Good Bye, North Dakota. Hello, South!

I hitched up and got ready to roll. Knowing me, I was probably on the road at the crack of noon. That’s one of the sweet things about doing things at your own speed. You get to operate on your own schedule.

I had some information that there was a free boondocking campsite in Dickinson, North Dakota. Apparently, I was operating on some old information. I went to the place that was identified. It didn’t strike me as a place I wanted to stay.

A popular topic of discussion in the RV community is what a person uses for protection when they are on the road. I had been rolling solo for more than three years at that point. I prefer to use my common sense. My common sense told me to move on, so I did.

I had to shell out a few bucks for the Dickenson City Park, but at least I knew I was in a place where they expected to have campers.

I was the only camper at the park, but they said that they were full up on the weekend. I enjoyed the lilacs. I think that was the first time I’d ever seen lilacs in a campground.

I didn’t even unhitch this time. I wanted to be ready to roll in the morning. I had a goal: Rapid City, South Dakota!

Heading down U.S. 85, I came to Buffalo, South Dakota. As a native Buffalonian, I had to stop for a few minutes to at least stretch my legs.

I must have been in the center of town. They had it all – a library, coffee shop, bar, casino and liquor store.

And right across the street was the park.

They were very proud of their heritage. I went inside the park to explore. I couldn’t resist the photo of the buffalo with Flo and Bart.

One source of much pride was Tipperary, the famous bucking horse, who lived from 1905 – 1932.

According to the sign, Tipperary bucked off 91 riders. Back then, there was no 8-second rule. The ride went on until the rider was bucked off or the horse stopped bucking. Horses weren’t trucked to the rodeos back when Tipperary was in the rodeos. According to the sign, they were “trailed,” which I assume meant that they were ridden, lead, or herded to the rodeo.

Uh, actually, I don’t suppose Tipperary was ridden. Who rides a bucking bronco?

He was raised by Ed Wickham, sold to Doc Latham and Mex Griffith and lost to Carr and Ridgeway in a poker game. Eventually, Charlie Wilson bought Tipperary to become part of the Wilson bronc string.

Charlie Wilson? That must be a common name! The first thing that came to mind was the 2007 movie, “Charlie Wilson’s War.”

As the poster says, “Based on the outrageous true story” of the Texas politician, Charlie Wilson.

Imagine that! A Democrat from Texas!

Then, there is the singer, Charlie Wilson.

But, no, this was a man who lived before any of them, and he had broncos.

The statue of Tipperary was based on this painting that was commissioned by Alvin Cordell of Camp Crook. He was very interested in Tipperary and researched him extensively. Rather that write about what he learned, he commissioned Mick B. Harrison to paint this opaque watercolor that showed Tipperary in his famous bucking style.

Tipperary’s last rodeo was in 1926, when he was 21 years old. According to the information in the park, he continued to prance to the song, “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary,” even though he was getting on in years. He died in a blizzard in 1932, and his bones are said to be buried in Tipperary Park, not too far from Buffalo.

You can tell that this park is a source of pride for the people in the area. They took pains to explain everything there – as well as some things that weren’t. The legibility of the signs was really notable. I can’t tell you all the times I’ve tried to figure out what I was looking at and the sign was so faded, chipped and worn that I couldn’t read the information.

Rest assured. I am not going to recreate what is on all those signs.

There were statues of the local wildlife. Deer…

a wolf…

a bald eagle.

They took some pains to show visitors what is important to them.

They included equipment that provided the energy for life out there.

You may have noticed the bricks in the photo of the signs. I was impressed with these memorial bricks with brands included.

They really wanted to let visitors know what was important to them.

I wish I had more time to explore this tiny town – maybe grab a bite at Blossom’s Brew Coffee House or knock one back at the bar – but I was on my way to the Rapid City area. I didn’t have a campground picked out and the clouds kept coming and going. I got back into Bart and headed south down U.S. 85.

Next stop: Rapid City!

 

 

 

That Last of Minot

So, I headed to downtown Minot. I heard that there was a train museum or attraction or something down there. I figured I might as well check it out.

I found the Depot.

I found the door.

It was closed, but I rather liked the Soo Line logo on the plate around the handle.

There were a few cars that looked like were being preserved and/or restored. But they had a fence around them, so I didn’t go check them out.

I headed back to my truck, and this historical record caught my eye – a record of what used to be.

Across the street, I spied the Taube Museum of Art – and the door was open. I went over to check it out.

Upstairs was an art activity geared toward children. They looked like they were having fun. A sign said that there was an art display downstairs, so I decided to check it out.

