I’d Like to Buy a Vowel, Pat

Coulees and Hoodoos! Wrapping your mouth and mind around these two vowel-intense words may be difficult but they perfectly describe what you will find when you are lucky enough to adventure in Alberta’s famed “Badlands” as I did last Sunday when I captured this snap of a coulee in the Red Deer River valley just north of Drumheller.

Let me start my tale by saying that I had not intended to adventure in Drumheller when I set out last Sunday. I had errands to run in Airdrie just to the north and east of Cochrane. Tasks complete, the day turned out to be a summer stunner with bright sunny skies and baking temperatures. Perfect for a roof-off-the-Jeep drive, so I picked a highway and just started driving. Highway 567 east of Airdrie takes you through stunning farmland replete with iridescent canola fields and waving wheat fields to prairie towns like charming Irricana. From there, Highway 9 north took me into Beiseker where I stopped for a mile high cheeseburger at a local truck stop before deciding to continue my Highway 9 adventure further east to Drumheller. I am telling you all this to say that once I arrived in Drumheller mid afternoon, it was clear to me I needed to plan a full day in this geological/historical just plain amazing area. Once a lover of all things dinosaur (Grades 1-2 if I remember correctly) it doesn’t take much to know that a trip to the Royal Tyrrell Museum is a must as is a hike through Horseshoe Canyon and the Atlas Coal Mine. I can’t wait to plan this adventure out and take you there!

On Sunday I managed a stunning drive along the South Dinosaur Trail that winds its way up along the Red Deer River, taking in vistas such as the Orkney Lookout at the height of the badlands, to the unexpected Bleriot Ferry in the depths of the ravines surrounding the river.  I took the snap above on the western shore of the ferry landing before sighing and turning my Jeep around to head west for home, knowing that I will come back and stay longer in this diverse, extreme, beautiful area. If you would like to see more photos from my short Drumheller adventure, please visit my website. Until we meet again, Drumheller!