May 30, 2019
The smoke from the northern Alberta wildfires has arrived into southern Alberta. We woke to grey haze that was starting to obscure the wide open vistas. The wind was too strong to go for a paddle on the lake and we opted to go for a 60km circuit drive through the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. The town of Elkwater is the community where we started from and then wound our way through the park taking in the various points of interest and historic sites in the park. We went to the Head of the Mountain Viewpoint, the highest point in Canada east of the Rockies. From that vantage point you are able to see for 100kms into Montana and area. Unfortunately the smoke haze was not going to allow that. Reesor Lake is also a picturesque spot nestled in the hills an obvious favorite fishing spot for anglers to catch the rainbow or tiger trout. There were also several pairs of pelicans paddling on the lake.
Another interesting site was the cairn of the first NWMP officer killed on duty in Canada. The area of Cypress Hills is very historic for the development of the NWMP as there are two famous forts in the area, (Fort Macleod, Fort Walsh) which were established to establish law and order in the region. The park is called Interprovincial, as the park crosses the border of Alberta/Saskatchewan. We hope to visit Fort Walsh on our return trip back.
We looked hard for any wildlife on this circuit route, but we did not see any! The receding glaciers formed the topography of the Cypress Hills during the end of the ice age, therefore, huge valleys and gorges were formed. The higher portions of the Cypress hills were untouched by glaciers and large tracts of meadows and pastureland are formed, framed by forests and brush. Perfect habitat for wildlife but we didn’t find any.
We returned to our campsite and hooked up the trailer, and departed the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. This park is a jewel to southern Alberta and we are glad that we visited it. It was now time to travel to Medicine Hat to visit our friends, John and Carol. We arrived at 4:30 pm and it was wonderful to see them again.
We enjoyed a barbeque on their back deck and we noticed that the wildfire smoke was thickening. When we had arrived in Medicine Hat the temperature was 31 degrees and in a matter of an hour the temperature had dropped 10 degrees due to the sun being obscured by smoke.
We had a wonderful conversation, catching up on each other’s lives, exchanging photos and travel stories. The evening flew by and it was soon time to go to bed. Carol and John insisted that we sleep in the guest room, which we did, although we were enjoying our cozy bed in the trailer.
Quilting in a Kayak 