There were some paintings – incredibly detailed and closely observed paintings – done in acrylic on birch. The artist is Lindsay Arnold. (Really, check out her website.)

Can you believe these are paintings?

I love the name of this exhibit: Tedium. My father always said that I loved tedious things. I guess he was right.

There was also a mosaic. I have already written about my love of mosaics. The blue grout really caught my attention.

Across the street from the museum was the First National Bank.

They sure made elegant buildings back in the day.

I had to stock up on food before I left town. I stopped at this store, which was a new one to me.

I was intrigued by the fact that it was “employee owned.”

This caught my eye. It is “sweet and sour sauce”. Sweet and sour sauce WITH white chicken and rice. It was inexpensive, but I left it in the freezer.

I left these on the shelf, too. They just didn’t call out to me.

I did pick these up, though. How could I pass up lefse? Lefse with butter, sugar and cinnamon and a steaming mug of coffee – heaven!

Thus provisioned, I gassed up and headed back to the campground to get ready for the next day’s travel.

There was only one more thing to do. North Dakota was on the map! Only two more states to go.

Next up: South Dakota.

Scandinavian Heritage Park, Minot, North Dakota

One of the big draws in Minot – aside from the Blue Beacon Truck Wash – is the Scandinavian Heritage Park.

It was a beautiful, sunny day to explore this park that is believed to be the only park in the world celebrating all five Nordic countries: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. The park was established in 1988 to celebrate and preserve Scandinavian heritage. The first building was dedicated in 1990.

This adorable building isn’t a cottage or a family home. It’s a storehouse. The plaque on it proclaimed “STABBUR”. I thought it was a family name, but my inquiring mind made me check. “Stabbur” is the Norwegian word for storehouse.

This is a replica of a building from Torvetjonn, constructed in 1750, a farm near Mosvann in Telemark, Norway. It is considered a major work in Norwegian folk architecture.

There is an enormous Dala Horse watching over the park.

The Dala Horse is the national symbol of Sweden. Although horses have been important in Sweden for at least 4000 years, according to my research, the earliest references to wooden horses for sale are from 1623. It wasn’t until the World Exhibition in New York in 1939 that the Dala wooden horse became famous around the world.

A giant painted Dala horse was placed outside the Swedish pavilion and caused a sensation among the visitors. During the year after the exhibition, 20,000 Dala horses were shipped over to New York, and the Swedish Dala horse became a symbol for Sweden.

This is a full-sized replica of the Stave Church from Gol, Hallingdal, Norway. About 100 years ago, the original church was moved from Gol to the Folk Museum in Bygdol Park in Oslo, Norway.

It’s quite the structure.

I walked around it, hoping to catch a glimpse of the interior.

The details are awesome.

I did find an open door. As I remember, the interior was nowhere near as interesting as the exterior. I don’t have any photos of it, so maybe it was too dark to take a decent shot.

I crossed over a little bridge. During the summer, I imagine that there is water in the pond. I don’t suppose there is ever any lutefisk swimming there. I arrived at  the Danish Windmill.

This windmill was built in 1928 in Powers Lake, North Dakota. Carl Olson erected it to supply water and to grind wheat for the family.

There was this boulder given a place of prominence on a concrete. The plaque read, “E.D. Schmit’s Rock of Ages”. It was moved from Dickinson Farm N.E, of Surrey by Billy Schrlock and Roald Matison. Perhaps more information was posted somewhere, but I don’t remember seeing it.

There was a statue of Leif Eiriksson, Icelandic explorer. The plaque reads, “This statue is dedicated in honor of our Icelandic Ancestors who came to American. the Diligence and high moral standard of these people have been an inspiration to those who followed.”

The Scandinavians appreciate their athletes. Here’s a statue of Casper Oimoen, who was born in Valders, Norway. He was quite the ski jumper. In addition to regional and state championships, he was also on the U.S. Olympic team in 1932 and 1936. He was even the captain of the team one year.

Then there is Sondre Norheim, the father of modern skiing. He was born in Telemark, Norway, obviously emigrated to American, and died in McHenry County, North Dakota.

There is also an eternal flame dedicated to Sondre Norheim. There are five alumnin skis, which symbolize the five Scandinavian countries. They support a world globe which represents the many contributions to the sport of skiing that he gave to the world.

The flame was lit by Lars Berge Haugann of Morgedal, Norway on December 4, 1993. A flame from the fireplace of Norheim’s birthplace was transported to Minot by North Dakota Governor Edward Schafer. I wonder how they managed to get the fire there? Airplane? Boat?

And what would a park dedicated to Scandinavian culture be without honoring Hans Christian Andersen? He wrote more than 200 stories, including The Ugly Duckling and The Little Mermaid.

