We made it back in!!

Spruce Park RV Park Kalispell, MT

Thankfully, we made it back into the US with no issues with the rig or the border crossing. The ride back was nice once we got out of Calgary area onto the Crowsnest Highway.
I did get a few pics of the site where Calgary hosted the 1988 XV Olympic Winter Games. Today, this site operates as a competition, training, recreation and hospitality area designed for year-round use.
 
And then, the long winding roads begin as we head out on Calgary Highway 2 (East Access Route in the Milepost) towards Crowsnest Highway 3 West to Roosville and the US border)
 
This little town of Nanton looks like it would be a cool place to hang out for a day. With a population of 2,132; it boasts a Bomber Command Museum, The Museum of Miniatures, The Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre. Nanton is also home to the Big Sky Garden Railway, the largest garden railway in Canada. I don’t know what a Garden Railway is, but I’ll bet it’s pretty neat!
 


And then, we’re back on the highway. We’ve left the nice canola fields from our ride into Calgary and we are back into hay fields and wind mills. We have commented on how much has changed in the few months since we came in. Unplowed, overgrown fields have been plowed, planted and harvested!
 
       
You get the idea. It may be long, but it is more scenic and smooth compared to what we have driven through!
Before we got to the turnoff to Crowsnest Highway, we passed the turn-off for the World Heritage Site Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre. The sandstone cliff is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved buffalo jumps in North America.Here, Plains peoples stampeded buffalo to their deaths for nearly 6,000 years.
Once we turned onto the highway, we saw all new sights, since we didn’t travel this road on the way in.
     
Crowsnest Pass is a low mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta-British Columbia border.This is the richest archaeological zone in the Canadian Rockies,  In 1903, the tip of Turtle Mountain broke loose and decimated part of the Village of Frank (the Frank Slide).  It was founded on coal mining, but a 1914 explosion; Canada’s worst mine disaster, killed 189 men.
As you can see in the pics, there are massive piles of rock with other areas marked as the gravesites for those killed.


       
It is a pretty drive through the small towns that form this “pass”. And, although there are many wildlife caution signs, we didn’t see any. The town of Sparwood touts the world’s largest truck, where the town of Fernie is a ski resort. Who knew?
       
But I can tell you, as nice as it’s been, nothing was a prettier sight than seeing the US Border.
    
Once we crossed into Montana, we went up the road a little and found a spot to pull over & have lunch. It was a nice easy drive and we didn’t have too much further to go, but the girls were happy to stop & stretch their legs.
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Then it was back on the road, marveling at how beautiful Montana is and good it felt to be back in the USA! Not that Canada was bad, but it is different from money and customs to road signs and metric system. The people there are very nice and their favorite saying to us is “No worries, it’s all good”.
Here’s some pics of Montana
     
We made it to Spruce Park on the river in Kalispell. Although it’s a nice place (big sites, 50 amps) I don’t like the $2 per day/per dog charge! I also don’t like the “No dogs on the grass” signs; nor the $100 Fine for dog owners breaking the rules! Needless to say, the Mama in me is kind of partial to these girls, even though Mr.Charley says signs and rules are for everybody else.
We plan on going to ride the Going-to-the-Sun road in Glacier National Park tomorrow, so stay tuned! I’m excited and hopefully I won’t get too overwhelmed editing all the pictures I know I will be taking!
Have a good one everybody, we’re sure trying to.


RV Riding is going where you want, but always thankful for getting back safe