How to Kill a Buffalo

Saturday, July 16th – Calgary to Waterton National Park, Alberta - Day 155 

 We left Don’s driveway after four nights, he was fantastic. Jo-Ce got to spend some time with her cousins, and it provided us a jumping off point to see some great sights. Don’s final suggestion was when heading south, go west to the foothills and take the Cowboy Trail down to Waterton National Park. 

 Before we left Calgary, we had to see one more of Jo-Ce’s cousins, Genevieve’s childhood pen pal, Christy. We went to her apartment to catch up with her and meet her husband, Cal and her grandson. It was a lovely time chatting with Hal about his career with Ellis Don and hearing family stories. After a brief trip to a nearby park, we were heading south out of Calgary. 

 The Cowboy Trail proved to be a very scenic trip along the Rockies. The trip was two hours before we made it to Pincher Creek. It was getting late so we started to debate about going to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site or moving on to Waterton National Park. We didn’t want to miss the Buffalo Jump, we took a long gravelly road to the world heritage site. 

 At Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, the visitor centre was closed but we could take the 1.2 km loop along the base of the cliff the buffalo would jump from. The ground beneath our feet contained artefacts showing 7000 years of Indigenous use of this site. A community would be camped below the buffalo jump ready to start processing the deceased buffalo to use every part. On the way out, we took the paved highway which took two minutes longer than the way in. 

 Our next step was Waterton National Park, the sun was down, and we were hoping to find a last-minute spot in the Waterton Park campground. We arrived and found no campsites. Our alternative site was lovely but had a big ‘No Camping’ sign. We headed out of the park and found a quaint little pull out with views of mountains and settled in for the night.