Fort Macleod

This is the first trip out of town for a long long while, and should also be the last. Destination: Fort Macleod.

Fort Macleod is in southern Alberta. Fort Calgary was founded as a mid point between Edmonton and Fort Macleod. There is a lot of interesting history regarding North West Mounted Police, which became current Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Indians, and the negotiations between First Nations and Canada. Lots of artifacts there as well.

This structure is of much interest to me, and shows how the house in the prairie was built. Trees were scarce in the prairie, so people used to cut out grass and stack them as the main building material, including roof. That's why there is grass growing on top of the roof in the attached photo. It does not sound like a very reliable structure, as when it rains and the soil is soaked with water, it could be very muddy in the structure. I'm not sure how wind affects it, as I'm sure the weather could be windy and rainy. I guess people would live in constant fear of losing their belongings in the prairie.