July 28 - My Birthday Boy puts up with me

Wow - ten years old no more...I was suddenly the parent of an 11 year old and 12 year old. My little birthday boy woke up and seemed to be a bit grumpy. I wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want to see anymore big things or if it was simply from so many nights of little sleep. Plus, much like me, he isn't a big fan of mornings. After cleaning up the campsite, we stopped in Whitecourt for some gas before heading on to Blue Ridge.

The drive to Blue Ridge was a lovely one, on a variety of dirt roads, past a lot of original, abandoned homesteads. The town itself was also very cute. I didn't however find anything that looked to me like a roadside attraction. Now, that could in part be due to the fact that I am around farming equipment a lot out at my in-laws farms.

I was excited to leave there to go to Fort Assiniboine; home to the World's Largest Wagon Wheel and Pix Axe. Fort Assiniboine was originally set up by the Hudson Bay Company as a trading post. The town now has a cute historical museum and friendship club drop-in centre. Both are located on main street. I later found out that there is also a statue of a bear somewhere.

We were off to see the World's Largest Blue Heron in Barrhead, which acts as somewhat as a town mascot. The Blue Heron is a common bird in local lakes.. The first stop was a quick stop into the Barrehead Centennial Museum. The of course the boys needed lunch; another stop to KFC. The statue is located off of the main street. It looks like it has seen better days. I found it difficult to take photos of since it is located in a garden, very close to the highway. Also, in the area is the Klondike (Vega) Ferry. It is one of only 7 remaining ferried in Alberta; we did not stop to take a quick look or ride.

Heading towards home, Westlock was our second last stop, where I thought I was looking for the Largest Lapel Pin. You see, I must have gotten a few things mixed up on my various lists. As we drove into Westlock I saw a very cool Weathervane. It was huge with a tractor in the middle. I turned off and took a couple photos. I then drove around trying to find the lapel pin. No one knew what I was talking about at the gas station, or the county building, of of course the city civic building. Everyone I met mentioned the weathervane, but I still hadn't put it together in my mind. My list said lapel pin, so lapel pin I wanted to find.

I had a great visit with the people working in the city civic building. We talked about our road trip to date and the many places I still needed to stop. I was told that Travel Alberta introduced a passport to encourage people to visit the largest roadside attractions - too bad for me it was introduced a little too late. I wouldn't have minded the chance to win some prizes. Each of my boys were given a City of Westlock bag and Frisbee. I was given a mug and pen. Once my list is compiled I will be sure to email them a copy.

Once I got to the van, I told my boys it must be another item that was no longer there. I looked at the list, ready to cross it off, when I noticed that lapel pin appeared in two cities and weathervane in none. This is when I realized the error of my ways. With over 175 items on my list, I am truly amazed there hasn't been a lot more errors.

I really wanted to head up to Ghost Lake Campground, which is a few kms north of Athabasca, to see the large chair, but the boys wanted to go home. How could I argue when it was my little guy's birthday. I promised just one more short stop and then we'd be home. The final stop? Third time a lucky charm - would this hold true when looking for Depression Pete in Legal?

We pulled into Legal and headed down the main street; we drove down almost every road and still had no luck. Eventually the boys complained that they were thirsty. I parked by a local shop and went in to buy them water, resigned to the fact that we'd go home without ever seeing Depression Pete. Why I didn't top it up to him simply being gone like a few other attractions was beyond me. With the boys buckled up and ready to go in the van, I made one last attempt and asked someone where I might find Depression Pete. She looked and me and let out a small chuckle. I said, "You're going to tell me I've passed it many times or that I am right by it aren't you?" She wanted to know why I was looking for him and how it was that I'd even heard of him. Of course I told her of my summer quest, and she was shocked to hear that he'd made it onto any one's list of attractions. I was then given directions. He was right across the road and down at the corner. Right there on main street.

I got the boys out of the van and told them that we'd driven by Depression Pete numerous times, not just this visit, but also the past two visits. After crossing the road to finally stand in front of Depression Pete, all we could do was laugh. We'd come to Legal how many times looking for this local icon, to find a rusted metal man and his pet flamingo. Was he worth all the numerous trips to Legal? No. Thankfully though Legal has some lovely buildings and very interesting murals. Legal is the French Mural Capital of Canada.

