Airdrie is home to a Large Cowboy and Korean Totem Poles. These are located at Nose Creek Park. They are not accessible by car, but are only a short walk down a lovely path, just by the parks. Like many places in Alberta during summer months, Airdrie was not without road construction. After finally locating the park, we needed to figure out how to enter it and where to park. First we drove past the entrance, my husband assuming or perhaps hoping that with the construction the entrance was closed off. I of course knew otherwise. Why would they block the entrance to their museum during tourist season? This is where we parked, in the museum lot. You can however pull up much closer to the picnic ares.
The 6 jangseung (Korean totems) were carved in South Korea (The largest ones stand about 16 ft high while the smaller ones are about 9 ft). Jangseung has a history of two millennia. It is part of the folk religion. They are placed in the entrance area of the village to bring well-being to the and prevent misfortunes, becoming the village guardian. The ones in Airdrie were placed on the 10th anniversary of the twinning of the cities of Airdrie and Gwacheon, South Korea.
After reviewing the maps, we decided to leave Airdrie from a direction other than what I had mapped out, so we were unable to hunt for the large cowboy (SE cor Hwy2 at SecHwy567 - NE cor of town). Driving out along SecHwy567, already passed Hwy2, it was onto Irricana to view the large horse.Unfortunately as with many other items on my list, the horse was no where to be found. We even stopped at the old Irrican Hotel where he was supposed to reside. With the town itself not being that big, I'd be surprised it we missed it; however unlike me, Hubby will not drive around every street looking for things before giving up.
The town itself is rather cute, It has some interesting country murals. My favourite being the sunflowers, of co
urse.I also loved th
e various designs of their fire hydrants.Irricana is also home to Pioneer Acres Museum. Being the weekend of
their annual show and reunion it was buzzing with activity. It is certainly well worth the stop. Just outside the boundaries of Pioneer Acres you will spot two vehicles mounted on posts (I believe TwpRd 567 and RR 263).
Moving on from the Tasmanian Devil to a Large Skunk in Beiseker. This icon is known as Squirt and resides in the campground (S side Hwy 9, E side Hwy 72). This town mascot stands at 13' tall and was the result of a local contest held to decide what the mascot should be.My love for photography (one of my many other current obsessions) also resulted in a couple great photos of abandoned building. I used it as an opportunity to play with my camera settings. I was hoping to capture the essence of the photos is a more creative manner - hopefully creating some unique pieces of art.
I'm not sure what it is with today's road trip, but it seems to be about animals. Rather ironic if you think about it. I've been referring to Ol'MacDonald Resort as Old MacDonalds Farm. We leave the Tasmanian devil and the skunk to the gophers that await us in Torrington. For years I have been intrigued with the idea of stopping in to see the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum. Yes, that's correct gopher museum, which features stuffed gophers dressed and posed to create various scenes. I could tell before we even got there that this wasn't going to be the easiest thing to convince the boys to see with me. They were hungry, tired and very whinny. This leads to bickering, stubbornness and sulking (I should know, they get that from me).
The town mascot is Clem T GoFur. He is about 12' tall and rests at the town entrance on the main street (Hwy 27). He was born in 1991. Following his birth, in 1996 the Gopher Hole Museum opened its doors. The road to the museum is clearly marked with cut-out gophers, so you don't need to worry about driving around aimlessly. At a cost of only $2/adult and $.50/child it is a very unique stop. As predicted I couldn't get hubby to come in with me. I mean really it's stuffed gophers, what am I thinking. Doodles was also too moody to leave the comforts of the van. I was grateful that Magoo was adventurous even to explore this unique attraction. Neither one of us knowing what to expect.
When you first enter the museum you are in a small gift shop. On the wall is a world map with pins marking the hometowns of all the quests. The museum itself is housed in a separate dimly lite room. There must be at least 40 or so gopher holes (small wooden boxes). Inside you will find a few gophers, neatly dressed and posed to showcase a theme. My favourites being the picnic and tea party. Magoo's were the bank robbery and the native village. It truly was a great little visit. Even after coming out of the museum and telling hubby and Doodles how cute it is, neither one was interested. If you ask me, it was certainly their lose. Expanding even further on the theme, each fire hydrant is painted as a unique gopher, each with a different name. Hunting them all down is a creative activity to get you out of your vehicle and walking around the small town.
Finished with ground animals, we were now going to visit with an alligator in the town of Alix. Alix the Alligator is a mythical creature believed to reside in Alix Lake. He is located just off the main Hwy through town. The kids mood quickly changed to excitement as we approached Buffalo Lakes, not because of where we'd be camping, but because it finally meant getting out of the van.
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