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Tyrannasauras Rex, Drumheller
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Battle River trestle bridge, Wainwright
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World’s largest oil lamp in Donalda
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Grain elevator at Ukrainian village
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Limo graveyard at Lamont
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Stores at Big Valley
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Vast expanse of Badlands
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Barb Rees photos
World’s largest painted Pysanka/Ukrainian Easter egg at Vegreville
Story & photos by Barb Rees
Drumheller, Donalda, Bruderheim, and Wainwright - what do they have in common? They are a few of the historical communities we discovered while exploring Alberta last summer.
Following #9 north through Irricana we headed through fields of sunshine and canola to the land of dinosaurs, Drumheller. At the junction for #9 east at Three Hills, we dropped down into the Badlands where dinosaurs roamed 75 million years ago. The largest dinosaur in the world dwarfs the information center. A Tyrannosaurus rex standing a menacing 25 m (82 ft) tall and 46m (151 ft) long, weighing in at a staggering 65770 kg (145,000 lbs).
We were greeted by helpful tourism staff who found us a camping spot at ‘River Grove RV Park and Cabins’ with 160 sites. (www.camprivergrove.com) It’s a full service, well-treed campground. The “Wild West Adventure” was an evening tour on a hay wagon to a buffalo herd.
Next morning we made our way to the ‘Royal Tyrell Museum’ with 10 galleries and 40 dinosaur skeletons, but when we saw long lines of school kids we decided that a stroll along the 1.6 km interpretive trail would be much quieter and our dogs could go for a walk too. The badlands were in bloom, ground squirrels delicately sipping from cactus blooms, four kinds of sage, coloured strata and more. Canada really is an exotic land.
We took Alberta Railway Excursions (ARE) from Stettler to Big Valley. What a fun trip with entertainment, refreshments, history lessons from ‘Gabriel Dumont’ (a Metis leader of the late 1800’s), prairie scenery and we even got robbed by gun toting horseback riding robbers. Big Valley was the hub in 1910, and the CNR opened for service in 1911. While you’re there visit the restored railway station, roundhouse interpretive centre, grain elevator and the McAlister Motors Museum to name a few of the sights. Make your way up the hill to the blue church. (www.absteamtrain.com) The first weekend in August is “Métis Hivernant Days”, which is a three-day celebration of Métis culture. ‘Hivernant’ means wintering place. The train will pull in with Gabriel Dumont on board and a Métis flag flying proudly.
Stettler, the “Heart of Alberta” sits in the middle of rich ranch land and oil resources. The annual “Stettler Steel Wheel Stampede” in June was voted the best rodeo by competing cowboys. The “Town and Country Museum” is a historic village with 25 buildings. Surrounding Stettler are many parks including Rochon Sands Provincial Park, Pelican Point and Ol’McDonald’s Camp on Buffalo Lake, Big Knife Provincial Park on Battle River.
In the tiny village of Donalda you will find the world’s largest oil lamp rising 12m (42 ft) above the badlands. You’ll be intrigued by the collection of over 900 gorgeous oil lamps in the museum. A bit of trivia - their claim to fame was the ‘Donalda Maid Butter’ peak production in 1965 of 324076 kg (714,466 lbs) of butter. How much is that? You’d need to pile about 3,572 men weighing 200 lbs. each to make that amount. ‘Donalda Campground’ with nine sites and power is located at the entrance to the village off #53. The nearest free sani-dump is at Bashaw on the corner of #53 in Pelican Point Park.
Bypassing the villages of Forestburg and Hardistry we camped in Wainwright at the junction of Buffalo Trail-Highway 41 and Poundmaker Trail- Highway 14. Don’t the names bring to mind battles over land and herds of buffalo? Wainwright, the “Buffalo Capital of Canada” once had vast herds of Plains Bison (buffalo) that came near to extinction in the late 1800’s. The Canadian government created a ‘Buffalo National Park’ in Wainwright in 1907 and it lasted until 1939 (in 1947 the land was transferred to the Department of National Defense and is now Canadian Forces Base Wainwright) . A giant buffalo statue guards the main street into town.
Battle River Trestle west of town (turn at the sign, then travel seven km on well-marked gravel road) is a spectacular trestle opened in 1909 and still in use. It rises 60 m (195 ft) above Battle River and is 845 m (2,775 ft) long.
We wandered to Vegreville to see the world’s largest painted Pysanka/ Ukrainian Easter egg. Built like a giant jigsaw puzzle it contains 534 star patterns, 2208 equilateral triangles, and 3512 visible facets. It’s 7.8 m (25.7 ft) long, 5.5 m (18 ft) wide and stands 9.4 m (31 ft) tall. www.vegreville.com
Ukrainian culture is an important part of Alberta. We stopped at the ‘Ukrainian History Village’ on #16 east of Edmonton. Travel back in time to spend a few hours with people in period dress and character telling you stories of their era.
When I discovered in a tourism magazine that a meteorite landed in Bruderheim we had to make another jog in our route to go there. A spectacular mural was painted on the side of city hall to commemorate the biggest meteorite in Canada landing there in May 4, 1960. A piece of it is on loan from the University of Alberta, displayed in a secure glass case in the fire hall. No human hands have touched it. Its burnt colouring is a testament to its scorching descent through the atmosphere. Ask at city hall to see it.
Some very helpful staff sent us on a trip to see the grotto called “Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine” at a cemetery. The “Skaro Shrine” was built in remembrance of the pioneers who built their first church in 1900.
Wandering Alberta’s back roads opened our minds to the history and beauty not normally promoted. Leave yourself plenty of time for impetuous detours. You will be pleasantly surprised at what you’ll find.
Barb Rees is a speaker and author of five RV Canada books from the working holidays her and husband Dave have made from coast to coast to coast of Canada. She presents at the RV Lifestyle Seminars in Kelowna annually. Her books can be found at: www.write2dream.com