Day 21 - Monday, October 7

On April 29, 1903 110 million tonnes of rock from an unstable Turtle Mountain crashed down on the town of Frank killing 90 people. Today, the Interpretive Centre at the site is designed to tell the tragic story. The Frank Slide Interpretive Centre opened on April 28, 1985.

It was originally designed to tell the story of resource extraction and coal mining in Alberta but the focus shifted quickly to the Frank Slide. The centre also serves as an orientation point to the history of the Crowsnest Pass. Just walking around the outside of the building gave us a sense of what happened here. As beautiful as Alberta is and all Canada for that matter, there are plenty of tragic tales that make you realize how lucky you are and how much you have in your life. This is a truly sad but meaningful place and the displays are magnificent.

A hiking trail through the rocks of the slide with viewpoints and interpretive signs outside the centre help orient and educate one to Canada's most devastating landslide. Hopefully the immense field of massive boulders will never be disturbed as they entomb all those lost over 120 years ago. As you gaze up at Turtle Mountain you can easily see where all the rock came from, even after all these years. Although not terribly long, the trail was demanding with a slippery gravel path and stone stairway down and a very steep long, hard climb up a dirt, root-laced trail to return you to the parking area. 

After lunch we took a short drive (about 100 kilometres return) to the west of Crowsnest Pass. That put us in BC immediately but a gorgeous day and similar looking mountain scenery made it enjoyable indeed. In the town of Sparwood we simply had to stop to see the world's largest truck. Likely a self-proclaimer honour, it certainly was one you wouldn't want passing you on the highway. Once again the wildlife cautions were disappointingly incorrect. 

We wanted to spend 3 nights in Medicine Hat because I had learned there was a ton of things to see and do. Therefore, I was very disappointed to find most hotels and Airbnb's full or nearly so, many unavailable. While we try to decide what to do, we booked another night in our cabin – there is nothing about this place that we do not love.

😎

Day 20 - Sunday, October 6

As it turns out we are about 100 kilometres from the National Park so a drive to explore took most of the day. The ranch lands along the way were a satisfying amalgamation of farming and energy conscious power production - not to mention a very pretty mountain background.

The Red Rock Canyon was a beautiful mountain drive on another gorgeous day. I guess the red rocks are deep in the outback for those who want to journey in and camp.

Magnificent mountain views, time honoured accommodation, the rich history of an iconic Canadian hotel and a price per night that would thrust many into instant bankruptcy, the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton is an incredible sight. With thoughts of The Shining I stared in awe. Too bad it is closed for the season because they welcome visitors even if they're not patrons.

The view is undeniably first class though today it was so windy it nearly blew us off our feet - and there's nowhere to hang on!

A visit to the Visitor Centre was an eye-opener, including this (pardon my French) the shittiest exhibit I have ever seen.  😂

Thanks for travelling with us. Stay tuned, there's more to come. 

😎

Day 19 - Saturday, October 5

The sunset last night in Drumheller was hopefully an omen for a great day today (despite the awful parking lot/residential view). It was.

It was a long drive so we stopped half way in Vulcan. Gee, what should we expect here?

After eating our road trip lunch we headed out and stopped to have a chat with this little guy.

After about three hours of Saskatchewan-like prairies the landscape started rolling again as we headed back into the mountains.

Crowsnest Pass in/near Waterton Lakes National Park will be our home for the next three days.

We have left the hotels behind and settled into a housekeeping cabin in the mountain woods.

There is a bit of highway noise as the trucks grind their way up the hill on the nearby road but the isolation and solitude of the cabin trumps (oh, what a horrible word) everything else. Stay with us - it should be fun.

😎

Day 18 - Friday, October 4

It was brutally cold and windy this morning with a wind chill well below freezing so that was a perfect time to spend a few hours at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. It's a teaching, learning, working museum, one of Alberta's finest. I spent three years in university studying Anthropology and maintain an interest in dinosaurs, fossils, etc...a morning well-spent. All rather stunning.

Just barely come up to this guy's knee.

It is absolutely amazing what has been found and preserved for presentation and education.

You step on a big industrial scale and the screen displays what animal you weigh the same as. Karen is a cougar, appropriate I think. I am a mountain goat though if I keep climbing these hoodoos and rocks I'll be the one on the Simpsons who slips and falls off the mountain.  😅

During the early settler years legend has it that horses would disappear into these canyons of the Red Deer River valley to reappear later carrying a different brand, hence the name Horse Thief Canyon. It was very similar to Horseshoe Canyon from a couple of days ago but still astounding how it just appears. You don't even know it's there until you're in it.

The Bleriot Ferry crosses the river connecting the North and South Dinosaur Trail highways. When we arrived there was only one car on the ferry - it belonged to the ferryman. The hilarious thing is the river is twice the width of the length of the ferry. It's nice to see someone preserving history rather than destroying it, even if it does seem meaningless and unnecessary.

