We drove into the Bow River Provincial Park for the night. There were a number of sites available but we were far above the river. Our view was rolling hills, pine trees and wild flowers. We were near a paved trail but there were too many bugs. It just did not seem like an evening for exploring.
We made hamburgers for dinner then sat around the table talking. Dan and Leroy traded memories of their childhood. Dan would remember some things and Leroy remembered others. They filled in missing pieces of each other’s story. A pleasant, quiet evening – until the wind came up.
The wind grew stronger through the night. It was keening and buffeting the trailer all night long. Dan was wakeful. It reminded us of nights on our sailboat, listening to the wind and feeling the anchor rode to be sure all was well. There is no anchor to worry about in a trailer but there were the trees. Dan was concerned about the stability of the trees on the windward side. Would they come down on us? In the morning we saw the tree to our leeward side was the one to worry about. It had a crack running right up the trunk and it was flexing with each gust of wind – open, close, open. It could pinch your fingers if you got them in the way!
The wind was still blowing as we pulled out. Most of our trip it would be behind us and help with fuel mileage. We stopped by the Ghost Reservoir to watch the strength of the wind whipping the sand into a dust cloud. The waves were breaking on the spillway of the dam. The small sailboats were being tossed like toys in the bay. Dan went to walk on the dock but gave up after about four meters as it corkscrewed crazily under his feet.
We wanted to avoid Calgary and the start of the Calgary Stampede. With the Royals attending it will be far too busy in the vicinity to be towing a trailer through town! Instead, we avoided the Queen Elizabeth II Highway north from Calgary and too a secondary road from Cochrane to Sundre. It was slower but there was much to see in the countryside. There were rolling hills with the mountains to the west of us.
We came to a stop in Sundre waiting at a road construction site. Off to our right a deer came bursting out onto the road. She was confused and frightened by the waiting cars, wheel around abruptly and ran off the way she had come. Then suddenly she came out of the trees again, this time dashing across the road right in front of the truck ahead. She made it safely to the other side and disappeared in the trees.
We turned north again to Caroline then east to Dickson. We were looking for a campground called the “Dickson Leisure Grounds”. We followed the signs to Dickson but did not see any to an RV park. We did find a picturesque little general store – The Dickson Store Museum. It looked like a great place to investigate and to get information.
A retired school teacher dressed in period costume showed us around the store. It was set to look like it would have been in the 1940’s and 50’s. There were 17 families that settled here originally so it was never a big community but the store supplied all their needs – food, fabric and hardware. Many of the items on the shelves were familiar to us. Upstairs were the living quarters. They had rescued the old coal and wood heater that had been thrown into the bush and left to rust. They had put a lot of work into restoring it and it sits in the living room again looking like new. It was a wonderful example of time gone by and we were lucky to have found it.
They did know the RV Park we were looking for and even had a small local map that would show us the way. We were on the right road and continued down to where it ran right along the top of the dam to the other side of the Red Deer River and Gleniffer Lake. From the top of the dam we had a spectacular view of the river valley below us on one side and the lake on the other. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to stop on the narrow road while pulling a trailer so I could not get the pictures I wanted.
While we were having heavy winds the previous night, this area had two tornadoes touch down. We could see grain bins blown over and broken, trees down and limbs with fresh breaks. Finally we found the Park. I walked in to see if they had space. They are no longer open to the public. It is only for people who have purchased the RV lots. There were two other parks in the vicinity that have closed to the public as well. The nearest park that would take overnighters had been hit by the storm and was unlikely to be open for guests.
Finally we reached the Westerners RV Park just off Queen Elizabeth II Highway south of Red Deer. They had no space available in the main park but we could stay the night in the overflow parking. Literally a city parking lot supplied with electricity. If you did not show proof of your overnight permit in the window, you would pay a city parking fine! There were clean washrooms and showers but no other amenities. With the heavy winds still blowing, we were actually glad to settle down for the night with no overhanging trees. We had spent all day to reach a town two hours from where we started.
In the morning Dan found we had a flat tire on the trailer. His next order of business was to have our spare put on and to purchase a new spare for the future. While he and Leroy took care of that, Reza and I got permission to do laundry in the RV Park. No point in wasting a rest stop! I have spent time sitting around a tire shop before. We met up and went for lunch in a Chinese Restaurant in Red Deer then picked up a few groceries.
We were on the road again in the afternoon and wandered the back roads south of Edmonton heading east to Vermillion. It was a pleasant drive in relatively good weather. I took a turn driving and got us safely to our destination. We have stayed in Vermillion twice before and it is a lovely RV Park with an information station, a library, a pool and a mini-golf area. The nicest part is there is space and trees between each site. They have been angled so you are not looking into your neighbour’s windows giving at least an illusion of privacy. We decided to stay two nights and have a break from traveling.
Instead we decided to play tourist for a day and drove north to Elk Point. From there we turned east to Fort George and Buckingham House. Fort George was the old Northwest Trading Company’s fort and Buckingham House was their competition run by the Hudson’s Bay Company. There is little left of either fort except the outlines revealed by archaeologists. But the interpretive center and the tour with our guide were very interesting. We saw buffalo hides, a tepee made of tanned hide with sinew stitching. We tested our ability to create a spark with a flint and steel. We learned how traders might try a bait and switch on the Indian and how the Indian might have a trick or two in return, each trying to get the best deal possible when trading goods for furs.
We only walked out to the Fort George site as the rainy weather made the mosquito population overwhelming. Buckingham House will have to wait for another time!
We enjoyed our break and were ready to carry on the next day. Leroy and Reza left us to visit friends south of Edmonton. We were now headed on to Saskatchewan. By late afternoon we arrived at the farm once more. No one was home but we pulled into our usual spot in the home yard overlooking the endless field of grain. I tidied up our little home and started supper so it would be ready when our host and hostess returned. Dan got out the riding mower and set to getting the lawn under control. It was good to be back!
