Fort Macleod Alberta - 2023

We are departing our campsite at Cardston AB and heading to Fort Macleod.  It’s a whopping 41 miles away.  Our window to leave was between 0930 and 1030.  Since we can’t check into the next campground until noon, we had some time to burn.  So, we stopped at the North West Mounted Police Museum. 

It was an optional stop for our tour.  The wagon master paid for our entry, which they didn’t have to do, so that was nice of them.  The museum had an area with artifacts and stuff and then you entered the Fort itself.  It was like most forts, a big square with rooms around the edges of the fort with a big courtyard in the middle.  I didn’t see anything new except maybe a uniform or something like that.  Here are those pictures.

After that, we headed to the Rivers Edge Campground just a mile or so away from the fort.  Here, we stay for one night.   It wasn’t a bad campground.  We had water and 30A electric service.  The campground didn’t have a dump station that I was aware of but it did have great WIFI service.  Enough so, that I could upload all my pictures.

After we got settled in, it was time to take a trip to the “Head Smashed-in Buffalo Jump” (at 1300) about 10 miles away.  Here we had a guided tour of the place.  May I say, if you have a chance to get a guided tour anywhere, take it.  It’s well worth the money.  In our case, this was included with our trip.  I know, you’re wondering what this place is, well let me tell you.  This is where the Blackfoot Indians used to harvest buffalo for the winter season.  The way they did it was to herd about 300 head over a cliff.  After this was done, they would spend the next 24 hours, processing the animals.  I think they dated this back 6000 years or something like that.  It was a long time.  You can look it up if you like.  They would make a funnel out of rocks and sticks to force the buffalo through.  At the end, it was too late and the buffalo would end up going over the cliff.  If any of them survived the fall, they would kill them while they were down.  They didn’t want any of them to survive, run off and tell the rest of the herd what they were doing.  Oh, and the herd they took them from had about 2 to 3 million buffalo.  I think this is a must stop if you’re in the area.  These are the pictures we took.

After that, we headed back to camp to get ready for our next long day of travel.  Terry and I went into town to get some Canadian cash (we like to call it play money) and some fresh food.  Tomorrow, we head to Aspen Crossing.  Follow along if you like.