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Published: September 25th 2006
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It seems that we have had a preoccupation with the weather lately… Well, it has really decided to set in and affect this part of our trip. We got in late last night and splurged by having McDonalds for dinner, i.e., we didn’t have to cook!! Worked on the blog and went straight to bed hoping that the weather would improve in the morning… I guess the operative word was “hoping!”
Statistics
Starting Destination: Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada
Ending Destination: Great Falls, Montana
Ending Destination GPS: N: 47° 29.305’ W: 111° 13.323’ Elev: 3548’
Miles Driven: 379
Percentage of scenic outlooks where we could actually see the view: 15%!
(MISSING)
The trip to the border
Before leaving Canada we spent some time shopping and loading up on essentials like Salt and Vinegar chips! We did get some “sensible” food also (aka vegetables)… We followed route 3 out of town and passed some interesting sights along the way—there was Sparwood where we saw the world’s largest dump truck on display and then Frank where we saw the Frank Slide—while we were driving we noticed this huge rock slide on the south side of the road and were wondering what it was when we came across a tourist information sign… Apparently, early one morning in 1903 there was this thunderous roar and the whole cliff face (well a piece 1km wide, 450m long and 150m deep) tumbled down the mountainside trapping most of the residents of the town while they were sleeping… This rock had to be moved to allow both the railroad line and the road to proceed along their original routes.
We also stopped along the continental divide for lunch (take 4) and wondered why with the wind blowing a gale outside that the wind generators were turned off!!
Waterton Lakes National Park
Our last stop in Canada was the Waterton Lakes National Park, just North of the boarder from Glacier National Park in the USA… By this time we had experienced rain, hail and gale force winds… We would have liked to spend more time within the park as it looks like there were some neat hikes, not to mention the lake trip that takes you into the USA without having to show your passport!! But the weather just wasn’t with us, so we ventured on into the USA. Just like entering Canada, customs was an interesting experience—they didn’t care whether we had any guns (the Canadians asked us two times) just whether we had any beef!! We spent the next 20 minutes after the customs station rehashing the experience and wondering why the inspector asked a particular question! Just an inkling, but I am guessing that we were totally wrong!! P.s. Carl has decided that he is jinxed for anything to do with “Glacier” and “National Park,” we had thought we might try and see if we could travel along the “Going to the Sum road” from the East, but the weather it just wasn’t worth trying…
Big Sky Country!
The road to “civilization” was definitely interesting—we followed highway 89 most of the way into Great Falls—through the Blackfoot Indian reservation (I don’t know how anyone could travel 70 mph—the posted speed limit—on those roads) and then onto the open prairie. We had kind of wondered why Montana was called “Big Sky Country,” well now we know—you can see the weather coming at you from miles away! The 64 million dollar question was whether we were headed towards the light or dark sky in the picture (left)… Unfortunately the answer was dark! We eventually made it to Great Falls and checked out a cabin at the local campground, cooked dinner and made a date to meet at the laundry to work on the blog—unfortunately the WiFi didn’t work in the cabin!!
What you see on the side of the road along the way…
Maria has always found it interesting to look at the road signs when she visits different countries, and this trip to Canada didn’t disappoint. Below are some of the more interesting!...
Don’t step on the wild flowers—seen on the trail down from Lake Agnes.
Hide your valuables in the trunk (aka boot) so that the thieves know exactly where to look!! Seen in several places inside Jasper National Park.
Fast trucks entering from a side road, not to be confused with the slow trucks!!
Watch out for Elk, and here is what they look like, just in case you didn’t know!
The all purpose sign—it pivots in 2 directions—1 to get out of the way of snow from the snow plough and 2 rotates in line with the road to allow the sign to be “hidden” when it was not needed!!
Carl’s Travel Trivia
Yesterday’s Answer: 105mm is the size of choice for the Canadian Park Service!. Thanks to all for educating us more fully in howitzer shell sizes!
Today’s Question: What is the weight of the World’s Largest Dump Truck (The Terex Titan 33-19 Hauler)
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Tot: 0.086s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 12; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0537s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Steve
non-member comment
World's Largest Dump (Truck)
My guess 40 tonnes. Piece of trivia about those wheels. Tyres for these big wheels are hard to get in Australia now with the mining boom. Prices are about $25,000 per tyre I think if not more. Keep on having fun guys.