June 4, 2019
Our plans today included travelling into the Red Deer River valley to visit some historical sites as well as points of interest about the formation of this incredible landscape. We would end the day by going to Three Hills to meet up with Piet ‘s son, Peter and family, wife Chantelle and son Brooks age 18 mts. Piet’s daughter Tanya is also coming to join us for supper. Tanya lives in Beiseker, approximately 40 kms from Three Hills.
Before we headed out, Piet and I drove to a large field across the road from his house. We watched two large John Deere sprayers working on the field. These machines are huge, with a spray boom of 140 ft. each and a large 1700 liter onboard tank. A transport truck tanker provided the water and pesticide that is pumped into the sprayers. The large 5ft tall wheels can be extended or narrowed to be able to drive between the planted crop rows. The cab is pressurized and air conditioned and the machines are controlled by satellite GPS so that the operator does not over spray and they each know how the fields are “painted” by watching an inboard screen. They were able to cover the entire section sized field in a matter of an hour. The operators of the sprayers and the truck looked to under 20 years of age.
These young men are from the nearby Hutterite colony and learn the various trades and are educated on the colony. There are approximately 150 people that live in the colony and live in houses and apartments on site. The colony own many sections of land and are highly successful farmers using the most up to date technology and equipment. The children go to school on site and learn various trades. They are terrific neighbors to Piet and Judy, providing eggs and vegetables and helped Piet when he was convalescing from a recent knee replacement operation.
It was then time to head out and explore the area. We visited the Horse Thief Canyon and the Dry Island Buffalo Jump. Both these sites are located on the edge of the Red Deer River Valley and have endless canyons and gorges shaped by the millions of years of erosion. The valley bottom is hundreds of feet below and the river winds its way through the valley. We crossed the river on the Beliot Ferry, a cable driven ferry.
After a long drive through the many fertile fields and coulees we made our way to the town of Three Hills to meet up with Piet’s clan, and enjoyed a wonderful supper. During our conversations, we learned that Tanya, our niece, had just been at the Bar U ranch after we had been there. She was helping out seeding the crops and was hopeful that she would be picked up as a “swamper”, at the upcoming Calgary Stampede. A “swamper”, we learned, is an outrider with the horse teams. She owns a Clydesdale and also a miniature pony.
Peter and Chantelle live in Three Hills. Chantelle is a vice principal in a high school in Trochu and Peter works for the City of Calgary and commutes the 45 minute drive each day. Driving long distance in Alberta, we found out, is not an issue. We congratulated Chantelle for recently completing her Master’s degree. It was our first time to meet young Brooks, a happy, blond, ball of energy.
It was then time to drive home and to bed early as Piet and Judy work tomorrow and we had to continue on. The weather incidentally, was hot and dry during the day but by suppertime the winds came up and the temperature dropped to 5 degrees!
Quilting in a Kayak 