June 03, 2019

Today was a workday for Helga and John, and it was time for us to head north to see my other brother, Piet and his wife Judy, who live in the Drumheller area. 

When we arrived at Piets’s small farm, we immediately jumped into his truck and accompanied him back to Drumheller as he had a doctor’s appointment.  While he visited his doctor, Debbie and I used his truck and cruised the City of Drumheller and took in some of the local tourist sights.

Debbie and I have agreed that during our trip across Canada, we would try to drive to our destinations using secondary highways and roads.  We had accomplished this going to Cowley and Elkwater and now we were going by way of secondary roads to Piets’ home located in the area of Morin, Alberta, about 30 kms, NW of Drumheller.  We rolled through beautiful vistas of newly planted grain crops and huge tracts of farmlands, which made up a colorful patchwork from horizon to horizon. 

After his appointment, we picked up Judy at her work and drove out of town to see some of the local sights of the Drumheller region before heading back to their home.

The City of Drumheller is nestled in the bottom of the valley along the banks of the Red Deer River.  The Drumheller valley is well known for its archeological digs and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.  The deep valley was formed by millions of years of erosion by winds and rains.  65 million years ago dinosaurs roamed this “Jurassic park”.  During the early 1900’s coal was discovered in the region and it became a coal mining area and later of course, oil and gas was also discovered. Drumheller now has a very diverse economy relying on agriculture, oil and gas and tourism for its prosperity.

We spent the rest of the afternoon, travelling along the valley bottom roads, visiting abandoned coalmines, and visited the Hoodoos park. Hoodoos are sandstone pillar like formations of various sizes and shapes that stick up and out of the banks of the valley.  A denser type of rock material caps the tops of the hoodoos so that as the rains erode the sandstone, the sandstone holds up the cap. These interesting formations can be found throughout the valley.

At one point, Piet and I crossed the river on a suspension bridge to visit a coalmine site.  As we crossed, we watched a 4 foot long bull snake swim across the river as it was being swept downstream.  The snake was yellow with black patches on the back.  Bull snakes are not venomous and prey on rodents.   You would expect to see rattlesnakes but I was told there are no rattlesnakes in this valley.  I am not a lover of these reptiles.

We also visited the area near Rosedale on Highway 10X. You travel across the Rosebud River 11 times on narrow bridges in a short distance.  We then stopped in at the Last Chance Saloon and enjoyed a cold beer.  This eclectic little bar and village, population (40-+), hosts a motorcycle ride for a children’s charity, and thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts spend a fun filled weekend.

We then returned to Piet’s house and as we traveled the 20+ kms, he explained the various farms and the huge crops and associated mechanical implements.  Farming in this region is a major industry.  The farms have tracts of land as far as the eye can see and the tractors and equipment are all huge.  Tomorrow I will explain this further as we visit a neighbor of Piet’s, a Hutterite colony, which is an awesome facility. We enjoyed a barbeque and some more beers and planned our activities for tomorrow.  Piet and Judy had each taken a day off to spend time with us.  The weather changed within hours, from a temperature of 32 degrees to windy and temperature of 12 degrees.  Debbie and I enjoyed crawling into a king size bed, slightly larger than what we have in the trailer. 

June 02, 2019

We slept in John and Helga’s spare bedroom last night and although it was a very comfortable sleep, we both commented on the fact that we were already so used to sleeping in our bed in the Armadillo.

We enjoyed a lazy morning and breakfast, and then made plans to see more areas of Brooks.  We visited Dad and Mom’s gravesite and noted that there was some maintenance to be done to it.  

We also visited the gravesite of Cst.Buday, a young RCMP policeman and fellow dogmaster who had been shot and killed by a crazed bushman in 1985.   I attended Michael’s funeral, he was special to me, as he worked for my father before he joined the RCMP, and also the fact that he was a dogmaster, a duty that I performed for 11 years in my early career.

During our visit to the cemetery, I was fortunate to meet Ria, the daughter of long lasting family friends who also immigrated from Holland roughly the same time as our family.  I remembered Ria as a very young, active pre-teen.

We continued exploring some of the surrounding areas and communities near Brooks all the while realizing the changes and growth that had occurred since my leaving.  

We returned to our host’s house and enjoyed supper, worked on this blog, phoned the kids back in Nanaimo, talked till we were tired and went to bed. 

June 01, 2019

Sadly, today we have to say goodbye to John and Carol and continue our journey.  After a hearty breakfast, we battened down the trailer and said goodbye to our long lasting friends.  They assured us that they would visit us when we returned to our home in Nanaimo. They were hospitable hosts. 

