Day 6: Driving through Montana & Alberta

There were 2 primary focuses for Wednesday – first, get the motorhome paperwork done at the border (and I had no idea how long that would take), and meet my daughter and grand-daughters for dinner. Beyond, it was just “see what happens”, as usual.

I was in bed early last night, and by 06:15 was well north of Great Falls on I-15. I passed through a couple of new oil/gas regions, reinforcing my feeling that many of the rigs at the campsite last night had been workers in that industry.

I-15 north of Great Falls

Sunshine on vast wheat fields, and the Rockies in the distance – what a gorgeous scene.

Montana - sunshine on vast wheat fields, and the Rockies in the distance

The Marias River Valley south of Shelby.

Marias River Valley, Montana

The number of prisons I saw really surprised me. This is the Crossroads Correctional Facility near Shelby. The only private prison in Montana, it houses 664 men.

Crossroads Correctional Facility near Shelby, Montana

There are some intriguing mountains off to the northeast of Shelby.

Mountains to the northeast of Shelby, Montana

The little town of Sunburst has a lovely setting just 8 miles from the border.

Sunburst, Montana

This is the border crossing at Sweetgrass, Montana / Coutts, Alberta. It’s obviously a very new facility – the old brick building to the right, now boarded up, was a standard Canada Customs structure for a few decades. I had all my paperwork in order, including receipts and a summary sheet for all the purchases I made beyond the motorhome, and the border crossing only took an hour in total – 10 minutes on the American side to ensure that the vehicle was clear and legal, and 50 minutes on the Canadian side for a few forms and payment of $2,700 (5% federal tax on the motorhome).

Border crossing at Sweetgrass, Montana / Coutts, Alberta

Welcome to Alberta, at 09:30. I went into Coutts expecting to find a cafe for breakfast, but most businesses are boarded up, and there was nothing.

Welcome to Alberta sign at Coutts

A few minutes after 10:00, I turned into Stirling for 2 reasons – first, breakfast, and second, I saw a sign for a railway museum. No luck with grub, but a gravel road led north of town past wheat fields…

Stirling, Alberta

… to the Galt Historic Railway Park. I eventually found a staff member, who went and found a young woman who would give me a tour for $5. Excellent 🙂

Galt Historic Railway Park - Stirling, Alberta

In 1890, Sir Alexander Galt built the narrow gauge Great Falls and Canada Railway from Lethbridge (a city he founded). This station was built straddling the international boundary line, and the design is quite interesting, as it included Customs offices for both countries, and a 2-person jail. It was moved to this location and restored in 2000.

Galt Historic Railway Park - Stirling, Alberta

The tour was certainly one of the best $5 I’ve spent in a long time – the presentations in the museum, both physical and verbal, are very well done.

Galt Historic Railway Park - Stirling, Alberta

After the formal tour inside the station, I looked around the outside for a while. Included in the collection are several “speeders”, including this very early Fairmont.

Fairmont spdder at the Galt Historic Railway Park in Stirling, Alberta

My railway detour took over an hour, but by 12:30 I was back on the road to Calgary.

How can that not make you smile at least a little bit? 🙂

Smiley face on an Alberta barn

Ah yes, the Deerfoot through Calgary 🙁 This turned out to be a nasty 7-vehicle pileup, with a 3-ton truck, a Mustang convertible and a pickup all driven up high onto the concrete median. I texted my daughter several times as our dinner date got later and later.

Accident on the Deerfoot in Calary

Dinner was wonderful. Not only my daughter and grand-daughters, but my ex-wife and her husband from Australia as well. I’ll be seeing them all in a couple of weeks in Kelowna when my daughter ges married, but this was a great preview.

The sun made a beautiful exit from the sky as I neared the Rockies west of Cochrane at 7:30.

Sunset near Cochrane, Alberta

The new plan was to just camp on the side of the road somewhere for the night, possibly a little way up the Icefields Parkway. This is the Trans Canada Highway east of Canmore

The Trans Canada Highway east of Canmore

I thought about staying at this spot, but decided to continue on for a while – getting home as quickly as possible was the goal now. This was shot right at 9:00 pm.

The viewpoint at Bow Lake on the Icefields Parkway, would be an awesome place to wake up. At 10:35 pm, I shot a few photos and went to bed.

Bow Lake at night