July 14 - Close to Home

After a very few short days of rest, I was ready to hit the road again. The boys complained about no being able to play XBox and about how uncomfortable the van was getting, but I chose to ignore it all, still convinced that in the future they will thank me for forcing them to go one this adventure around Alberta. I think what scared them more than anything was that I'd spend a better chunk of my weekend compiling all the lists and information from our previous trip. Plus I got a fresh copy of the Alberta map to re-highlight all the areas we were going to visit.

I assured them that today's visits would be quick and close to home. Reluctantly the got into the van and we headed up to Morinville to find the World's Largest Toque. Given that Morinville isn't a large place I figure it would be easy enough to find...not so much. I stopped at the information center, which is attached to the town museum, and asked them where I might find the toque. I was met with much confusion. Neither one of the ladies their new anything about it. Eventually, they were able to track down someone from the historical society who told me that the toque was no more. At least that explained why I couldn't find it. I did take some photos out front of the museum. Morinville also has a centennial clock tower downtown, although I did not take any photos.

I decided that we should head back to Legal just to see if maybe we'd missed Depression Pete because of how hot and tiered we were. Once again we drove around town, still unable to find him. Although, I did learn that Legal is the French Mural Capital of Canada. The art work is very interesting. Instead of turning around and heading back to Hwy 2, I decided to try a new route. As the road I was on continued to keep going, I started to question whether I'd taken the right turn. Eventually, I did make it to Hwy 28 and we were on our way home.

July 8 - The Long Way Home

It was once again time to pack up the van. This time we did a much better job knowing that we were one our way home; plus, the boys wanted to sit in the very back seats of the van so they could charge their DSs. I was disappointed that the boys didn't want to stop and see any of the plane displays in Cold Lake, but figured it was best not to push my luck. They had been so well behaved that I didn't want to jinks it.

A visit to David Thompson in Lac La Biche was our first stop. David Thompson travelled more than 100,000 kilometres. He mapped the Columbia River system to the Pacific, helped pinpoint the sources of the Mississippi River, and explored much of the territory east and west of the Rocky Mountains. He later surveyed expensive portions of the border between Canada and the United States. Upon entering Lac La Biche the first thing I did was look for the information ? sign. I'd done this when arriving at most new towns. The information centre is located along the river front. We took a lovely walk down by the lake to find the David Thompson statue. At first my boys whined that I was forcing them to walk. I couldn't believe how lazy they were being. After a bit, it did feel like we'd gone to far. I knew we hadn't though because I was told we'd find it at the end of the trail. The views were exquisite. Suddenly the boys wanted to know why we hadn't camped here. Funny, I believe I gave them the choice last night, but they chose Cold Lake because it was closer.

The boys happily walked along the shore trail back to the information centre, as I walked along the road, taking photos of the many beautiful churches. Time for the boys to moan again...they were hot and they were hungry. Even though I'd told them we wouldn't buy any fast food on this trip, KFC looked like a wonderful option. We didn't have to go digging through the cooler or pull over to make a sandwich and we could stay in our air conditioned van, while continuing our journey.

Shortly after leaving Lac La Biche my 12 year old had to go pee very desperately. Apparently he'd forgotten how not hold it. Not wanting to pull over I jokingly gave him and empty pop bottle and mentioned how lucky he was to be a boy in moments like these. While, you give a 12 year old a bottle to pee in and he'll do it.

Thanks to the list we'd been given in St. Paul, I discovered there was a large Tireman in Grassland. It was so cute and certainly a "big thing". Although it was difficult to get pictures of, it soon became the boys favourite roadside attraction. From there it was off to another item from the list the Rocking Horse Ranch in Athabasca, which apparently is no more or perhaps never was. The girls in the tourist information booth were extremely helpful and enjoyed learning about the various roadside attraction we'd seen thus far. They also told me about a large chair a few Km north on Hwy2 in Ghost Lake Campground. As they told me, I couldn't almost picture the boys sitting in the van rolling their eyes.

Only two more stops and we would be home. Next stop Legal to find Depression Pete. After driving up and down the main street, plus a few back roads to find him, we eventually gave up. At this point we were all hot and getting grumpy from being stuck in traffic for so long with all the construction. So, I decided that we would save Morinville for another day and just go straight home.

By the time we got home the 500ml pop bottle was full. What had I started?