson Hollow Lighthouse which was originally located on a breakwater in Waterside, New Brunswick.

Anchor in Shipyard Park

Anderson Hollow Lighthouse

Covered Bridges of New Brunswick

View of point Wolfe bridge from a scenic overlook in Fundy National Park.

New Brunswick is home to 60 covered bridges most of which are maintained by the provinces Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.  We have enjoyed walking and driving a few of them and learning how to give a polite toot of the horn when part way through to warn other cars that someone is using the one way path.

Albert County, where we stayed, has 9 bridges. 

Crooked Creek #3

Crooked Creek #3 on Crooked Creek Road spans the Crooked Creek. That sounds like a nursery rhyme doesn't it?

It was built in 1945 and is 93 feet long.  The bridge is only 10 1/2 feet tall which seemed very short to us in the truck.   I guess we are used to looking at clearances more carefully since we started driving a 12 1/2 foot rig.   You will be happy to know that it didn't slow down the Fed-Ex truck at all.

Sawmill Creek #0.5

 Sawmill Creek #0.5 is no longer in service as a driving road but is part of a walking trail that winds along route 114 through farmland with coastal views.  it was built in 1908 and is 104 feet long.

Point Wolfe

Point Wolfe is located on a turn in Fundy National Park. It is at the sight of an old saw mill. The red bridge is 94 feet long. The current bridge was rebuilt in 1992 using the design of the original.

Point Wolfe crosses a deep ravine

Fred in the window at Sawmill Creek

We have been delighted to cross these wooden wonders, to see the exposed beams in their roofs, to look out their windows and to drive across their wooden floors.  I am so happy that New Brunswick values them and is preserving these pieces of history.

I love the sound of driving on the wood floors of the bridges.

The Sandpipers are Here

Semipalmated Sandpipers to be exact.   They are yearly August visitors to the Fundy coast as they continue their  migration from the Arctic to the South America.

The Sandpipers stop in Fundy to feed on small shrimp that are abundant in the mud of the Bay at low tide, and stay until they have consumed enough to double their weight and energy stores for the long flight south.  They will not stop again until they reach their Winter home in Brazil.

Millions of birds will stop in region of the Hopewell Rocks. We saw the leading edge of the migration, a small band of Sandpipers resting on the mud in the salt marsh at our camp ground.

Their soft murmuring to one another was musical.

When they took flight, their acrobatic swoops seemed choreographed.

I can only imagine the delight of seeing thousands at a time.

 

Wildflowers of Canada



We are enjoying seeing more flowers and wildflowers in Canada.  Orange Day Lilies, Daisys and Queen Anne's Lace fight for space with wild roses and Fireweed in roadside ditches. The Lupines are almost done but their furry purple seed pods are everywhere.   Wild Sweet Pea with its purple grapelike flowers vines around everything .  St Johnswort  pops it sunny yellow flowers up in the mosy unexpected rocky places.   Thistle  is in full purple bloom. It is so appropriate for Nova Scotia and even appears on the provinces Coat of Arms.  I have never seen Yarrow in anything but white, pink or yellow. Here it is pale purple.   There are many that I don't recognize.

The flowers seem to thrive in the coastal air. I wonder if it is because of the fog that rolls in every evening and burns off mid morning.  Do they  enjoy that moisture after a day in the sun and wind?

 

Here are some of the flowers  we have been seeing on our daily walks.

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