A Cold, Blustery Day

So what do you do on a cold, blustery day in Cardston?  We were going to go do something else, maybe Writing-on-Stone, but it was cold, and I was tired of driving and didn't want to drive really far.   So Mom took us to the Remington Carriage Museum.  Ana went on a trail ride with Uncle Montey and Grandpa Jack.

It was fun, we were going to have a picnic outside after, but it was too cold.  And rainy. So we ate it indoors while Mom talked to the lady working at the souvenir shop, whom she of course knew.

Don Remington, the guy who started the carriage collection, and the museum, had carriages that were used for the Queen of England when she came to Canada on two separated occasions, and one of the times, Jack Bevans (some relation) was one of the groomsmen. I did not know that. The things you learn when you read the plaques and have Mom along.

Chuckwagon races anyone?

Jubal was ready to go.

I'm always surprised by the size of the carriages when you see them--teeny tiny to ginormous.  There really were some big vehicles.

Also, I didn't know that Seabiscuits jockey, Charley, was from Cardston.  I knew Fay Wray, but that was it.

We even went on a carriage ride.  It was freezing--I think the coldest we'd been in 3 years.  It practically snowed on us.  But the kids were grinning the whole time.

After the museum, Mom wanted to go out to her parents' house again, and Leo and I had talked to Brooke about meeting up in Fort Whoop-Up in Lethbridge, but that's mostly outside, and I was worried about my kids freezing, so we headed to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump instead, where the main museum is all indoors.  As we drove there we could see the weather front pass (like a line in the sky, very cool) and we had beautiful blue skies while we were there.  And it was nasty black towards Lethbridge.  But Brooke said it had cleared up later that afternoon.  Anyway, we really enjoyed it, although I think it's a 3-hour-at-most-visit and once was enough.  But I'd wanted to go there since I was little.

It was good though because it really did hold the kids' attention (better than carriages) and we got outside for a bit, which we were coming off of a lot of driving, so that was good.  Can you spot the marmot?

I'd never seen a marmot before.

Gorgeous views. They say the archaeological record of jumps there go back about 6000 years, and goes roughly 39 feet deep under the top soil.  I loved the history of the archaeology digs and factoids--I'm definitely fascinated with archaeology itself more than I was about the jumps. They had some cool artifacts though.  All the kids and Leo liked the video showing the hunts too, but Jubal was crazy independent and refused to be happy in there so I didn't get to see it.

Elena came running back from the trail end screaming hysterically about snakes and Leo and I both shushed her and told her basically that she was imagining things.  But then she wasn't.  There was about 10 or 12 garter snakes all curled up along 2 or 3 rocks on the edge of the viewing platform.  Oops.  Not so good parenting on our part.

This moth was pretty cool.

After we got back to Uncle Montey's and Aunt Melody's, we had delicious stir fry in their AMAZING outdoor kitchen, and Ana decided she wants to live in Canada forever, and have a house like Uncle Montey's and Aunt Melody's. And Mom said she would arrange a nice Bevans boy to marry her.  Hee. Hee.   I felt bad for Aunt Melody, we crashed her house for two days and Tad was getting married the next day.  Oh, and on Wednesday we went to my cousin Tina's cafe in Glenwood. I had a delicious club sandwich and the best poutine I had while in Canada.  Oh man, I want some more right now.  YUM! And then we visited with my Aunt Helen too.  And the day we went to the temple, I got to see my cousin Dustin and meet his wife, whom I'd never met, and their four kids, who are the same age as four of mine almost exactly.  But anyway, after stir fry a bunch of Uncle Montey's kids came over (for their brother's wedding the next day) and so I got to play cards with Travis and Tyler and Troy and I think that was it. I kept poor Tyler so late, when he had work the next day.  So sorry.  It was so fun to see everyone though!  I wish I had had another week just to visit with cousins.

Oh and a herd of goats on the way back to Cardston.  The dogs guarding the herd (Great Pyrenees? Akbash?) did not like me stopping there to get out our apples from the cooler, and immediately one came over to bark at us while the other rounded up the goats and moved them away.  It was pretty impressive actually.

And Ana took these photos on her trail ride with Uncle Montey and Grandpa Jack.