A flashing road sign offered our first glimpse into this unique national park: “Caution. Watch for Bison and Sinkholes next 120 km.” Bison we certainly could understand… but sinkholes? An interpretive sign further along the road offered an explanation. Ground water often erodes the soft bedrock, particularly in the northern section of the park, creating underground caves. When the cave roof collapses, the result is often a very deep sinkhole.
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| Agnus Sinkhole, Wood Buffalo National Park |
Within the first hour of our traveling the park road, we encountered a small herd of wood bison and a muddy-faced black bear. Excited about other animals we might see, we pushed on towards our first campsite at Little Buffalo River, hoping that the campground would still be open.
Little Buffalo River Campground was open, and we were the only visitors for the night. The aspen grove next to our site was ablaze in color.
Temperatures dipped into the high 30s that night. Our last post tells of the miraculous Northern Lights we witnessed in the wee hours of the morning.
When we awoke, we broke camp and drove into Fort Smith to visit the Wood Buffalo National Park Visitor’s Centre. Fort Smith is a working town. Long a center for trade among the First Nation peoples, Catholic missionaries arrived in the early 1800s. The town has a rich heritage of First Nation and European cultures (primarily French).
At the visitor’s center, we learned that Wood Buffalo National Park is a true gem in the crown of Canada’s national parks. The largest national park in Canada, Wood Buffalo is larger than the entire country of Switzerland. It is known as an ecological masterpiece and World Heritage Site, a status bestowed by the United Nations indicating that it forms part of the heritage for all humankind.
Wood Buffalo’s geology consists of a myriad of typography, including boreal forests, salt plains, and the largest fresh water delta in the world. Its wildlife includes the endangered wood bison, black bear, wolves, moose, and beaver. Each spring, nearly 200 species of birds flock to this area to nest, including the endangered whooping cranes. Out of all thoee birds, only 19 different species have adapted to stay through the long and extreme winter months.
We watched a wonderful documentary about the park. I was fascinated to learn that the whoopers nest on the fresh water delta along the enormous Great Slave Lake in Wood Buffalo, building nests in areas marshland so boggy that it deters predators. It also surprised me that they nested in what appeared to be fresh water. The whooper’s wintering grounds lie on a sliver of Texas coastline. Why would they choose a wintering ground on salt water? A check with a park ranger confirmed that salt from the ancient ocean bed leeched through the gypsum bedrock, making the entire delta brackish.
I asked if hunting was allowed in the park. Our guide explained that it was and offered this explanation: humans had been part of the ecosystem for over 10,000 years and remained a vital segment of Wood Buffalo National Park.
Armed with maps and suggested hiking trails, we decided to push further south and camp at Pine Lake Campground for the evening. We found an interesting interpretive hike about the red-sided garter snake, the most northern snake to be found in the Americas. These reptiles winter deep in the karst crevices and caves. Each spring they emerge and gather in huge mating balls, later having live births. As we finished our hike, we met a park ranger giving a tour to a small group of people. She held one of the snakes and offered for both David and I to hold it as well.
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| Red-sided garter, Wood Buffalo National Park |
On our way back to the parking lot, we rounded a corner and met a wood bison not more than 20 feet in front of us. All four of us stopped short, shocked to encounter one another. Thankfully, the bull turned heel and plowed through the woods away from us. It is one thing to encounter one of these enormous creatures in the comfort of your vehicle. It is entirely different to come upon one so close on foot!
We drove on to our new campground, encountering another bull along the roadside. It was yet was another reminder of why these creatures are considered the largest land mammal in North America!
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| Wood Bison, Wood Buffalo National Park |
Rox was delighted to have a swim that afternoon in Pine Lake, an ancient sinkhole that formed this beautiful lake. Again, we were the only campers for the evening.
That evening, David said, “Listen. Have you ever heard such quiet?”
It was true. Again, we felt like the only people on earth. Not a sound touched our ears. I was use to quiet on the ranch when I was a child, but this was different. There were no crickets or frogs. This was true silence. It was wonderful.
The following morning, we broke camp again to drive back up to Little Buffalo where we had stayed our first night in the park. We spied a large black bear and were surprised when she placed her front paws on a tree, as if she planned to climb it rather than run away as others had done. As I began shooting photos, I caught movement in the corner of the lens. She had a cub and had already sent it up a tree!
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| Mother Black Bear, Wood Buffalo National Park |
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| Black Bear Cub at Wood Buffalo National Park |
As David brought the truck to a complete stop, the mother bear dropped to the ground and positioned herself under the cub. She was obviously prepared to defend him at any cost. Not wanting to stress her, we stayed only a few seconds more. As we drove off, she gave cue to the cub to drop down and the pair immediately disappeared into the bush. It was an amazing sight to witness!
Relishing the continued warm days, we hiked a section of boreal forest later that morning, hoping that the trail would lead to the salt plains. After yesterday’s encounter with the wood bison, we sang a rather lame rendition, “Buffalo Gal Don’t You Come Out Today,” to make any critters aware of our presence!
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| Mother black bear defends her cub at Wood Buffalo National Park |
Later that afternoon, we hiked another trail down to the salt plains, an ancient seabed bordered by boreal forest and wetlands. Salt mounds piled on the corners of ponds and dusted the dried earth in this strange place. Footprints of both birds and mammals tracked in the crusted and cracked mudflats. Areas that rose several feet above the salt plains offered an oasis for different plant growth.
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| Salt mound at Wood Buffalo National Park |
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| Salt Plains at Wood Buffalo National Park |
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| Salt Flats at Wood Buffalo National Park |
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The next morning, sand hill cranes flew in formation above us, heading home to Texas. We felt it was an omen that we, too, should be heading southward.
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| Sandhill crane migration from Wood Buffalo National Park |
We wanted to take one more interpretive hike that told about the whooping crane nesting grounds. Across the road and about a hundred yards from the trailhead, however, we spied an enormous black bear, grazing berries. Needless to say, our hike was rather short and sweet, taking photos of the interpretive signs rather than taking time to read them. We had absolutely no interest in answering that proverbial question, “why did the bear cross the road?”
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As we exited Wood Buffalo National Park, both David and I spoke about the wonders we had been blessed to see in this exceptional and odd place. This park is definitely on our “we have to come back” list!
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