I was in luck! Another visitor happened by just at that time and agreed to take my photo with Hans.

And with that, it was time to see what else I could discover in Minot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minot? Why not!

I left Estevan and headed for the border.

I know I’ve said it before, but it always seems odd to cross a border that doesn’t involve a bridge and a river. So what if I’m repeating myself? It’s my blog!

The photo quality is kind of low, but I was concerned that I might be subject to “extreme vetting” if I got caught taking a picture at a border crossing.

I’m sure you can’t read the sign, but it says,  “crossing open 9 am – 10 pm”.  I guess the country is closed from 10pm – 9am.

I’m glad I wasn’t more overt in taking the photo, because this was the most unusual border crossing I’ve ever had – well, other than the time I had to pay a bribe to get into El Salvador.

I pulled up to the building and rolled down my window. The border control agent came up and said, “Please turn off your engine.” I did. Then we proceeded with the usual “citizenship-where are you coming from-where are your going-anything to declare” questions. She took my passport and cat papers, and made sure that the cat was in her carrier.

Then she had me let her in the Airstream. I had to wait outside until she told me to come in. She wasn’t bothered by the three cans of Bud Light, which I did declare. (I drank one while I was in Canada.) She was not pleased that I had plants with me. I told her that I lived in the trailer, and I knew that I might lose them, but I didn’t want to throw them out. She heaved a sigh and let me keep them. I was grateful for that. I was also grateful that she didn’t ask me if I had any plants in the trailer at the initial interview. I probably would have gotten in trouble if I hadn’t declared them.

After she checked everything out, she let me lock the trailer back up. Then she asked me why I was crossing there and not at some other crossing. I told her that I was going to Minot. She asked me why. I told her I liked the name, and then I said, “Why not Minot?”

She finally gave me a half smile and handed me back my papers, and I was happy to be across the border.

Two hours later, I was in Minot.

One of the things on my “to-do list” was run Flo and Bart through a truck wash. People had told me that the Blue Beacon Truck Wash would do trailers, too. I saw a sign for them on the way into town.

I borrowed this one from the internet, but the sign looked something like this.

I called to see if they washed RVs. They did, so I headed over before I went to the campground.

I got in line behind the big trucks.

It took a while, but I finally got close to the building. Just one more truck before I go in.

I’m up next!

I pull in and a horde of guys with pressure washers swarm around Bart and Flo.

They were really getting the road dirt off! As soon as they finished with the cab, the guy running the show came and got me to go into the office and settle up. In case you want to know how much it costs to wash so much metal in a truck wash, I looked it up on my credit card records. It cost $54.60.

After the scrubbing, I headed over to Roughriders Campground and got settled in for a few days in Minot.

Why not?

 

 

Around Estevan

The next day, Jackie took me to an interesting site about ten miles outside Estevan – La Roche Percee.

It is large sandstone outcrop that has been sculpted by the forces of erosion.

One of the outstanding formations was the arch known as La Roche Percee. At one time, there was a town nearby that took its name from the formation.

Some of the formations remind me of old fashioned haystacks.

This one kind of reminds me of a profile.

Bob Hope’s profile, perhaps?

We scrambled around the rock formations looking for petroglyphs.

The rock was once nearly covered with precontact carvings of animal, human and geometric forms thought to have been created by Siouan speakers. Historical accounts state that the Nakota (Assiniboin) regarded the site as sacred, never passing the rock without leaving offerings. Erosion and later carvings have taken a toll, leaving only a few carved pits and some red ochre staining as evidence for First Nations use of the site.

Are these pre-contact carvings? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Some of the shapes remind me of petroglyphs I’ve seen in other places.

Of course, people who came along after contact with European explorers wanted to leave their marks as well.

As much as the more recent additions seem like graffiti, they are now part of the historical record.

There were little windows to look through.

There were small rooms that I imagine were popular with people throughout the ages.

I was taken by this surface. I can’t imagine how it weathered like this. It reminds me of elephant hide.

I do enjoy interesting rock formations!

At one time, there were homes and ranches in the area. Flooding caused people to have to relocate. There were ranches. Now you can see the strip mine debris in the background.

I was fascinated by the piles. I always wondered what was involved in strip mining.

Eventually, grass and plants reclaim the piles. I took the photo through the car window. You can see the reflection of my Oregon tee shirt in the glass.

After a day of running around, it was time for dinner.

 

PFK? Not KFC? Well, Canada is a bilingual country. PFK is Poulet Frit Kentucky. Of course, I suppose they just use the initials like we do in the States.

After dinner, it was time to bid adieu to my hosts, Jackie and Harvey.

