ROLLING HISTORY INTO RV’ING Northern Alberta to BC Part 9
Story and Photos by Barb Rees
RVing in Canada brings limitless opportunities for outstanding scenery and fascinating history. After two and a half months of exploring the north, we drove from NWT into northern Alberta. In this last installment of the series I will highlight only the historical and unusual spots. The complete story will be in the next book due 2011.
Fort Vermillion, the first fort in Alberta, lies 65 km east of High River. There, vestiges from this era can be seen first-hand in Métis style Bourassa/ St. Germaine House, where everyday objects, like an oxbow crib built from the original oxbows, and a small, traditional replica garden originally planted by Mackenzie in 1788, immerses us in history.
From there we traveled to La Crete, down to La Crete ferry and campground. We boon-docked at a giant Wal-Mart and visited the tourism office in the 1916 Northern Alberta Railway station. While there we also traversed Judah Hill Road, a steep winding path (big rigs not recommended), to Sagitawa Lookout for a spectacular panorama!
The Métis Festival (Aug.22, 23) at Metis Crossing, just south of Smoky Lake, was one of our goals on this trip. Métis Crossing sits on some of the oldest settlements in Canada, and is now the first major Métis cultural interpretative centre in Alberta. The present site, which borders the North Saskatchewan River, features a campground, guided tours, zip line and heritage buildings.
We sold our wares alongside other artists while dancers and musicians entertained the audience. Dennis Weber painted a Métis woman waiting for the hunt; outside, people cooked bannock on sticks; Lisa Shepherd taught moccasin making and jigging.
Feeling culturally enriched, we left the Festival and were stunned by the Fort Saskatchewan freeway traffic. Later on, we got lost pulling our 27-foot trailer through downtown Edmonton during rush hour traffic. The air in the van was blue. We yearned for northern solitude.
If it weren’t for our plan to visit family in Calgary, we would have bypassed it as well, but we found a Wal-Mart on the MacLeod Trail South, on the corner of Shawville Blvd and Shawville Road, that allows RVers seven day boon-docking stints. After camping in High River, we headed west into the foothills, to Black Diamond, and turned south on Hwy #22, planning to camp at Chain Lakes Provincial Park. Canoeing washed the cares of the road away with each stroke of the paddle.
Our next historical treasure came while camping at Lundbreck Falls Provincial Park, off #3A East. Our drive- through spot was by the river, with fly fishermen dancing their lines across bubbling waters. It was perfect! Leaving the trailer behind, we set out to explore the municipality of Crowsnest Pass, formed when the towns of Bellevue, Hillcrest, Coleman, Blaremore and Frank amalgamated in 1979. Turtle Mountain towers above the 100 million tons of rocky debris that it dumped on the town of Frank on April 29, 1902, taking 76 lives, and sparing 23.
The locals recommended Chris and Irvin’s Café, located in the historic village of Coleman. The ambiance was highlighted with vinyl stools from the 70’s circling the serving centre, and good natured waitresses that bantered with customers. We had the best-ever hamburgers that were the size of the plates they sat on, and fries, then strolled through Coal Town Antiques to walk it off.
Bellevue mine tours features a trip down a 1000 ft.
shaft, in 0° temperatures, so dress warm and wear proper shoes. Operating from 1903-1963, miners worked under severe conditions for $3 a day (1905) loading three tons of coal into each cart.
There’s free sani-dumps at either end of the route: both at the East end of Bellevue (free camping here as well) and at the west end of Blaremore.
Moving on, we camped at Scotties Campground in Creston. This was a great place, with great service, and a helpful owner who assisted drivers as they backed
Continued on page 12 11
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www.rvsnowbirds.com | August/September 2010
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