Day 26 Grasslands National Park

I read somewhere recently that people have tried to paint the prairie. People have tried to photograph the prairie. People have tried to describe the prairie. All have failed to do it justice. I know now what that meant. I have taken countless pictures. I will continue the blog. This is all in an attempt to help me remember. Unfortunately, I feel quite certain that I can’t possibly do it justice, nor convey the essence of our experience here, so it may be of little benefit to anyone else.

The poor birthday boy had to pour his own cereal and hit the road yesterday, on his actual birthday. Today he was served a full camping breakfast. The cheesy hashbrowns were great. The blueberry pancakes were good, once I got the hang of the Blackstone. The eggs were whole new experience! In jamming the fridge full for our foray into remoteness, I may have inadvertently hit the control and put the thing on high! Our eggs were frozen! I mean – peel the egg, as if it were hard boiled, and have a solid egg – frozen! I wasn’t running out for more eggs from here, so we (Jenna was a great help) lowered the temperature and slow cooked the frozen eggs! They may have been a bit over cooked. No runny yolks today. They tasted fine, and after a hardy breakfast we were on the road to discovery.

We started the Ecotour Scenic Drive. It’s a 30km self-guided driving route with seven pull-offs of interest. It also incorporates five hiking trails that we couldn’t possibly pass up! With a few additional stops added, we spent 5.5 hours falling in love with the prairie.

The only people to see were Jonathan and Jenna over on the next ridge

There are thousands, literally estimated between 17,000 to 23,000 living here. We saw so many!

... birds of every description

... and bison

Wild creatures of all kinds!

Tipi stones all along this ridge. Clearly this was a settlement of note.

No AI was necessary to take tourists out of pictures. We rarely saw anyone!

Distant bison taking a break

Love that the ranch paddocks remain as they have for more than 100 years

Frenchman River is the only water source. It's why we had to bring our own water here.

As far as the eye can see.

... in both directions. In fact, in any direction.

So many very different grasses

Cactus in bloom every where

Wild flowers of every description.
The prairie is full of a thousand colours that I just can't capture in a picture.

Just when I think I have seen all the different plants in an area, then I notice a new one. Flat-top buckwheat, I think?

Home for a re-group and supper and a most mighty storm moved in! One thing about the open prairie sky, you can see what’s coming! Things change quickly though. We had started to preheat the Blackstone and before that 10 minutes was up we had shut it down, taken in the awning, even pulled in the slide! The trailer was rockin’!

The storm moving off. Too busy batten down the hatches to take pictures of it coming in!

We were left with a double rainbow for our troubles 🌈

An hour later we were back outside cooking supper! A couple walked by while I was throwing out my dish water and we met Karen and John. They are Airstream friends of our friends, the Flynn’s, and we had a lovely chat. A beautiful evening presented itself, so we decide to wander out from the campground. We found the iconic red chairs and spent the evening listening to bison chuffing (we didn’t see them), watching deer cavort, and enjoying the spectacular view! The red chairs began to first appear in 2011 when staff at Gros Morne National Park on the west coast of Newfoundland came up with a plan to place 18 sets of red Adirondack chairs in stunning locations. They invited visitors to find the chairs and share their pictures on social media. The idea took off and there are now over 100 Parks Canada locations that offer iconic spots to enjoy from the red chair. We have been in many, many of them from coast to coast. This evening we added to the list. Well done Grasslands staff. You found the perfect spot!

Oh my!

Our camp from the ridge, in the setting sun.

I took this from the chairs. Those dots are Jonathan and Jenna!

The view. Sadly I can't capture the bird song, and bison chuffs, and grazing mule deer.

That sky!

We had heard that one of the prairie dog towns that isn’t far from our campsite, Larson colony, is a great place to spot burrowing owls. We were told dusk was the best time. So, with little time left before the sun went down, we came down off the ridge, hopped in the car, and went back to the spot we visited earlier today. These wise little owls move into abandoned prairie dog burrows in a ready-made home. The barking and squeaking prairie dogs act as a built-in home alarm system, alerting the owls to danger! We arrived at the perfect time to see oodles of little owls, watch the bison gather for the night on the ridge overlooking Larson colony, and watch the prairie sky paint a magnificent vista before the sun finally went down on a beautiful, beautiful day.