And, of course, if there is no photo, it didn’t happen. But there is a photo, so it happened.In the morning, it was time to head back south of the border. Thank you for the hospitality, Jackie and Harvey!

 

Exploring Estevan, Saskatchewan

I set out from Moose Jaw, with my eyes set on Estevan. I passed a lot of prairie along the way. Every now and then, I’d pass through a town.

I saw these giant wheat sculptures in the town of Weyburn. I thought they were fitting for Saskatchewan – Canada’s breadbasket.

I pulled into the campground in Estevan. Cousin Kelly told me that most golf courses in that part of Canada also had campgrounds. When I checked in, I found proof that the campground was at a golf course.

It made me think of something that my father would have done. He was always thinking!

Speaking of things that my father would have done, I am sure he would have made a fire pit out of a washing machine drum, too.

The campground had a lovely water feature, too.

As nice as the campground was, it wasn’t the reason I was visiting Estevan. I had a friend that I met though an internet group so long ago that it was even before Facebook! I left the group we met on, but we met up again on Facebook. When it looked like I was heading to her neck of the woods, we made plans to meet up.

She came over to meet me at the campground. It was good to finally meet her, face-to-face.

I had always heard of needing to plug in engine block heaters because it got so cold up there, but I had never seen a car with a plug before. I had to capture this shot.

Jackie did a great job showing me around Estevan, which has a similar history to New Norway. The first settlers arrived with the Canadian Pacific Railway at the end of the 1800s and it became a town in 1906. It achieved the status of a city in 1957, which in Saskatchewan is a community of 5,000 or more. Estevan is the eighth largest city in Saskatchewan.

In addition to transportation and grain, Estevan is known for its energy resources.

Lignite Louie is the town’s mascot. There are a lot of lignite mines in the area. Lignite is sometimes called brown coal. It is a kind of halfway between peat and bituminous coal. If you want to know more about that, click here.

The area is also rich in oil and gas. They have an interesting display of the pieces of equipment that get the oil from the ground to people.

There is the pump jack,

the header,

and the separator.

In the end, the oil finds its way to the tanks. I like how they incorporated it into the gateway to the town. Welcome to Estevan!

We stopped by a community center.

Judging by the mosaics on the outside, it might just be an art centre.

The people of Estevan have an appreciation for art and community involvement.

Jackie took me to visit the Estevan Court house, which was the last court house designed by Saskatchewan’s provincial architect, Maurice Sharon. It was completed in 1930.

On one corner of the property, there is a unique memorial to World War II veterans.

In 2015, a 102-year-old dying tree was carved by Albertan sculptor Darren Jones.

The details are amazing.

You can really spend a lot of time looking at all the images the artist chose to include.

I like the poppies. That is a nod to World War I and the poem “In Flanders Fields” by Canadian poet, John McCrae.

Every side has interesting details. Too bad the bright sun made some of them hard to take photos of.

But, where the sun hit the carving, you could really appreciate his work.

Sometimes I think people are under the impression that Canadians sit around politely sipping tea and saying, “Pardon me.” This memorial commemorates a time when the miners struck for better wages and working conditions. They call this event Black Tuesday.

Three strikers were killed in 1931 when the local police, assisted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, confronted a strikers’ parade in front of the Court House. 

I find it interesting that the sources I found refer to the deaths at the hands of the law enforcement officers as “murders.”

A Royal Commission met to investigate the causes of the strike. Twenty people were charged as a result of their findings.

Apparently, the only person who was convicted was Annie Butler, a union organizer. She was sentenced to one year of hard labour and a $500 fine.

We continued on to the Souris Valley Museum, which documented the history of the area.

Much ingenuity was required to make it out on the frontier. This machine is a wool carder.

There were lots of old-timey machines.

I enjoyed puzzling over the machines. What could they be used for? I decided that this was a cream separator – but I could be wrong.

What do you do with a beautiful old firetruck? Put it in a museum, of course!

They don’t make them like this anymore.

Of course, sometimes the way they were made required some tinkering. I like the way someone figured out how to add tank treads to the rear wheels on the tractor.

They had an old school house on display, complete with a list of teachers who taught there.

You might notice that there was only one teacher listed for each year. Yes, it was a one-room school house.

I found it interesting that one of the teachers was educated in Michigan. It makes me wonder what brought them out here.

We had a picture of my mother at her school in New Norway that reminds me of this picture. I wonder if she attended school in a one-room school house. I wish I could remember. Just a hint, friends, if you still have the opportunity to ask your parents questions, ask them. Then write the answers down!

Outside the museum, they had some of the modern equipment they use in mining these days.

This dragline bucket can dig up 43 cubic yards at a time.