The smoke was still in the sky but had lightened somewhat. It was now time to go to my hometown of Brooks, to visit my brother John and his wife Helga.  The drive to Brooks is about one hour and the road has not changed much since the many times I travelled it during my ill spent youth. The #1 Trans Canada highway boasts to have the longest piece of straight highway with no curves, in North America, between Medicine Hat and Tilley, Alberta.  

The southern Alberta prairie plains roll out in all directions with very little human habitation. In my youth, large herds of antelope ranged in the area, however, sadly their population has dwindled and we only saw the occasional lonely one ranging in the grasses.  The prairie is still nice and green with some blooming wild flowers.  The area is known for its intense heat in the height of summer and the prairie then loses its color and becomes dry and brown.  A strong steady wind was blowing in from the west and bringing with it the northern smoke.

As we neared Brooks, from the east, I could already see the many changes to my “old home town”.  My family and I had lived on the Alberta Horticultural Center. My father was employed there as a Horticultural Technician since our immigration to Canada in 1954.  It is (was) located approximately 4 kms. east of Brooks.  It is now called the Crop Diversification Research Centre South and the boundary of Brooks is less than a kilometer from the center.

The economy of Brooks has been diverse for quite some time. Historically, it was a farming town, however, the oil industry has been an influencing factor and most recently the development of the largest livestock feedlot in Canada has also been a significant factor in the economy and employment to this now city.

We wound our way through the familiar and not so familiar streets until we located my brother John’s house.  They gave us a warm welcome and allowed us to relax under their sunshade as we brought each other up to date.  

Later in the afternoon, John drove us around Brooks, showing us the many changes that had occurred since the last time we had been in Brooks.  We drove out to the Crop Diversification Research Centre and noticed that our house had been removed and many familiar test plots, and familiar landscape sites had changed, relocated or removed.  I felt sadness and a reluctance to accept those changes and remarked that this would probably be my last visit to the center.   

We then set out to see Kinbrook Provincial Park.  Lake Newell is the lake within the park and was a favorite place for our family and the folks living in Brooks.  This large man made lake is part of the Eastern Irrigation District’s ambitious plan to bring irrigated water to the farmer’s crops in the southern Alberta region.   Since I left, the lake was developed into a Provincial Park and has many campsites and family day camps.  There is a large sandy beach and a modern boat launch and jetty.  On this weekend, the campsites were busy, and many people were enjoying the park. Kinbrook is considered to be the most family friendly Provincial Park in Alberta.  Driving through the park brought back many happy memories.  It is also the place where our graduating class had its after grad party, a party that I can’t remember much of.  

We then drove back into Brooks, and cruised by the new hockey arena where the Brooks Juniors won the Canadian finals this year. The building is very impressive and murals have been painted on its walls depicting important scenes of the development of the region. One mural depicts the above ground aquaduct that was built at the turn of the century as part of the irrigation system. We lived a short distance from this structure.

We then toured past my sisters’ homes as well as the house my parents owned after my father retired. Again, floods of many happy memories. It was getting late in the day so we enjoyed a great meal at Montanas family restaurant and then finally went to bed after making plans for our day tomorrow.

May 31, 2019

Carol and John prepared a great breakfast this morning, which we enjoyed after having slept in a “normal” bed and enjoyed a “toonie” free shower.  

John and Carol wanted to show us some of the sights of Medicine Hat and because of my interest in pottery we also were visiting the Medalta Pottery Museum. 

We first stopped at the John’s Butterfly House at the Windmill Garden Centre.  This garden center has a large tropical conservatory that houses a huge garden of tropical plants, a coy fishpond and is the habitat for a variety of butterflies. We toured the grounds and looked at the many colorful butterflies as well as enjoying the blooming tropical flowers and trees. 

Our visit to the Medalta Pottery Museum was informative and educational.  The Medalta Pottery factory was established in 1912 and was the primary supplier of stoneware, dishes, and storage pots in Canada.  It was a leader in its field in technology and mass production machinery. The museum has, through archeological digs, restored much of the machinery, equipment and kilns.  It is also the most productive on-site student arts program in Canada.  I really enjoyed speaking to the art students and watching some of the methods and processes that they were using in making various types of pottery and stoneware. 

John, before he retired, was the water and utilities manager for the City of Medicine Hat.  He toured us around the city as we were heading home to show us the changes that he was involved in as a result of the two major floods that Medicine Hat experienced in the past nine years.  It was interesting to see the needs for dykes after a flood that was never experienced in 100 years.

John and Carol again set out a wonderful supper and we ended the evening with a photo show of their recent trip to New Zealand and Australia. 

