There's a voice that keeps on calling me,
Down the road, that's where I'll always be....
This time of year, when things start to melt, I always get the urge to hop into my car and head out on a road trip. So, on Wednesday when B asked me to come to Calgary, I thought about it for two minutes, and then decided that yes, we would head out on Friday. Whoo hoo!
My car still has winter tires on, and with temperatures pushing now into double digits, I did wonder if I should try to get them changed. On the other hand, it is still March, and snow still happens. Especially when you get closer to the mountains. Plus, I'd hate for my freshly changed tires to not be changed enough, and then fly off the car when I'm driving down the highway at 100+. I feel like the end result would be a not good thing.
Anyway: road trip. The plan was to be rolling by 8 a.m., but first I stopped by M's, to pick up the cooler and check that all was well at her house (since she`d run off to Arizona with P & M). By 8:30, I picked up J. We stopped to gas up first, then hit the road, and were out of the city by 9.
Lunch at McD`s in Kindersley, as per usual. Once we were in Alberta, we made an impulse stop to get out and go explore a shack on a hill. Why? No reason other than "why not?" We parked the car, wandered up a dirt road, and looked at what might have once been a house, and now derelict and open to the elements.
Further up the road, at another farm, we saw some bison in the snow.
The tire man at Youngstown is festooned with campaign signs. Oh yeah, Alberta has a provincial election coming up. M will be so displeased to realize she hugged a conservative tire.
On the highway, it seemed that the cops were out in force. At various points, we saw three vehicles stopped by cops (presumably getting tickets).
Between Drumheller and Calgary, yet another set of flashing law-enforcement lights. There's a cop standing on the ground, looking up at a second cop, who is walking on top of a semi-trailer unit, and he's looking back down at his partner and shrugging, like "WTF".
I don't know what that trailer unit was made of - it looked like it was cobbled together with old wood and steel. Kind of resembled something out of Mad Max or Duel.
Instead of blasting through Drumheller as we usually do, we stopped and stayed for a while. Stopped at World's Largest Dinosaur because there are free toilets for J. Crossed the street to play with the stone dinos, then went into the Fossil Shop. They had just opened this week - it's on Day 5 of the season. We bought a Brontosaurus for the old lady.
After that, we drove out to the HooDoos. I haven't been here in about 40 years. That's crazy, that I can be old enough to have been away from somewhere for 40 years. 😂
We hit the road again, back on road to Cowtown. We meet the fam at Cross Iron Mills for supper. Let the good times roll!
Down the road, that's where I'll always be....
This time of year, when things start to melt, I always get the urge to hop into my car and head out on a road trip. So, on Wednesday when B asked me to come to Calgary, I thought about it for two minutes, and then decided that yes, we would head out on Friday. Whoo hoo!
My car still has winter tires on, and with temperatures pushing now into double digits, I did wonder if I should try to get them changed. On the other hand, it is still March, and snow still happens. Especially when you get closer to the mountains. Plus, I'd hate for my freshly changed tires to not be changed enough, and then fly off the car when I'm driving down the highway at 100+. I feel like the end result would be a not good thing.
Anyway: road trip. The plan was to be rolling by 8 a.m., but first I stopped by M's, to pick up the cooler and check that all was well at her house (since she`d run off to Arizona with P & M). By 8:30, I picked up J. We stopped to gas up first, then hit the road, and were out of the city by 9.
Lunch at McD`s in Kindersley, as per usual. Once we were in Alberta, we made an impulse stop to get out and go explore a shack on a hill. Why? No reason other than "why not?" We parked the car, wandered up a dirt road, and looked at what might have once been a house, and now derelict and open to the elements.
Further up the road, at another farm, we saw some bison in the snow.
The tire man at Youngstown is festooned with campaign signs. Oh yeah, Alberta has a provincial election coming up. M will be so displeased to realize she hugged a conservative tire.
On the highway, it seemed that the cops were out in force. At various points, we saw three vehicles stopped by cops (presumably getting tickets).
Between Drumheller and Calgary, yet another set of flashing law-enforcement lights. There's a cop standing on the ground, looking up at a second cop, who is walking on top of a semi-trailer unit, and he's looking back down at his partner and shrugging, like "WTF".
I don't know what that trailer unit was made of - it looked like it was cobbled together with old wood and steel. Kind of resembled something out of Mad Max or Duel.
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| World's Largest Dinosaur |
Instead of blasting through Drumheller as we usually do, we stopped and stayed for a while. Stopped at World's Largest Dinosaur because there are free toilets for J. Crossed the street to play with the stone dinos, then went into the Fossil Shop. They had just opened this week - it's on Day 5 of the season. We bought a Brontosaurus for the old lady.
After that, we drove out to the HooDoos. I haven't been here in about 40 years. That's crazy, that I can be old enough to have been away from somewhere for 40 years. 😂
There's now staircases and walkways all around our scenic hoodoos, and signs warning people to stay off the rock formations. I have the vaguest recollection of being here as a child, and seeing other people clambering around on the rocks (not us, though, because we weren't allowed). This is why we can't have nice things - although I would say, I very much like the walkway and viewing platforms. Nice things that will hopefully keep the area more protected.
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| Hoo Doos! |
The other place I remembered from my childhood was the Star Mine suspension bridge. It's like walking down memory lane, revisiting these places. It's pretty early in the year, and there's still ice on the Red Deer River. We walk across the metal grating walkway, looking at the river below.
I also meet a woman on the bridge who has the same dyed-hair colour as me. Feria Violet Vixens! 👍
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| Violet Vixens on the Star Mine Suspension Bridge |
Joe and I remember camping here (in Drumheller) as kids, but we can't find the campground where we stayed. Plus, this isn't our destination - just a pit stop on the way to Calgary.
We hit the road again, back on road to Cowtown. We meet the fam at Cross Iron Mills for supper. Let the good times roll!
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