Can you imagine pulling that bucket through the soil with this piece of equipment? I would call it a crane, but there is probably a more technically correct name.

Right across the street was a large modern grain elevator. Saskatchewan – Canada’s bread basket!

With our tourism completed for the day, we stopped off for some refreshment at another Canadian institution – Tim Hortons! We had to rest up for the next day’s adventures.

Moose Jaw

The next day, it was time to head out of Medicine Hat.

On the way out of town, I passed The World’s Largest Tepee. I read about it when researching things to do in Medicine Hat. I didn’t know what to expect, other than it was on the way out of town.

It is called the Saamis Tepee, and was originally constructed for the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics and it was moved to Medicine Hat in 1991. It’s 215 feet tall, which is about the height of a 20 story building, and has a diameter of 160 feet. It’s built entirely of steel with a concrete foundation. From the bottom of the foundation, to the top of the masts, it weighs about 1,000 metric tons, which is about 1,100 tons. In either system of measurement, that’s heavy!

The tepee is ringed with 10 large circular story-boards depicting aspects of native culture and history. I was eager to get rolling, so I didn’t stop to look at the artwork.

Incidentally, there are 960 bolts holding it all together, just  in case you needed another number.

I headed east down the Trans-Canada Highway, and before too long, I was in Saskatchewan.

It was flat. Flat as a pancake. Flat as a board, Flat as a fart on a plate, as my mother used to say.

This pick up hauling two ATVs caught my attention.

I just kept rolling on and looking at the glorious flatness and enjoying the sunshine and cloudscapes.

And just a few hours later, I was in Moose Jaw!

Why is the town named Moose Jaw? There are a few theories. One is that it came from the Plains Cree name moscâstani-sîpiy, which means “a warm place by the river”. Or it could be from the Plains Cree word “moose gaw” which means warm breezes. The other possibility is that the Moose Jaw River is shaped like a moose’s jaw.

I guess it does, if you use your imagination.

Mac the Moose is waiting to greet you at the Visitor’s Center.

This array of clocks showing the time zones across Canada caught my attention. I always enjoy seeing the Newfoundland and Labrador has a time that a half hour ahead of its neighbor. And what is up with Quebec? Their clock is missing!

I liked this collaborative work of art created by artist-in-residence Gerri Ann Siwek, entitled Burrow. She worked with students who visited Canadian Western Agribition in 2009. They studied threatened birds and created this piece about the burrowing owl. The artist made the framework and the students created the small pieces inside the framework.

They had some samples of local products. For instance, potash is used as a fertilizer.

I imagine the potash would be used to grow these products.

On my way out, I noticed these phone books. It’s been a while since I’ve seen phone books.

One last thing I stopped to look at in the visitor’s center was this  CT-116 Tutor, which is what the Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron flies.They are based in Moose Jaw. This group is called the Snowbirds. You learn something new everyday! I thought Snowbirds were Canadians who spent the winter months in Florida.

I drove across the way to the campground I was staying at that night. My plans were to do my laundry and get something to eat.

While my laundry was cycling through, I looked at the offerings they had in the camp store. While we call this products “Kraft Macaroni and Cheese” our friends north of the border call it “Kraft Dinner.” I also like it because my initials are KD.

There were other things I could have done in Moose Jaw, but I was kind of tired. I decided to go downtown and see what I could find.

Okay, not an inspiring dinner choice, but I was familiar with the menu and who doesn’t like pizza?

(That’s a rhetorical question. I fully realize that there are people out there who might not like pizza.)

One more stop in Saskatchewan, and that adventure begins in the next installment.

Stay tuned!

 

 

 

Medicine Hat

After my visit with the dinosaurs in Drumheller, my next stop was Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Why Medicine Hat? Well, I needed to stop someplace and I was captivated by the name. I figured that there had to be an interesting story.

According to my preferred source, it turns out that “Medicine Hat” is the English translation of Saamis – the Blackfoot word for the eagle tail feather headdress worn by medicine men.

There are several legends regarding the hat. One is that a mythical mer-man river serpent named Soy-yee-daa-bee – The Creator – appeared to a hunter and instructed him to sacrifice his wife to get mystical powers which were manifest in a special hat. Another legend tells of a battle long ago between the Blackfoot and the Cree in which a retreating Cree Medicine Man lost his headdress in the South  River.

I should have looked for a souvenir shop to see if there were any special Medicine Hat hats for sale.

And, even though the town’s name is interesting, the town’s nick name is even more intriguing: Hell’s Basement. The name came from Rudyard Kipling, who was inspired by the region’s vast underground stores of natural gas. He wrote:

This part of the country seems to have all hell for a basement,
and the only trap door appears to be in Medicine Hat.”

