Aug 23 - From Space to Prehistoric Days

In Medicine Hat, I really wanted to see the World's Largest Saamis Tepee and the Chess Set. I had seen the Moose (Crn 13 Ave & 28 St: Moose Lodge) on my previous visit and had no desire to go looking for the Boltman (I can only assume it's located in the light industrial area). After an enjoyable breakfast at the hotel, we packed the van and went in search of the chess set. I was told it is next to the Court of Queen's Bench and was given some vague directions. Either the directions were to vague or completely wrong, because I found nothing. Somehow we ended up back on Hwy 2. I guess we were meant to see the Tepee first. It is very clearly marked.

The Tepee is amazing, so was the force of the wind that day. I was able to get quick photos of the boys, before they retreated to the warmth of the van. You'd think they were fragile or something. I stayed out to view the images (I believe there are 10 story boards depicting the history) on the interior of the tepee and to read the various information panel. The tepee itself was constructed in 1988 (in time for the Calgary Olympic Games) as a tribute to Canada's native heritage. The site was once home to a native buffalo camp and processing plant. It is believed that beneath the soil lays a number of artifacts that may one day be discovered, but for now are being preserved where they fell.

After enjoying a peaceful moment and a flash from the past, we stopped at the information centre to grab a local map and go to the restroom. Armed with my map and Navi, there was no way I was going to miss the chess set this time. It is located along 1 St (Hwy 41A) between 4th & 5th Ave. The set is carved from wood and the pieces are certainly large and heavy. The detail these three-dimensional giants is truly impressive. The king is 4 feet tall and the knight weighs approximately 55 pounds. Magoo and I took the time to enjoy a quick game. He had fun teaching me the rules and arguing with me about some illegal moves. Doodles and Magoo played the last bit of the game, while I took some photos of a cute dog and them enjoying their game. I would have liked to stick around to see who one, but a couple of potatoes were waiting for us in Vauxhall.

Driving to Vauxhall meant once again passing through Bow Valley, but I was unable to convince the boys that we should look for the Buffalo on a Weathervane. I decide to take Hwy 1 to Sec Hwy 524 instead. On our way to Vauxhall, we passed through Redcliff, the Greenhouse Capital of the Prairies. It was so cool that I had to pull over and get a photo. Too bad I can't show it to you - camera problems. Ug!!!

Sammy & Samantha Spud are waiting on the W side of Hwy 36 to greet you upon entering Vauxhall. They are the town`s mascots. Located in Vauxhall is fresh pack potato plant. Vauxhall is known as the Potato Capital of the West.

From Vauxhall potatoes to Vulcan spacecrafts, it was time to view the Starship Enterprise and learn some Klingon. However the city Enchant caught my attention. Would there be fairytales to be found? Perhaps some enchanted cottages? While I found no such thing, the town itself is lovely.

Once in Vulcan, it became apparent that my Klingon is non existent. I even learnt that when making the live well and prosper sign with your hands the thumb doesn`t stick out, but stays tucked beside your pointer finger. All these year`s I`d been doing it wrong. To my surprise, I was able to get photos of the boys in the Star Trek character cutout boards. We were even lucky enough to have a nice gentleman to take a photo of the three of us with our heads`sticking out. We went to see the spaceship shaped tourist information centre. The Star Trek machine was broken, but if we`d wanted we could have put on some costumes and taken photos. With none of us being Trekkies, this was of no appeal. Rather than doing the Star Trek walk of downtown, we piled in the van to see if anything was worth the stop. I can see the mass appeal to Trekkies or TV junkies, but to us there was nothing worth the extra effort of stopping, so we left the Star Trek Galaxy and warped to Rosebud.

I got so caught up in the history of Rosebud and it`s well maintained or restored building that I forgot what I was there looking for. It was really neat to see all of the historical notes making the various points of interest. I believe that my original quest was to find some type of miner or sculptures, or perhaps it was a sculpture of a miner. There is of course the Rosebud Centennial Museum and the School of the Arts. Nearby is also a golf course.

After my driving tour of Rosebud - boy I am starting to feel lazy. We could have, and in fact should have, walked around most of these small towns. Anyway, after driving around Rosebud we were headed towards the prehistoric era in Drumheller. Not only are their numerous dinosaur statues, it is also home to the World`s Largest Tyrannosaurus Rex (1 Ave & 25 St/Hwy 9). I don't recall what the boys were doing, but I kept teasing them that if they didn't stop I'd make them get out and take a photo with every dinosaur statue in town. I was kind enough to pay for the boys to enter the Tyrannosaurs. After walking up 100 some steps, you find yourself inside his mouth overlooking the town. I do not recommend this walk for people such as myself who have knee problems. At the top my vertigo problems also kicked in and I found myself feeling dizzy and nauseous, not a good combo given that I still needed to walk back down. I don't think it helped that it was windy, and it felt like the mouth was moving.

When we got down, I was looking forward to purchasing a nice tea from the little shop across the road. It was however, closed. Why can I not find an open tea shop on this trip? Is it because I sell tea and Hubby is always telling me not to wast my money buying it in other places? If so, not fair. I don't want to buy loose leaf teas, I just wanted to enjoy a fresh cup. Perhaps I'd have better luck in Delia. However, first we needed to backtrack a bit to Rosedale. I wanted to walk across the suspension bridge. Here I did find a statue of a miner as a headed towards the Star Mine Suspension Bridge. It is over 110 meters long and was build as a pedestrian bridge over the Red Deer River in the early 1930s for the Star Mine Coal Workers. The bridge has been updated and maintained for safety reasons.

From here the boys wanted to find the Atlas Coal Mine National Historical Site near East Coulee. We'd done the tour years ago; however, they were much too young at the time to even remember it. Unfortunately the shortest tour was about an hour long. We looked at the building and artifacts we could see without having to pay and then returned to the road. We were off to Delia (The Tin City?), but first I needed to turn around and start heading back in the correct direction - opps. So much for my good sense of direction.

Delia is home to a large wooden windmill and also the Mother Mountain Tea House and Restaurant. Oddly, I forgot to pull of the Hwy and head that way for my tea. Perhaps subconsciously, I was worried that the boys would want me to buy them dinner there. I believe I also saw a sign that said Welcome to Tin City somewhere around Delia. If memory serves me it was due to all the I got my photos of the windmill and was looking forward to setting up camp in Hanna. These past two days had been some intense driving. On our way to Hanna, we saw a sign a local farmer's meat sales. I turned around and we went back. We arrived a few minutes after 6, but they were kind enough to let us in. We bought a couple different flavours of pepperoni sticks and some apple/honey breakfast sausage. The couple was very kind and gave us an extra pack of sausage for free. Doodles used a bit of his own money to buy some more pepperoni.

Now onto Hanna, where we'd need to stop for some cash and some ketchup and mustard. I'm not sure what it is about ketchup and mustard that we are continually forgetting to pack them before we go camping.