North of Drumheller is another ghost town, this one a little more accurate than Wayne yesterday. Rowley, a former railway town, has a population of 11, two houses at the end of the abandoned Main Street.

Tomorrow we say a fond farewell to Drumheller for 3 days in a cabin in Crowsnest Pass in Waterton National Park.   

😎

Day 17 - Thursday, October 3

The Drumheller hoodoos are geological wonders that have stood guard at the mouth of Willow Creek for thousands of years. Like the canyon yesterday, they just pop up out of nowhere. 

It wasn't so much of a hike today as a climb...and not a particularly easy one at times.

The temperature was perfect around 8 degrees - very comfortable for this activity.

The Star Mining Suspension bridge is what remains today from earlier bridges designed to transport both men and coal from the mines to the other side of the river. All bridges were a far cry from the original rowboats to accomplish that task.

The nearby Town of Wayne has been granted ghost town status as the population is only 25. The approach to the town is wonderful crossing 11 iron bridges in a 6 kilometre span of road.

However, you can't technically call it a ghost town because there are a few businesses operating there, namely a hotel, bar/restaurant and a campground, all quite captivating on this pleasant day. Though open, the activity level sure supported its ghost town moniker.

Our final visit for the day was to the amphitheatre. The natural setting was surreal...and the acoustics were quite amazing, even to me! The photo below is surrounded on both sides and behind by rows and rows of similar seating giving a capacity of 2500 - simply astounding.

Drumheller is a weird and wonderful place. Don't miss it if you're ever near Calgary. It's so much more than just dinosaurs.

😎

 Day 16 - Wednesday, October 2

The area northeast of Okotoks is certainly back in the prairies, a bit rolling at times. 

About 19 kilometres before entering Drumheller the Horseshoe Canyon opens with absolutely no warning. If Ron hadn't mentioned it to us last night we probably would have driven by. There is no evidence of it from the road. Leave the highway, drive about half a kilometere and you see this.

A walk to the bottom is even more awe-inspiring...a little rough on the knees going down but well worth the effort.

Fortunately it was not a hot day (9 degrees with a few more in wind chill). It would be murder here in the summer.

As you all know I love humourous, often unexplainable signs. In the porta-potties this sign had me baffled, I think I get the first two images but could someone please explain why fishing in the toilettes should ever be brought up at all. I don't even want to imagine what your goal was here.

Welcome to Drumheller - no question what the attraction is here.

We've seen the world's largest mallard duck and the world's largest beaver on this trip so we had to take a look at the world's largest dinosaur. It's at the Visitor Centre and certainly gets your attention.

From there it was a trip to the smallest church I've ever seen, seating 10,000 people, six at a time. Again, why? This town is Ripley's Believe or Not and Niagara Falls' Clifton Hill all rolled into one.

We are certainly looking forward to tomorrow.   😎

PS...if there are any baseball fans out there, Detroit eliminating Houston in 

2 Wild Card games is HUGE! Go Tigers!

Day 15 - Tuesday, October 1

Because we were meeting a friend for dinner I chose a short trip and hike to a local waterfall. It took us past Bragg Creek to the Elbow River. Again it was a pretty drive though the day itself was not nearly as nice as yesterday. With the mountains visible in the distance the prairie countryside was rolling as they drew nearer.

As we approached Bragg Creek a large male moose with an impressive fully grown rack trotted across the highway in front of us without a care in the world. He also did not care enough to stop on the other side of the road so I could get a photo. We were going to have to settle for a shot that spoke of the true west to me (except for the presence of the highway)...a cowboy and his dog driving a herd of cattle down the road toward us.

Elbow Falls is a small waterfall on the Elbow River about 20 kilometres west of Bragg Creek in Kananaskis Country. It was pretty much at its full height of 6 metres (I said it was a small waterfall) on our visit this morning. The falls is reached by a hike to a couple of observation decks above the river. The trail splinters into about five smaller trails that fan out in all directions without a sign or assistance of any kind. If you look hard enough (as Karen did) you will find a map which doesn't tell you where the falls is but does tip you off, inadvertently, which direction to proceed. From there you'll have no trouble finding the falls, just listen. Once again the fall colour(s) saved the otherwise dull day. 

On the way out of Kananaskis a lone cow stood at the side of the highway watching us as if to wave goodbye. 

I met Ron at Tae Kwon Do 32 years ago. He had his two young sons attending as did I. In those days there were a lot of families involved. We all became fast friends outside the club. I don't recall the exact timing but after about 15 years Ron and his family moved out west. I didn't know where, somewhere near Calgary was all I knew. Well, Ron is retiring and they just bought a condo in Okotoks. That's actually the reason we stayed there. Tonight we met him and his wife Wendy (whom we also know) for dinner. Once again, old friends are the best friends.

Tomorrow we're off to Drumheller for 3 days.  😎