More genteelly, the city is known as “The Gas City”. The city even owns it’s own gas utility and power generation plant, which contributes to its reasonable cost of  living.

After a good night’s sleep, I set out to see what I could see. The first thing on my list was Medalta Potteries.

With the proper soil type and abundant energy, Medicine Hat was a logical location for a pottery.

It had four large, beehive kilns.

From the wooden door on the kiln, you can surmise that they are no longer in use.

Given my sense of timing, I was not surprised that it was closed on the day I arrived. Oh, well. I still spent some time looking around. There are always interesting things to see.

It was placed on the register of Canada’s Historic Places in 1996. Now it is an innovative , industrial non-profit museum, contemporary ceramic arts facility, art gallery and community hub. According to something I read somewhere, “it has become an exciting place where cutting-edge technologies meet historic restoration and archaelogy.

This work of art illustrates two friends standing under a sprawling cottonwood tree in 1974, near the abandoned Medalta Potteries factory. The old pottery site inspired them and they knew that the Alberta government was in the process of identifying important heritage resource around the province. They agreed that if anything qualified for inclusion on the list, Medalta did.

I looked through the windows at this display of some of the Medalta ware. In fact, if you look on eBay, you can find Medalta ware for sale. When you keep hitting the days things are closed, you get good at looking through windows to see what you can see.

I found this work of art intriguing. It was in front of the potteries.

Rather than retype the information on the plaque, I’ll just let you read it for yourself.

I like the juxtaposition of the different kinds of bricks, as well as the actual pottery sherds that the artist used.

Really, there were sherds all over. Of course I had to pick up a few to photograph.

It’s a good thing that I wasn’t planning to take them.

It turns out that no collecting or disturbing is allowed. Of course, the ones I picked up didn’t come from the pile. They were just on the ground near where I parked.

Speaking of parking, I found myself parked next to a PT Cruiser. That was my car before Bart. No wonder I found Bart to be a bit unmanageable!

My next stop was Police Point Park. I wanted to get a look at the South Saskatchewan River.

Incidentally, the tourism agency for Alberta says that Medicine Hat is the sunniest city in Canada. If the weather I experienced is any indication, I’d say that wasn’t hyperbole.

They make good use of the sunshine and the abundant energy. I saw greenhouses all over town.

In addition to the energy from their gas, they make use of the solar energy. These are some pretty high-tech solar arrays. According to my research, they are called parabolic troughs, and if you click on the link, you can get an idea of how they work.

All that sunshine and driving around wore me out. It was time to get some sleep and get ready for the next day’s adventures.

Next stop: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

 

Drumheller

I headed out fairly early. I wanted to spend the night in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Who wouldn’t want to visit Medicine Hat? Isn’t that a cool name? It would be a four or five hour drive, but I left early enough to stop off in Drumheller.

Can you guess the attraction in Drumheller?

Dinosaurs!

Actually, there were two things that have been essential to Drumheller’s modern history – dinosaurs and coal. The first recorded observation of the coal seam in the area dates back to 1793. This valuable resource inspired Samuel Drumheller to buy land here in 1910. He sold it to the railway developers and the community of Drumheller was born. The abundant fossil fuels and the railway network established Drumheller region in the post-World War One period as one of Canada’s most significant coal producers.

“But, what about the dinosaurs?” I hear you saying.

In 1884, geologist Joseph B. Tyrell found the fearsome skull of an Albertosaurus. This discovery paved the way for the Great Canadian Dinosaur Rush. From 1910 to 1917, fossil hunters flocked here and established the region’s reputation as a rich source of dinosaur bones.

This abundance of fossils makes Drumheller a natural home for the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology. It’s one of the world’s leading facilities for the research and presentation of prehistoric life. I paid my entrance fee and went inside.

There were dinosaurs galore! There were marvelous models of prehistoric life as the scientists believe it looked. These were visually stunning, but I am more drawn to the real thing, like this mass-death assemblage of 25 fossil gars (Atractosteus) that died 63 million years ago.

Apparently, it’s not unusual to find death assemblage of gars, but skeletons are usually found on their sides. This group is unusual because each fish is preserved fully articulated in a three-dimensional belly-up death pose, which indicates a rapid burial after they died.

This fossil is regaliceratops peterhewsi. It was discovered by geologist Peter Hews in 1995, who happened to see the tip of the dinosaur’s snout poking out from the riverbank of the Oldman River.

This specimen is nicknamed after the comic book character “Hellboy”, due to the difficulty collecting it, the hard rock in which it was encased, which made preparation difficult, and the small stubs of horns over the eyes.

