Climbing the Stone Tower

Sometimes the weirdest things appear just around the corner. Sandy was happily scampering through the dusty badlands, having all sorts of adventures when... he saw this... a tower of stone!At first he thought it might be a natural rock formation, but closer examination (and some help from Mama) soon convinced him, it was a human-made structure. And, as we all know, bears love to climb!

And fall... (although they don't love that as much as the climbing!)

And get up... and climb again...

Higher and higher... not a good time to fall now Sandy!

More than half way up already!! Way to go Sandy!

And finally the top!! Wow... that was quite the climb... but as with most climbs, Sandy has just discovered that climbing up is far easier than climbing down... hmmm...

"Mama!! Help!!"... Maybe Sandy needs to start using ropes so that he can rappel down again after some of his climbs! At least he had a great view from up there!

Water Adventures in the Badlands

Despite the dry climate in the Badlands, rain does fall occasionally, and when it does, it creates all sorts of interesting features in the Badlands. Sandy notices first of all that there are these outwash fans made of sand and clay with some bigger rocks...

It looks like Sandy is standing in the middle of a desert! And he can even see the flow marks of the water in various places. It must be quite exciting down here when it is raining!

And then when the water is gone... the ground starts to crack and dry out. Sandy is glad that he is here on a dry day otherwise he might need to get some rubber boots.

The rocks are also very interesting and Sandy thinks that maybe they are meteorites! But after a bit of an argument with Mama (who has studied rocks), he grudgingly admits that they could be ironstone (which is well known in this area). But meteorites would be so much more interesting and more of an adventure!

In amongst all of the sand and clay and rocks, there are some signs of life... even flowers!

These are pretty yellow flowers which belong to the Aster Family and are called "Colorado Rubber Plant". They are very beautiful and add some colour to this barren wasteland.

There are even some little orange flowers which Sandy learns are called "Orange Globe Mallow". He's not going to pick any flowers to take home though as they've worked very hard to grow in this area and he has enough flowers to pick at home!

And a short distance later, Sandy is stunned to find a narrow little gully, which is like an oasis in the Badlands. There is a little stream (a bit muddy) and it is nice and cool down there... with some trees as well (short trees mind you).

This is quite the surprise and Sandy happily wanders upstream where he finds a stone bridge across the stream. Now that is cool!

There is even a pool underneath the bridge and in a rainstorm there would probably be a waterfall in behind the bridge as well. But... Sandy won't be coming here in a rainstorm... it's dangerous enough during good weather... as Sandy's Mama discovered. Sometimes the sandy banks of the stream aren't quite as solid as they look...

Sandy's comment to the muddy boot was "Better you than me, Mama!"...

Fur Trading Post

Sandy had a bit of temper tantrum today. Just a little one... and it was fairly well justified it seems. All through the Badlands, there are historical museums, heritage parks and the like. A few days ago, Sandy saw a recreation of First Nations teepees. That was interesting and exciting. But today... Mama wasn't thinking clearly when she took him to... a Fur Trading Post. It all start innocently enough. From the outside and the inside, it looked like a fort of some kind, and Sandy thought it was a cavalry fort or something.

There was a gate that could be looked, and watch towers to protect the fort from attack.

The doors to the fort were very thick and strong... a little bear could even park himself on them!

All of this was great fun and Sandy was having a great time... until he went into one of the buildings. It was very dark in there and it took a while for his eyes to get accustomed to the gloom. And then he saw them... fur pelts pinned to the walls, hanging off of the rafters, stacked on the shelves. Beaver, fox, wolf, mink, muskrat, deer, moose and... Bear!! Oh dear... a very unhappy little bear... He was ready to attack (bears do attack when provoked)... but no one seemed all that frightened of this little bear. Sandy rushed outside and saw the perfects solution...

Alas, this tiny little canyon wasn't in operating order (good thing)... and Sandy was left to stamp his feet and growl fearsomely (grrr)... Now he knows where those guards in London England get their funny hats from! Poor Sandy...

He's usually such a pacifist bear and just a few weeks ago was completely perplexed by the idea of war. After he has calmed down, Sandy is a bit ashamed of himself for getting so angry and having a temper tantrum about the fur pelts (can you see him blushing?). He'd like to apologize!

