Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Buffalo Soldiers

Setting our sights north, we point the car towards Fernie, British Columbia, and roll out of Glacier National Park. Stunning scenery continues as we cross the border, and head north through ranchland along the eastern edge of Waterton Lakes National Park, in Alberta, Canada. Unfortunately, rain is pounding down relentlessly, and low clouds obscure the high peaks.

A sign appears out of the downpour. It simply says, “Buffalo Paddock.” Without hesitation, we steer south on to a dirt road – drawn by the lure of the unknown, and weird road trip adventures.

Crossing a cattle guard into a huge fenced pasture, we find ourselves on a one-lane track through the grassland. There is no guard, attendant, or park ranger. Like Jurassic Park, the tour is pre-ordained; we go where the road takes us.

For the first 800 meters, we see nothing, but the next bend reveals a meandering heard of bison. We glide to a stop, and they swarm around our car. Oblivious to us, we listen to them eat, chew, and grunt their way through a lunch of wild grass.

We sit, silently transfixed by these huge animals for what seems like forever until they move slowly to the south. Speechless, we look at each other. We are going to like Canada.

Buffalo Paddock Factoids:
Miles of B.P. Road: 2
Top Speed: 10mph
Number of Buffalo: 40-50
Closest Buffalo to Car: 5 feet
Weight of Average North American Bison: 2,000 pounds
Weight of Our Chevy Cavalier Rental Car: 2,606 pounds

Check out the Bison Photos.
In case you missed it above, here is the buffalo movie.