Just in case your education in comic book characters stopped with Archie and Jughead, this is Hellboy.

This Rhamphorhynchus muensteri is interesting. In my notes, I wrote down that this was a flying dinosaur.

What I found really interesting was the diagram next to the fossil. It showed that it had digested food and coprolites in it when it died. “Coprolites?” you ask. Coprolites are fossilized feces.

I am amazed that this fossilized Gorgosaurus is articulated, which means that the bones are arranged as they were in life. The completeness of this juvenile dinosaur skeleton, and the river sands it was found in, suggest that it was buried immediately after the animal died, which allowed the skeleton to be preserved so beautifully.

While I am not a big fan of fish – unless it is battered, deep fried and served with lots of ketchup – I do rather like this fossil.

Another ammonite!

While they look like the living Nautilus species, they are more closely related to the family that octopuses, squid and cuttlefish come from. In checking what I remember, I found out that the name “ammonite” was inspired by the spiral shape of their fossilized shells, which somewhat resemble tightly coiled rams’ horns. Pliny the Elder – who died in 79 AD near Pompeii – called fossils of these animals ammonis cornua – horns of Ammon – because the Egyptian god Ammon was typically depicted wearing ram’s horns.

If you want to know more, you can check out my preferred source.

I guess if you want to be a good fossil hunter, you’d best be fit and strong – or know people who are. Can you imagine encasing a fossil in plaster and then packing it out?

 

Once the fossil is back at the lab, the work can begin. They have these big windows into the lab so we can watch the paleontologists at work.

It must have been their day off.

The workers putting together this new exhibit must have taken the day off, too.

There were fossils galore. I won’t share all the photos I took of them. (You’re welcome.)

Every year, the museum holds a Palaeo Arts Contest for students K-12. (Incidentally, “palaeo” is Canadian English for “paleo”.) Students combine artistic skill with imagination and scientific research. This year, the students were asked for their interpretation of a duck-billed dinosaur, Lambeosaurus.

Julia Medlicott made this work of art.

This was done by Daniel Yang.

I feel bad that I didn’t get this artist’s name, but it is quite a work of art.

I always love it when a museum invites visitors to touch things.

This rock was labeled “Billion-Dollar Rock.” The first major oil discovery in Alberta occurred in Devonian-aged rocks deep underground near Leduc in 1947. The liquified remains of billions of ancient marine organisms were trapped in porous rocks like this one, after being buried by many layers of sediments throughout millions of years.

This is a model of the large reefs that were buried by the multitudinous layers of sediment and are now 2,500 metres – or more than 8,000 feet – below the Alberta plains. If I understand correctly, they became the petroleum that is fueling the Alberta economy.

I also love it when people figure out innovative was to share information.

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen benches with the information cut through the metal.

Just when you are thinking, “I can’t look at one more fossil!” you see these benches. It’s kind of like a palate cleanser between courses at a fancy meal.

After walking around and around, you start to wonder where you are in the museum.

Good thing they have a sign that lets you know.

As usual, you exit through the gift shop.

Next stop: Medicine Hat.

Olds and New Norway

Olds is one town in Alberta and New Norway is another.

The next day, Kelly and I went to Olds to meet up with some cousins. Cousin Susan Quail hosted the gathering at her lovely home.

It was a family gathering – so of course we gathered around the table!

It was a special treat to have lefse, which is a Norwegian flat bread made primarily from potatoes. Mom and Auntie Lo, her sister, used to make them every Christmas. After Mom and Dad moved in with me in Kalamazoo, my father took over the lefse baking.

They welcomed me as warmly as they welcomed each other.

It was great to meet so may cousins I never knew I had!

Susan had this painting hanging on her wall. I imagine that this is a scene my mother might have seen in the winter. Maybe she wouldn’t have been able to see all the way to the Rockies, but I’ll bet the winter road and the prairies would have been very familiar to her.

I saw this road sign in Olds on the way back to Red Deer. I thought it was a good idea to bring a dangerous intersection to the drivers’ attention.

The next day, it was time for a trip that was 21 years in the making. I was finally going to visit New Norway!

There was a reunion that was held in 1996, and I bought a new car to be able to make the trip with Mom, Dad and Auntie Lo.

Okay, so this wasn’t my car, but I did buy the ubiquitous dark green middle-age-mobile, a Plymouth Voyager.

Unfortunately, my mother had a stroke and we weren’t able to make the trip. She did live for nearly five more years, and each extra day was a blessing.

Anyway, I was finally going to visit New Norway – my mother’s birthplace – and I was excited.

