Fort MacLeod, Alberta, Canada

We arrived in Fort MacLeod on Sunday and that afternoon we went into town to take a tour. Guess what?? Everything was closed.

We drove a few miles over to Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump to see where Blackfoot Indians used to drive herds of Buffalo over a cliff to their death. This was one way they "harvested" Buffalo to get their food and materials for clothes. It was open but it was not suited for older folks that have problems walking. You have to park and walk a long way up a big hill to the site and then walk a long way up a face of the cliff to view the site. We decided to pass on this.

Today we went into town to tour the Fort where the North-West Mounted Police were housed back in the late 1800's. The Mounted Police were created in 1873 when Canadian Prime Minister John A. McDonald proposed to the House of Commons that a police force be established to bring order to the Canadian West. His proposal was accepted and on May 23, 1873 the Mounted Police was formed. They are now known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Mounted Police built their first post on an island on the Old Man River and named it after the man that led them, Colonel James MacLeod in 1884.

We really enjoyed the tour and of course Jerry and I took a couple of pictures. You might need more than one bowl of pop corn for this, relax and enjoy.