Tuesday - Yoho National Park

The power returned in the middle of the night!  This was a little bitter sweet.  Being forced to be unplugged was nice, but so was a hot shower.  We had another slow morning with the daddies making breakfast.

We started our day with a buffalo tour from Leo.  He does tours everyday from 10-1.  He told us about the nature of the herd and how each buffalo has a rank within the herd.  Chester Jr. is the dominant bull of the herd.  He is the son of Leo's previous dominant bull Chester.  Chester Jr. is 5 years old and weighs 2000 pounds.  He will be full grown at ten years old.  His daddy lived to be 27 years old and weighed 2800 pounds.  A buffalo becomes the dominant bull by never losing a fight with another male.  

The hide next to Leo belonged to Chester, Sr. 

Leo then took us over to the pasture where he "called" the herd over.  A buffalo is a wild, aggressive animal that humans should not be near.  Leo has taken many years to build up the trust of Chester, Jr. and his herd.  Once a buffalo knows a person, they will remember their face for three years.  

Chester, Jr. is noticeably larger than all the other buffalo.  Leo has 22 in his herd.

Leo then took us back to his cabin and demonstrated how to start a fire with items found in nature.

After the tour, we drove over to Yoho National Park.  Along the way, we saw some big horned sheep and beautiful scenery.

The road was cut through the rock

Our first stop was Emerald Lake for a canoe ride.  One look at the pictures will tell you how it got its name.  Stunning. Peaceful. Quiet. Serene. Majestic

After paddling, we went to Cilantro for lunch.

We thought we would save some bigger hikes for when we had a full day, but our waitress told us about a quick hike to the Hamilton Falls that started right off the parking lot.  My girls hemmed and hawed a bit, but we set off anyway.  It did not disappoint and they were so happy we did this hike.

Once again Lily led the way and navigated our hike.

No we aren't doing the tango.  James had to help me over this jump.

Looking up the fall

Our next stop was Natural Bridge.  This was once a waterfall that water found a way through underneath the rock to form a natural bridge.  Eventually, the water will push enough to break the bridge and form a gorge.  The power of this water was amazing.

Our next stop was Takkakaw Falls, but not before spotting a grizzly on the way!!!  We saw many animals on our cross country trip, but not a grizzly.  Such a treat!

James is so happy to another set of shoulders on this trip!

"Hey Mom, that rock is shaped just like South Carolina!"

Takkakaw means "It is magnificent."

Before we left for the trip, James was fighting a sinus infection with round two of antibiotics.  All day he had gradually been getting worse and could hardly talk when we left Takkakaw Falls.  On the way back to the ranch, Tripp took him to a hospital (there were no after hours care clinics) in Golden.  It was going to cost $950.00 just to see a doctor.  He decided he could hang in there one more day to make an appointment at the local clinic.

We ended the day back at the ranch eating dinner and relaxing.  Most of our time on the ranch was spent outdoors.  Every time you look up from what you are doing, the landscape grabs you and you can't look away.  

Monday - Downtown Golden, Buffalo Ranch and River Hike

Brrrrr.  It gets cold in Canada.  With our luggage still in the cars up the road, we had slept in our clothes.  We woke up to a crisp cool morning.  Before I was out of bed, Leo had cut down the trees and cleared the way for our cars.  James was up early and spent some time hanging out with Leo and “helping” him clear the trees. Tractors and chain saws, oh my!

The first thing on my agenda this morning was coffee!!  We headed into Golden and found a great breakfast spot right by the river.  We sat outside in the warm sun and ate while watching the river rush by. 

After breakfast we strolled through the town and grocery shopped at the booming IGA.  Angie put the girls in charge of planning and cooking one meal.  Their mission was to cook a meal with less than 6 ingredients and under $45.00.

We came back to the ranch house to discover we still had no power.  Leo told us it could possibly be three days!  He told us we were welcome to take a bath in the pond in his yard.  He does it all the time and it is fairly warm.  I am pretty sure Leo’s version of fairly warm and this Charleston girl’s version of fairly warm are very different.    He also offered that we could use his out house - eek.  We decided to take a hike down to the river.  While there was a trail, it was not a well used one.  With Lily W. leading the way, we trekked through weeds, over and under trees, and through the mud to arrive to the most beautiful rushing river surrounded by towering mountains.  Truly magnificent. 

Leo had mentioned that the mud down by the river was glacier mud and felt wonderful to rub on your skin.  The girls immediately began scrubbing their legs.  I was eyeing the frigid river wondering just how that mud was going to come off.   We bravely crossed the river in one spot up to our knees.  Frigid doesn’t even begin to describe it.  It was painful on our legs.

 

The buffalo grazing

Lots of muddy feet

 Leo has a wood burning hot tub that we took full advantage of.

James honing is whittling skills

 Making smores at 9:30 PM.  Yes, I said PM and it is full daylight outside.  

This picture was taken at 10:04 PM!

James and Tripp are such excellent mountain men that they got the hot tub a little too hot.  James enjoyed it up to his knees for about 10 seconds!

Leo's house and workshop