They next day, Kelly and her brother Kent came to pick me up and we were off on a road trip. 115 kilometers later  – or about 70 miles, if you prefer – we came to New Norway.

It was founded in 1910, and they rolled out the welcome mat.

According to my preferred source, the railroad had a lot to do with the development of the area. The newly constructed Canadian Pacific Railway took the Ole M. Olstad family to Wetaskiwin in 1892. They continued on to the Duhamel settlement. The family filed homesteads for themselves and several relatives and friends in the United States.

That’s where my family comes into the picture. But, maybe the Olstads were family, too. I do remember Mom talking about “Uncle Ole”.

For a while, the area was known as the “Olstead District”. The name was changed to New Norway around 1895 as other families with Norwegian heritage settled in the area. By 1903, the community had a school, a general store and a blacksmith shop.

They didn’t stay put though. They anticipated the Grand Trunk Pacific rail line being built nearby, so they decided to move. They moved the whole town! In the fall of 1909, the community used skids and seven oxen to move it to its present location.

New Norway was incorporated as a village on May 6, 1910. It had a good run, but was “demoted” to hamlet status in 2012.

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=119421

The village grew quickly. This photo was taken around 1915. This was before aerial photography, so I wonder how they got this shot.

(Cousin Neil Olstad tells me that the photo was taken from the top of the grain elevator, which makes sense.)

This community hall was constructed with the help of my Grandpa.

This downspout looks more like something my father would have come up with, but he wasn’t part of the story in 1939.

For me, this is the Ramsey story, although there were lots of other families involved.

This mural was on the front of what had been an antique shop. It wasn’t open when we were there, and it looked like someone might be living in it now.

If I understood correctly, the little boy riding in the wagon is my Grandpa, Oscar Ramsey. His parents – my great grandparents – Ed and Karen Ramsey are riding the horses nearby.

I come from a line of homesteaders! I was excited to learn this, considering that I didn’t know much about family history. I sure wish I had asked my parents more when I had the chance.

This sign is on the side of the building with the mural.

My mother attended this church. In fact, I think it was everyone’s church, as I didn’t see another other denominations represented in town.

The church is as old as the town, but the school looks brand new.

We drove up and down the streets. Look what I found in someone’s backyard!

After touring the town, it was time to visit the graves of the ancestors.

We went inside the gates and went to look at the names on the markers.

I found my great grandparents’ graves. My grandparents’ graves are in Crystal Beach, Ontario.

The markers of Kelly and Kent’s grandparents were in New Norway, but they had aged terribly. Their side of the family was working on getting new ones. Kelly sent me photos of the replacements when they had them installed.

It looked crisp and fresh. The Norwegian and Canadian Flags were a nice touch.

Their lives are recorded for posterity.

More Ramsey graves – Peter and Maria. Judging by the condition of the cement covering the graves, the markers have been replaced. I must be related to them, somehow.

Kelly examined this Ramsey monument that had aged poorly.

May they rest in peace – and may we live in peace.

After the cemetery, it was time to visit the old farm. This is where the reunion was held that my folks and I missed in 1996. It’s a golf course, now.

We took the tree-line road up to the clubhouse.

No, this isn’t the clubhouse. It was the original homestead.

Over the years, it had been used as a staff building. Apparently they held meetings there and work assignments were made.

The old stove was still there.

I wonder if this is where they got the name for the cookbook?

Naw…probably not.

We headed to Camrose for lunch at the Norseman. But, what would a road trip be without a stop at Tim Horton’s?

Oh, and some gas. How much gas and how much did it cost? My poor American brain can’t wrap my mind around it.

After lunch, we snagged a passerby and got a photo. There is a photo, so there is proof it happened!

Heading back to Red Deer, we passed by a place my mother used to talk about.

The funny thing is, that I remembered it as DEADmeat Lake! When I saw the sign, I realized that I had it wrong.

According to the information I could find, the Blackfoot and Cree used the area around the lake to camp and hunt. Saskatoon berries grew around the lake and the surrounding valley, and the Blackfoot and Cree would use the Bison meat and the berried to make pemmican, which is basically dried meat.

Saskatoon berries look a lot like blueberries, but they are more closely related to the apple family. They are high in fiber, protein and antioxidants and are described as having a sweet, nutty almond flavor. They sound delightful!

A nearby hill is named Driedmeat, which is where the long ribbon lake gets its name. It was originally crated by a glacial meltwater channel, which carved the surrounding valley. The hill has been reduced due to gravel mining.

After walking around lake for a bit, it was time to get in the car and resume our trip back to Red Deer.

And that was that. Thanks to Kelly for being an excellent hostess and to all my cousins I met in Alberta! I hope we can get together again.