May 30, 2019

The smoke from the northern Alberta wildfires has arrived into southern Alberta.   We woke to grey haze that was starting to obscure the wide open vistas.  The wind was too strong to go for a paddle on the lake and we opted to go for a 60km circuit drive through the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.  The town of Elkwater is the community where we started from and then wound our way through the park taking in the various points of interest and historic sites in the park.  We went to the Head of the Mountain Viewpoint, the highest point in Canada east of the Rockies.  From that vantage point you are able to see for 100kms into Montana and area. Unfortunately the smoke haze was not going to allow that.   Reesor Lake is also a picturesque spot nestled in the hills an obvious favorite fishing spot for anglers to catch the rainbow or tiger trout.  There were also several pairs of pelicans paddling on the lake. 

Another interesting site was the cairn of the first NWMP officer killed on duty in Canada.  The area of Cypress Hills is very historic for the development of the NWMP as there are two famous forts in the area, (Fort Macleod, Fort Walsh) which were established to establish law and order in the region. The park is called Interprovincial, as the park crosses the border of Alberta/Saskatchewan. We hope to visit Fort Walsh on our return trip back.

We looked hard for any wildlife on this circuit route, but we did not see any!  The receding glaciers formed the topography of the Cypress Hills during the end of the ice age, therefore, huge valleys and gorges were formed.  The higher portions of the Cypress hills were untouched by glaciers and large tracts of meadows and pastureland are formed, framed by forests and brush.  Perfect habitat for wildlife but we didn’t find any. 

We returned to our campsite and hooked up the trailer, and departed the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.  This park is a jewel to southern Alberta and we are glad that we visited it. It was now time to travel to Medicine Hat to visit our friends, John and Carol.  We arrived at 4:30 pm and it was wonderful to see them again.  

We enjoyed a barbeque on their back deck and we noticed that the wildfire smoke was thickening.  When we had arrived in Medicine Hat the temperature was 31 degrees and in a matter of an hour the temperature had dropped 10 degrees due to the sun being obscured by smoke.  

We had a wonderful conversation, catching up on each other’s lives, exchanging photos and travel stories.  The evening flew by and it was soon time to go to bed.  Carol and John insisted that we sleep in the guest room, which we did, although we were enjoying our cozy bed in the trailer. 

May 29, 2019

Today we are leaving Cowley and heading for the Cypress Hills Provincial Park.  Our plans are to camp in the park today and tomorrow and then head into Medicine Hat to visit with Carol and John.   Carol and Debbie hung around together in school. We would be seeing them later this week. 

We packed up the trailer, stowed Debbie’s sewing machine in the SUV.  We said goodbye to Willie and Clive and began another leg of our eastern journey.  A strong southern wind blew all day and when we turned off of Hwy 3 to head south, we really the noticed the truck laboring as we headed directly into the strong south wind.

We arrived in Elkwater, in the Cypress Hills InterProvincial Park, in the mid afternoon and secured a site right on the edge of the Elkwater Lake. 

After warming up two small dinners of left over Boston Pizza spaghetti and fettuccini we watched a small herd of mule deer grazing on the hills.  We then walked the shoreline for approximately 5 kms.  and studied the marsh birds flying in the evening air.   The sun dropped behind the foothills and the temperature dropped forcing us to go inside and to go to bed. 

May 28, 2019

Another beautiful day this was turning out to be.  The sun was bright in the sky and the mountains were shining in their white snowy mantle.  We were going to Wateron Lake National Park today with Willie and Clive. Wateron Lake Park had suffered a lot of damage from the Keno Fire last year and there was still a lot of repairs and construction going on.  Camping would be limited so we decided to make a day trip of it.  The forest fires presently burning in northern Alberta were already producing a smoky haze in the southern part of the province. 

 

The drive into the park from Cowley is simply magnificent. The scenery of the foothills and the towering mountains are breathtaking.  Waterton Lakes Park is still a jewel, even though the damage of the scorched trees on the sides of the mountains can be seen all around us.   We drove to as many areas as we could be permitted due to many of the closures and took lots of photos.  We stopped at Twin Butte on our way back for a late lunch, and enjoyed the eclectic atmosphere of the Twin Butte Mexican restaurant. 

We stopped in Pincer Creek on our return so that Willie and Debbie could make a short stop at the Pincer Creek quilt store the Dragon Heart Quilt Shop owned by Lynn. They quenched their quilt thirst and we continued on after having purchased some more quilt material.

 We returned back to the summer place late in the afternoon, Clive ignited another wonderful campfire and we relaxed and enjoyed some wine and beer and then finally called it a day, as we were all quite tired. 

