Author Archives: Ranjan

About Ranjan

Writer, scientist, traveler and speaker.

My Canadian Rockies Trip, Part 2: Dinner at Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village

Continued from My Canadian Rockies Trip, Part 1

After the eventful visit to the Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump described in the last post, we arrived at the Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village at Pincher Creek, a small town in southwestern Alberta.

A Little History

John George “Kootenai” Brown was born in Ireland in 1839. He served in the British army in India during The Revolt of 1857 (aka the Sepoy Mutiny). Eventually he made his way to Western Canada and traded with the Kootenai First Nation earning his nickname “Kootenai”. He was a multi-faceted individual; trader, hunter, tourist guide and later, park warden. The Pioneer Village bearing his name was established in 1966 to preserve the frontier heritage of that era. The well preserved cabins with period memorabilia evoke that historic time.

The pincher of Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada. — The pincer, a very useful instrument at the frontier in those bygone days. Guides in period costume showed us around the village.

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My Canadian Rockies Trip, Part 1: Calgary and Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump

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In June, my son and I took a trip to the Canadian Rockies that included Banff, Jasper and Glacier National Park, three scenic parks I had on my “to do” list for a long time. Time to “do” it. We looked forward to seeing majestic, snow-capped mountains, rapidly receding glaciers, pristine jeweled lakes and the fabled wild life. We were not disappointed.

This trip was organized by Caravan Tours. We had done other trips with Caravan and were comfortable with their itineraries, organization, motor coaches, hotels and meals. This particular tour is a popular one and sells out quickly. So, we took precautions to book early, in fact, as soon as it was announced, a wise decision as it later turned out. It was quickly sold out.