Road Trippin'

 "Hey. Are you still interested in seeing the Passion Play?" she asked.

"Uhh. Yeah, sure." I replied.

We left 48 hours later.

First night in Golden. 

Then Drumheller.

Back to Nelson. 

And, 2200 kms later, home. 

I'm still not operating on all cylinders, so she planned the route, made the reservations, brought a couple coolers filled with food and did half the driving. 

Mitzi was our reliable steed. 

There were warm weather warnings in every city we passed through. But it's summer; this is expected temperature behavior, yes? 

My eye balls were in awe of the beauty. Canola fields? YOU ARE STUNNING. Field? You are the cutest little town. Yoho Park? How come I've never heard of you before? DRUMHELLER!! You are a DELIGHT!

Mitzi, ready to roll. New windshield. Freshly cleaned. All ready for a million bugs to get splatted all over the front of her. 

The mountains. 

Majestic and glorious as anticipated. 

We stopped at the Natural Bridge (and just about any other photo-worthy spot along the way) on that first day. 

"A ribbon of steel ..." 

I love that phrase. It describes the railway that connected the east to the west ...

The last spike was placed/pounded in on Nov 7, 1885.

(Which, after travelling in Europe last year, is a reminder of how very young Canada is.)

My travelling buddy had salad fixin's in one of her coolers. (I had popcorn and chips in mine.) So we stopped for a picnic lunch beside a lake that I've forgotten the name of. And we ate her healthy things. (Which she swooned over, and I tolerated. Hahaha.)

If you're gonna road trip with someone, choose someone who brings two of everything plus a little extra, "just in case"...

We drove through Field, a teensy town in BC, (population 169) that is SO so adorable:

I would estimate at least 1/3 of the homes in Field are guest houses. And on that day in July there were NO vacancies. Unbelievably picturesque. I took 10,000 photos. And will delete 9,990 of them. Because really? The internet has photos too. 

After spending the night in Golden, BC, we continued on, crossing the border into Alberta. First time for Mitz. She loved it. 

Europe may have it's fancy, old castles, but we have that hotel in Banff. :)

And then, just like that, (snaps fingers) we were out of the mountains and into unfamiliar territory. FLAT. 

FLAT FOREVER.

Not a hill or a bump to be seen for a million miles. 

At 9 pm we checked out the hoodoos:

If it hadn't been getting dark, I would've stayed another hour. 

JUST loved watching the shadows play across the grooves, bulges and rolls. 

(Haha, sounds like I'm describing my stomach.)

Watching the kids scramble across the rocks (and hearing their moms shout at them to be careful, or come down now), made me nostalgic for those long-ago golden years of family adventures with my Oboys.  

(Sandra needing to touch to experience what it feels like.)

This (below) is my fav pic. Looks like a smiling mouth with bad teeth, yes?

 

So. That was worth the drive. 

The next morning we climbed 106 steps to get up and into the mouth of the world's largest dinosaur. (I have a faulty hip. And she has knee issues.)

You just wish you were on this road trip with us, don't you?

Right?!

How could we not?

After that invigorating start to our day, we drove the 48k Dinosaur Loop (or something. I can't remember what it was called.)  

We stopped at all the Points Of Interest.

At times it felt like we were driving through a live Ukranian flag. The blue sky and yellow canola fields are really a site to behold. Nothing prepares you for the vastness and colour intensity of both. We kept pulling off to the side to take one more photo. 

And then we descended from the plateau into a coulee and took a cable-pulled ferry across the river. 

... and arrived on the other side, just to ascend to another plateau. Where we stopped to watch gophers yell at us at Horse Thief Canyon. 

It was windy.

On our way to the museum, we paused for a minute to check out this tiny roadside chapel. I thought it was where Daryl proposed to Julie.

I was wrong. (That happened at the roadside chapel in farther south. WHO KNEW there would be so many teensy places of worship in this province? I don't think BC has any. 

And then?

THIS.

The Royal (because Queen Elizabeth visited) Tyrell Museum:

Check the link for more info and better photos. 

I never knew.

I didn't realize dinosaurs were REAL. 

HAha. Thought they were just a Jurassic Park/Land Before Time thing. 

That's embarrassing to admit. But look at me being all transparent about my blonde brain. 

These are REAL bones. Found all over the Alberta Badlands. Dinosaurs not only roamed the earth, they did it IN CANADA. Mind blown. 

That museum is world-famous. So you should take your young paleontologists to see it. Or not. It's really up to you. Don't come to me for travel or parenting tips. 

After that, we drove over The Eleven Bridges to Wayne. ( A Guinness Book of World Records item: 11 bridges in 6 kms.) And stopped in Wayne to take a quick look at The Last Chance Saloon where Jackie Chan filmed a scene for Shanghai Noon. 

AND THEN.

Then we met up with Mandi and watched The Passion Play at the Drumheller Amphitheatre. People come from all over the world to see this... (three weekends in July only).

Badlands Passion Play

I would recommend seeing this production. 

It's impressive. Grand. 

They make use of the whole valley, not just the stage... actors are on the mountain tops in the distance, and the ridges and caves and... I've never experienced anything like it before. 

The actors, singers, musicians are all professional. 

And the story, well, it's timeless. 

We are loved. 

And meeting Jesus will change us forever. 

And then it was time to head home. 

We stopped at Lenbrick Falls (where Greg and Mandi got married).

Julie suggested we stop at Frank's Slide Interpretive Centre to get the deets on the 1903 rock slide that wiped out a good portion of the town of Frank. So we did. 

That mountain fell apart and within 90 seconds ten katrillion pounds of rocks (some the size of houses) tumbled down the mountain, across the valley and up the other side. At least 90 people were crushed. 

So humbling, isn't it?

To see the power of rolling stones. The damage it can cause. The lives that're lost. 

This whole trip has been humbling. Everything is SO BIG. From the sky to the fields to the mountains to the God-story to the lakes to the rock slides. 

And I am so small. 

It just catches your breath. 

We thought our last stop was going to be Nelson, but after checking in at the Tourist Bureau for recommendations on must-see sites, we were directed to Kaslo. Haha. 

Which was lovely, because my grannie's sister lived and raised her family there. She owned the theatre, clothing store and arcade. So that was a teensy trip down memory lane. ('Cept I have no memories of this lane.)

We took Hwy 5 to Alberta. 

Then from Hwy 22 (the prettiest road. You should take it if you can) we headed west back home on Hwy 3, (Crows Nest Hwy.)

This mountain, (below) is Crow's Nest:

In Kaslo we toured the SS Moyie (museum) (which I found interesting) :

(for more info: SS Moyie )

And our last tourist activity was riding the tram in Nelson...

(The following pics are out of order, and I can't adjust them. Sorry to the editor-types who're reading. This'll probably make your eye twitch.)

Had an ice cream at this old school DQ (the last independent one NOT owned the Orange Julius people) and apparently the only one that doesn't accept tips. 

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. A travelling companion who did all the heavy lifting (not literally, but mentally) to make this trip happen. 

2. No mishaps or accidents or situations we couldn't handle. 

3. That two old ladies can drive a car across the Rockies and through the Prairies and feel totally safe doing so. So grateful that I live in this time and in this country.

4. The creativity of our God who had so many good ideas about landscapes and colours.

Have a good summer, feel your boobs, drink more water, xo