May 27, 2019

The area around Pincer Creek is well known for its winds. There are many wind electric generator turbines erected on the hills surrounding the Oldman Lake reservoir. This morning the day was shaping up to be sunny with light winds and I decided to go for a paddle on the lake with the kayak.  Debbie wanted to sew new curtains on the door window as it was letting in too much light in the morning.  I went across the lake to some sandstone cliffs and as I was passing one area I noticed a small cave opening in the cliff.  A Horned Owl and its chick occupied it.  They posed for some photos.

I continued to cruise around the lake for another two hours and then as the wind started to pick up I made my way back.

In the afternoon, we headed into Pincer Creek to meet up with Bob and Elenor.  Bob and I went through school together and were best buddies.  Bob and Elenor live in Saskatoon and are vacationing in the Pincer Creek/Waterton Lakes area and we arranged to meet for supper in Pincer Creek. We had a great visit with them at the Boston Pizza.  It was nice to have Debbie and Elenor meet as they had never met before.  Our plans in our travels are to meet up with Bob and Elenor in Saskatoon however this was a nice coincidence that they were in the same area as we were. 

As we were leaving Boston Pizza, Clive and Willie rolled up. They informed us that they were going to help their son Mike.  Mike has been successful in certifying to become a licensed Marijuana grower, and was receiving a shipment of plants to his greenhouses.   Clive and Willie asked us if we would go with them to help unload the shipment into the greenhouses as he needed the help.   We agreed and met Mike and his pot plants at the greenhouse.  It took about an hour to move the plants into the greenhouse and for Mike to set them up. It was predicted to be a cool night so it was important to move them into the shelter of the greenhouse.  As a retired cop it certainly made a paradigm shift in my thinking, now that cannabis is now legal in Canada.  I asked Mike if he had any idea how many thousands of plants I had destroyed in my 37-year career and here I was now putting them into a greenhouse!!  How things have changed.  We finally finished that job and returned to Cowley, both smelling like skunks! 

It had turned out to be a very interesting day.

May 26, 2019

The sun was peeking through clouds this morning as we ate breakfast and readied the trailer to get on the road.  We said goodbye to Curt, Pat, Serge and Lindsay, then stopped to say goodbye to Laura and John.  

Leaving Bragg Creek and heading down Highway 22 was a treat that we did not expect.  The scenery was spectacular with the rolling hills and ranch lands back against the Rocky Mountains that were still filled with snow.  The fields and pastures were green, the trees with new fresh leaves and the rivers were swollen and filled with rushing water.

As we rolled down the quiet highway, we stopped at the Bar U ranch a National Historical Site.  The ranch is an iconic part of the western Canada ranching history and is being maintained as a working ranch as well as a tourist site with historic blacksmith, bakery, and wagon tours.  We learned about the history of the ranch, saw the many tools, harnesses, and machinery traditionally used in the working of the ranch.  They had “Finnegan” the resident bison that is often used in movies.

We arrived in Cowley late in the afternoon.  Clive and Willie have a small lot on the Oldman Lake, which is actually the Oldman Reservoir.  They own a large trailer that is their main summer home and a 26 ft. trailer that is Willie’s sewing room/guest home as she is another avid quilter.  Their site overlooks the lake and faces the Porcupine Hills with the Rocky Mountains in the distance.  After parking our trailer and setting up for the night, Clive put burgers on the barbeque and we enjoyed telling stories, catching up and having a great conversation around a roaring camp fire. 

May25, 2019

It was an early start today as we are going to Calgary to see the Heritage Quilt Show.  The show is staged at the Heritage Village and I was looking forward to seeing the sights of the village.  We had made arrangements to meet Susan, our niece, at the show.It was still raining as we drove into the parking lots of the Heritage Village. The show was to display the quilts on large frames scattered on the lawns in front of the various heritage buildings.  The show organizers scrambled early to take the 600 + quilts indoors and display them inside the venues in the Village.  The buildings ranged from historic hotels and homes of founding families of Alberta, to historic hospitals and stores.  They had also erected two large circus type tents, which housed the quilts and also the many types of vendors associated to the art of quilting. 

The Gasoline Alley building displayed a large variety of quilts, and Bill and Susan toured the collection of vintage cars and trucks on the three floors.  We spent the day walking through the many exhibits, admiring the quilts and learning the different history of the buildings and their contribution to the growth of Alberta.

We toured the grounds until 4:30 pm and then left the Heritage Village to go to Susan’s condo.  Bill enjoyed a shower and Susan then gave him a tutorial for some of the work on the blog.  It is so nice to have a “techy” to make the work so much easier.  We enjoyed a great supper at the Famosa Pizza restaurant and it was then time to say goodbye to Susan and drive the 40 kms back to our campsite.   The rain had stopped and we were looking forward to a great drive to Pincher Creek to visit Bill’s sister Willie and her husband Clive at their summer spot in Cowley.