Bale Picking

Davie had a blast hauling bales. It was really hard work for us, not. We drove the truck and the bale wagon. Davie got to get out and run when my brother was unloading. He had four very interesting days.

I am sure there are mice under here!

Mike and Lucy

Lucy

I can run and run and run!!

Full moon

Yep we did a good job!

The Farm

So we arrived at the farm in a fantastic thunder storm, although it didn't last long enough for my liking. And so began our three weeks of Davie as a farm, almost, dog.

The elevator you will see in this blog is the old Bender elevator which was on a Canadian Pacific line abandoned in 1961.

Here are some of Davie's animal buddies in order of appearance. First the dogs, Lucy, Shorty and Kingston.

Lucy is not fond of other dogs but tolerated Davie, and he definitely understands dog language. One little lip curl from her and he would't follow quit so close.

And this was his cat"friend" for an afternoon.

Come out, please.

No I'm not watching the cat

Then there were the large squirrels that ran across the roof then down the big maple tree evey morning about 645. Guess how long we stayed in bed after that!

The cows and the calves. Davie was fascinated by them as much as the calves were fascinated by him but he did not chase. However having the squirrels to send him after definitely helped! Nor did he ever leave the house yard and go into the barn yard unless I invited him.

Next episode is all about hauling bales.

Grasslands to Moose Mountains

Grasslands National Park is designated the darkest dark sky in Canada. The sky at night is unbelievable. you forget how many stars there are when you are always affected by some type of light pollution. And they are so close you are sure you could almost touch them. After a peaceful night in the tent, except for the howling coyotes which I am sure ran right by us we were off for a tour of the park

The Ecotour takes you right through the middle of the prairie dog town then down to an old abandoned homestead.

Prairie Dogs

After the tour it was time to get back on the Red Coat trial and head east to Carlyle then north to the Moose Mountains. It was a beautiful drive first through rolling country then some very flat country until we hit the Moose Mountains. And please British Columbia and Alberta people don't laugh they are called the Moose Mountains.

Wheat Field

Flat

One of many abandoned farm sites

Moose Mountains in the distance

 At Carlyle we turned north to go through Moose Mountain Provincial park. I had to stop at Kenosse Lake to show Davie my old stomping grounds. I don't think he was really that impressed!

Another picture!

Down the Muddy Trail to Grasslands National Park

We left Manyberries and headed south to 501, the "muddy" road that runs just north of the Montana border which took us into Saskatchewan. I took about 90 minutes to get to Consul were we got out of the mud. It was a beautiful trip. We saw 2 trucks and a lot of cattle.

How muddy was it, have a look at the truck, picture taken on Consul. The other side was worse. I cannot imagine what kind of a trip it must have been through this part of the country on horse back or worse yet in wagons. The mud instantly sticks to everything and when it dries it is like concrete!

The next stop was in Eastend to see the T-Rex exhibit. I was waiting to buy a ticket and over heard two guys saying they were on their way to Manyberries. So me, being the big mouth that I am, asked them what they were driving. They said a Toyota Prius. I suggested before they decided to take the Red Coat Trail across they might want to have a look at my truck when they went out to the parking lot.

We took the road south to Val Marie which is were the main information centre for Grasslands is located. After getting some information we headed to our campground for that night. It is called The Crossing Resort (http://www.crossingresort.com/) and I highly reccomend it to anyone who wants to visit the Grasslands. They have a great facility and are located right on the edge of the park. There are lots of trails to explore right from the campsite.

Our Camp site, red building is a cooking and eating area.

I smells something!

A view of the Campsite

To be continued in the next post.

Barb's Place,Amanda and Manyberries

Our first overnight stop was at Barb's place in Calgary. And for those of you who are worried that you are going to get a day by day discription of the road trip, relax, I wouldn't torture anyone that way. Well maybe a few people.
 Davie was a real gentleman at Barb's place, he didn't even bark at her, well at least not until the next morning when she showed up in her house coat. Much better than his predecessor Maggie, who was known to jump on the bed in the middle of the night and stand over her and howl if the bedroom door wasn't closed.
He was very impressed with Barb's cooking as was I. She is an awesome cook. Thanks Barb for letting us stay.

Are you sure none of that is for me??

The next day after an emergency stop at Mountain Equipment Coop because although I remembered all Davie's stuff I forgot my jacket we headed to Fort MacLeod to start at the beginning of the Red Coat Trail. Our objective was to follow this route through Alberta and Saskatchewan before heading north the the farm.

We next headed to Lethbridge to meet up with Amanda to return the crate Davie came in and a few other things. We met in a beautiful park that had a lot of trees. I am sure Davie checked every one for squirrels. It was so good to meet Amanda and be able to show her a very happy Davie. I really don't know how people can handle the emotional ups and downs of rescue. All I can say is a HUGE thank you to Amanda for finding me this awesome boy.

After Lethbridge it was down the Red Coat Trial to meet up with my brother in Manyberries. It is a very interesting and beautiful country down there. We arrived just after a day of pouring rain but in time for some beautiful skies.

This was our resting place for the night. Many thanks to Vicki and crew for a entertaining time and a roof over our heads. FYI all the streets in Manyberries are named after berries.

The Southern Ranchmans Inn - Manyberries, Alberta

The road trip down the Red Coat Trail will be continued.

We're Baaaaaack

We had planned on blogging while we were on the road trip but it just never happened. Davie is an incredible dog to travel with. He is is well behaved, polite in hotels and other peoples homes and quite happy to lay and watch the world go by.

We have way too many pictures of our trip so I think we will break it down into different topics. For now here is an example of were we have been.

Ready to go - are you sure you remembered all my gear?

Mount Robson - something is behind me!

Alberta-Saskatchewan Border

Camping in Grasslands National Park - hurry up we need to snoop.

I know he is down this hole, if I just make it bigger!

Room to run and run and run!

Stay tuned we will start with the visit to Barb's.