The Robin’s Nest Bed & Breakfast in Castor, Alberta

Bob Cromwell is a great storyteller who lives in Brooks, Alberta, in the Canadian Badlands, about an hour and a half east of Calgary. He’s just resigned his post as the Newell County tourism director but before moving on, he treated Glenn and I to another superb tour of his Badlands area, only this time, we toured at night. Glenn wanted to get him on tape just shooting the breeze so, we all decided that taping on the road with Bob driving might be our best bet. Bob loves to drive so he picked Glenn and I up from the Robin’s Nest B&B in the little town of Castor, a good two hours drove north of Brooks. We decided to make our first pit stop Cactus Corners, just east of Hanna.  What sets it apart most North American truck stops are the lack of overhead lights even though it ‘s open 24/7 and caters to a huge trucker clientele. Except for building lights, the area is pitch black and hard to make out on the prairie landscape. Nevertheless, it’s a major  pit stop for travelers especially Saskatoon weekenders as Bob calls them. They head home to Saskatoon from Calgary by the hundreds every weekend. For years, Calgary has been a mecca to Canadians from across the country seeking employment. Alberta is booming from its huge oil and gas reserves. Saskatchewan however, has recently been touted to become the next big boom economy in Canada for its oil and gas so, it’s just possible some of those weekenders are going to be making their way back home permanently. At any rate, thousands of them stop at Cactus Corners every year. If you happen upon it in daylight, you’ll understand how it got its name by the huge steel green cactus standing at its entrance.

Cactus Corners truck stop

Now, I couldn’t figure out what the advantage of a dark truck stop at the major intersection of highways 9 and 36 would be until 20 minutes later when we were headed back up 36 towards Castor. That’s when we first caught a glimpse of the Northern Lights. Bob quickly found a gravel road off the highway and we stopped for a better view. It was incredible. Living in downtown Toronto, I’d forgotten just how magnificent they are. And I had no idea I would see them this far south in Canada or in warmer weather.

One of the highlights of our visit to the Canadian Badlands (http://canadianbadlands.com) in southeastern Alberta was touring the Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site.(http://www.atlascoalmine.ab.ca)  It’s managed by an amazing storyteller. In the space of an hour or so, she brought to life a wild and woolley era of Canadian history. One hundred and thirty nine coal mines once operated in the Drumheller area of the Canadian Badlands. Coal was what oil is today and Drumheller was the Fort McMurray of the 1920s.

Tipple at the Atlas Coal Mine, in the Canadian Badlands, East Coulee, Alberta

The place was BOOMING. Every language of Europe could be heard on the streets back then – Polish, Ukranian, Italian, German and more. Each mine had its own language too, with Polish spoken in one, Ukrainian in another and so on. Labour strife and the communist movement was strong and according to Linda a lot of in-fighting went on. Conservative mining companies faced off against labour groups and miners fought other miners. Fist fights broke out constantly. The wild west mentality was alive and well. One bar owner got so fed up with all the barroom brawls that he eventually drew a line down the middle of his establishment and told his competing customers to stay on their respective sides.

During Prohibition, secret tunnels and escape routes were built all over Drumheller. Bars occupied every street corner. Weekly paycheques were cashed at the bars and hotels or at brothels like Fanny’s, Mary’s and Pretty Alice’s. The brothels are long gone but some of the bars and hotels still operate. Places like the LongBranch Saloon in Drumheller and the Rosedeer Hotel in Wayne, a ghost town. (http://www.coalking.ca/people/ghost_wayne.html) Built in 1913, the Rosedeer Hotel was nicknamed “Bucket of Blood” in the coal mining era. Apparently some real brass knuckle stuff went on in its rooms upstairs. It’s all very genteel now and a great spot to stop for a beer and some Alberta beef. Drumheller’s tunnels are still around too but you won’t find them in the tourism guides.

If you’re in the Canadian Badlands around Hallowe’en, check out Haunted Atlas Coal Mine. It’s got to rank as one of the best Halloween events in Canada. The mine’s grey-timbered tipple, the only left in North America is creepy enough in daylight let alone at night. Hallowe’en is when you get to explore it on your own, armed with only a flashlight.

Bath House at the Atlas Coal Mine

The mine’s former bathhouse is just as creepy. Big meat hooks attached to ropes on pulleys hang from the bathhouse ceiling. Coal miners once used these to hang their street clothes on, high above the coal dust.

Check out the Google Map here.

Crops growing on the flat land above Horseshoe Canyon

Our first introduction to the Canadian Badlands of Alberta was a ten minute helicopter ride (Mountain View Helicopters) over Horseshoe Canyon near Drumheller (about the canyon). This canyon is part of the Red Deer River Valley. Glenn snapped these graphically stunning photos from the air. Note the dark green borders. These are shelter trees that protect the crop fields from high winds. Horseshoe Canyon is about 17 km west of Drumheller (pop. 8000). It has been made famous by its Royal Tyrrell Museum, the largest in the world devoted to palaeontology (dinosaurs). It’s fantastic. Kids go absolutely ga-ga in the place. Another great dino destination in the Badlands is Dinosaur Provincial Park, about an hour and half drive southeast of Drumheller, near Brooks. I’ll talk more about both of these places in future blogs.

Driving in the Canadian Badlands is different. For starters, there’s no traffic. I hate driving in Toronto, it’s so car-clogged, but in the Badlands, driving is a blast. Even 45 degree turns on the highways have dotted lines for passing because you can see for miles! Restaurants and gas stations are few and far between though, so we learned quickly to top off our gas tank and carry lots of water.

Beehive hills near Drumheller, Alberta

The prairie out here changes. Sometimes it’s as flat as a pancake. Sometimes it’s rolling hills. On the flat parts, it’s startling to have the earth suddenly open up in front of your car as you descend into one of the Badlands’ river valleys. My first impression – the hills – they look like giant beehives. Very outer space-ish. A prairie dog was the first to greet us at Horseshoe Canyon. Western farmers apparently hate these little critters but I think they’re kinda cute. The canyon is also home to lots of antelope and white tailed deer. You can access the canyon floor by footpath but don’t try it if it rains, the earth here turns to mud pretty quickly and climbing back up in a storm would be a challenge. Horseshoe is not the only canyon near Drumheller. There is another called Horsethief Canyon. In the early ranching days, thousands of horses roamed this part of the Canadian prairie. Legend has it that many horses disappeared into these canyons only to later emerge with a different brand seared into their backsides.

Helicopter rides over Horseshoe Canyon

‘Copter rides operate from June until Labour Day at Horseshoe. If you stop here, be sure to check out Fossil Steve’s booth. Steve grew up in this area and began collecting dinosaur fossils when he was a kid. Besides being a wealth of information on the area and on dinosaurs, Steve sells fossils and lots of casts. I bought a beautiful 65 million year old ammonite from him for $30. Steve told me he found it several years ago before the Alberta Historical Resources Act came into law. It prohibits fossil hunters from going into the region and raiding sites for the purposes of fossil sales. You can view a copy of this act at http://www.canlii.org/ab/laws/sta/h-9/20040623/whole.html