Canada 2013: Canada Day
Part Four: We happened to be travelling during the long weekend that led up to Canada Day and everywhere we went people were preparing with flags and decorations. As mentioned in the previous post, many make the most of this long weekend’s summer weather (which is in very short supply) by going camping and generally spending time outdoors. It was our second day on the farm near Nanton and we woke up to the delicious smell of pancakes and coffee – a Canadian institution. Once we had devoured pancakes dripping in maple syrup (yum) we set off to Bar-U Ranch near Longview – a National Historic Site which at the turn of the century was one of the leading cattle operations in the world. It was a perfect summer’s day and when we arrived we jumped onto a Percheron drawn carriage which transported us down to the flagpole where everyone was gathered to sing the National Anthem. Four veteran Canadian Mounties ceremoniously hoisted the flag. After this we had some delicious cake and went off to explore what it must have been like to live as a cowboy in those days.
Once we had had some lunch – the hugest hotdog I have ever seen – we drove East into the foothills of the Canadian Rockies where the Blue Bronna Wilderness camp is situated. We wanted to go to Bear Pond for a picnic and to swim, but the road was damaged from recent floods so instead we found a beautiful spot along the river at the foot of Cougar Hill. We cooled down, had an afternoon snooze in the long grass and towards the end of the day Imar, Madi and Franco, along with Greg, a friend from Blue Bronna, hiked up Cougar hill.
We were exhausted by the time we got home, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It’s good to be able to say that we experienced Canada Day (or rather Cana’day as the locals seem to pronounce it!)!
