We were in no big hurry to leave the campground the next morning. We took our time cleaning up the site and cooking our breakfast sausage over the fire. I have to admitted that the idea of having a banana boat for breakfast was very tempting. In fact, I believe we did. I even took the time to get some photos of the horse and dog. We were told that the two were best friends and that the dog rarely leaves the horse's side.
I had originally planned to go east towards Youngstown, but given the extra time at the campground and the fact that we'd already seen tire people, we went north. On my original list Castor was supposed to have a beaver, but I had since learnt that it was gone. Coronation was, therefore, our first stop of the day. The large crown is located on the W side of town, on the N side of Hwy 12 and SecHwy 872. It is in front of a cute little park, complete with a small bridge and other relics and replicas from the past. Further N, brought us to Hughenden. At the crn off Rydberg & MacTavish St is a Black-Eyes Susan made from a tractor tire. My list also indicated that Hughenden was home to a large Slingshot. I was unable to locate any such item. The town is pretty small, so unless it is located outside the town along one of the Hwys, I am inclined to say it is gone.
We were supposed to go to Wainwright; however, given our gas situation Provost seemed like a better choice. It was just barely closer. We filled up and grabbed a very unhealthy lunch of fridge sandwiches, ice cream, brownies, chips, slurpees... and headed towards the centre of town to find the flying car. Turns out we should have just stayed off Hwy Ave (57 Ave), which runs parallel along the S side of Hwy 13. Another quick stop into the gas station for some more junk food and then just down the rd to see the flying car. An old junky car with wings and tail attached. NOT worth a drive just to see that.
Given the detour to Provost, it meant like we'd be able to stop in Chauvin to see the World's Largest Softball (SecHwy 610, W side of town). The town itself is very cute. The people very friendly. Contrary to what Navi told us, there was no Candy shop or small local bakery to be found. Trust me, I not only drove around town multiple times, but also asked a few locals.
Chauvin to Wainwright the Buffalo capital of Canada, to see, you guessed it - Canada's Largest Buffalo Statue (Main St.). Located further along on Main St is Alberta's First Free Standing Clock Tower, which is in fact a war memorial. Remembrance Day celebrations are held there. This seems odd to me given its location in the middle of the Rd. However, I suppose the intersection is imply closed. We stopped in at the Train Museum. It was really cute and of course the staff was extremely friendly.
While we didn't actually look for it, I believe we also saw the Oil Jack Pump (wooden walking beam) along Hwy 14 as we were leaving town. The next stop Canada's second longest Train Trestle, but largest one in use. The drive to it is lovely - very scenic. I wish that we would have been able to see a train approach the trestle from around the corner, but I guess our timing was off. We also pulled into Fabyan, which overlooks the valley.
The next stop was Tofield to look for a Dirty Shorts Grain Elevator; however, by the time we got there everyone was too tired to pull into town to try and find it. We were so close to home at that point.
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