As I took the last photos of Pyramid Lake, Tanja started the car. Our next stop was Maligne Canyon. We walked from the deserted parking lot to the canyon. The snow crackled under our feet. When we looked into the dizzyingly deep ravine we could see waterfalls becoming icicles.

The cold hurried us back into the car for what would be our most dangerous drive yet: Alberta’s infamous “most deadly highway”. At least that’s what we heard afterwards. Endless kilometres of highways covered with snow and ice are fine, crazy drivers and speeding trucks not so much. Driving in the dark was off the table after that stretch.

We both felt relieved when we arrived at Iris & Rolf‘s home. The peaceful atmosphere and wonderful time with Iris and Eli the dog was the best remedy for our fatigue. Not to mention we finally got to enjoy some decent coffee after days of nothing but unmentioned-donut-serving-Canadian-store-chain-brand-coffee.

The next morning we drove to Head-smashed-in Buffalo Jump. Hearing the name, we had to go. The museum (we were the only visitors) told us how native people would lure the buffalo into a stampede that ended in a ravine where the buffalo would crash. Amazingly, artefacts had been found on the site dated as far as 10,000 BC. Who said Canada lacks history?

As the sun set over the prairies, we finished our day.

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When we started our way back to BC we took a short break to watch Frank Slide. The outskirts of the tiny village got swept away by a massive landslide in the early 1900’s. Most of the millions of tons of rock haven’t moved since.

From there on Crowsnest Highway convinced us to slow down, and take in all the scenery. It confronted us with the vastness of British Columbia and how little we’ve seen of it. For instance, Christina Lake. On the map, it’s but one of the numerous lakes in BC, but when you’re looking over the water at the surrounding mountains you feel humble.

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Near Osoyoos, we left the highway and drove up a mountain to silently enjoy the view of the sun sinking away into the mountains.

Jelger pressed the ‘home’ icon on our gps system, but not before halting in Manning Provincial Park where Tanja had a ball with some unspoiled ice crystals. The perfect ending to our vacation.

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Thanks to Iris & Rolf and Sophia & Murray for hosting us.