July 26 - Ready to go again

With the funeral behind us, and the reality that life must slowly continue it was time for the boys and I to head out once more. However, I did feel terrible about leaving hubby at home alone. He was very instant that we continue on what had now become known as my "crazy idea". At this point I think the word obsessive might have started to come into use.

The first quick stop was in Villeneuve to find the Weather Rock. we drove into town and stopped to ask for directions. At first no one seemed to know what I was asking about, until one lady told me she thought it was in the yard of one of the houses on the main hwy, but she had a feeling it had been taken down. I pulled forward to take some photos of a lovely church, before turning around back towards the Hwy. I have to be honest I didn't actually look very hard, but there was nothing obvious that stood out. I have driven by Villeneuve many times, but I have never actually turned off. I was surprised to see what a quaint community it was and how many homes were being updated or built.

Sangudo was our first stop to view the world's only grain elevator sundial, which has also become a landmark and town entrance sign. The dial is a small replica of a country grain elevator and the time markers are various boulders. While the sundial does work, the time is not quite accurate. The boys and I took the wrong entrance into town and had a difficult time finding the sundial, although once we were told were is was, I felt rather foolish. The boys enjoyed the look of the small outhouses beside the sundial. I was able to get some lovely photos in the area.

Not officially on any of the lists I'd gathered my next planned stop was Mayerthorpe. I wanted to visit the Fallen Four Memorial Park. To this day I still shiver at the thought of this tragedy and so many other senseless deaths that occur. For me it was here that the trip took a bit of a turn. It became less about the "big things" and more about Alberta's history and diverse landscapes. I suppose that to some degree it had always been a bit about those things, but now I wanted to know the history of the small towns we were to visit. Also in Mayerthorpe was four metal flowers, which I think are lilies, that rest in front of the RCMP building.

What do a big sled and a steam engine have in common? They were both supposed to be located om Whitecourt. Once again I found myself staring into confused faces as I asked about these attraction during my quick stop at the information centre. They certainly hadn't heard of any big sled and the only steam engine that they could think of was located in Millar Western's Lot somewhere. They were unsure if it was accessible to the public. Around the centre were some old buildings, all of which offered me some photo opportunities.

They were kind enough to tell me that the Oil Derrick in Fox Creek was no longer an attraction, since it was up and running again. They also told me about a few other attractions, all of which I already had on my lists. They recommended that we stop by Riverboat Park; however, as with most things that I suggested I couldn't seem to convince the boys. Instead we headed up towards Swan Hills to find our resting place for the night. First, we need to stop by a local store to pick up some forgotten food items...I guess we should have thought about lunches for the next couple of days.