Roaming the Badlands

Sandy loves the view of the badlands as seen in Horseshoe Canyon. The colours are very beautiful and everything looks very green and lush because there's been lots of rain lately. Despite that, it is very warm out today and if Sandy's going to go down into the canyon for a hike, he'd better make sure to cover up otherwise he'll get a sunburn and look more like Hammie Hamster! Luckily Sandy has a long-sleeved coat and a hat to protect him from the blazing sun.

So... now what... well, Sandy doesn't really have a specific goal in mind, other than to do some exploring and adventuring. Mind you, there is a sign that says "Be careful... snakes... and you can get lost very, very easily". (Well, the sign didn't say that exactly, but you get the gist of it).

Sandy can see some trails down there... so he figures if he stays on those, it will be harder to get lost... he hopes! And down the embankment he goes... and into the badlands...

Holy moly it's hot down there! And the rock formations are very interesting. Sandy learns that just a few kilometres away, they discovered dinosaurs in this type of rock! Ooohhh... dinosaurs... that sounds exciting! But for the moment, Sandy has to keep his attention focused on the stuff in front of him. These rock formations are a tough scramble for a little bear.

They are very gullied and worn down by the rain, and... well... Sandy has to keep his eyes on where he's going otherwise he might climb himself into a corner!

Plus, the rain has made the clay-rock very brittle and crumbly... hmm... but up he goes... up and up and up... grabbing whatever paw and foot-holds he can,, until finally... Sandy stands on top of the outcrop!

Whew... that was quite the climb. And now he's standing on some harder rocks which are a bit more solid underfoot. But that was only the first climb, there are more to come!

Buffalo Hunters

Sandy is getting quite a history lesson! But then, he's a little bear adventuring through life. Today, Sandy learned about the early inhabitants of this land, the First Nations. The Plains Indians (Cree, Blackfoot, etc) lived a nomadic lifestyle following the herds of buffalo (or bison). They lived in teepees which were easy to pack up and move.

The teepees could be set up very quickly and taken down very quickly as well. They were usually made out of leather (these ones are canvas). But Sandy has one burning question... how did people get into them??

A little bear (like Sandy) could probably suck in his little belly and squeeze between the canvas and the ground, but there must be an easier way. After a circum-navigation of the teeppe... Sandy found the "door" on the other side!

Inside it was kind of dark and it took a while for Sandy's eyes to get used to the lighting. There was a big fire-pit in the centre, which made him think that this would be a very smokey space (cough-cough). But... looking up, he saw a smoke hole at the top of the teepee...

Which then made him think that during a rain storm, the water would come pouring in through the roof opening! But then he learned that there was a big flap of canvas that could be pulled into place to close the opening...

That's what the ropes were used for... whew... this is quite the way to live. Sandy is glad that he doesn't have to pack up and move every few weeks or months!

East to the Badlands

Today is a big day... Sandy is headed east on a road trip, just a little one). Mama has visitors from German (a cousin and her friend)... and Sandy has appointed himself as their tour guide. They're a little skittish about "Canadian bears" but he's sure that they'll warm up to him after a while! He's been studying maps and guidebooks and... the first stop is the Badlands. And, in order to be a great tour guide, Sandy figures he needs to be able to take some photographs... Mama dug out her small tripod and... Sandy was good to go!

Hmm... there's a lot involved in taking a picture! Turning the camera on, zooming in and out, changing the exposure, playing with the focal length... my goodness!!

And then Sandy has to figure out how to frame his shot so it looks beautiful! He's a very patient and methodical bear... but this is taking quite a while! Sandy isn't even phased when Mama jumps in front of the camera to take a picture of him from that angle... just a muttered "Mama, you're in my photo!"

And finally... the big moment... a photograph...

Well... that's not bad! Interesting exposure setting, a little bit under-exposed, brings out the blue of the sky... The grasses form an interesting foreground and the dead tree frames the photo to the left... Hmm... and that only took 10 minutes! Sandy thinks maybe he'll stay in front of the camera rather than behind the camera... more adventures that way!

Floral Adventures

Sandy might have another favourite flower to add to his list... this one isn't very perfumed though... so it's not based on smell... but purely on beauty!

The flower is called "Bleeding-Heart" here in Canada... and it is very dainty and delicate. Sandy thinks it is the most beautiful flower he has seen so far. And up close, they look even more beautiful and interesting.

But sometimes... flowers can also be dangerous! Well, if you're only 6 inches tall and you're searching for adventure... because some flowers are very deep...

A little bear could get lost in all of these violets! They don't smell very strong either, but they are fun to romp through and explore.

Don't forget to pick a bouquet while you're in there, Sandy!