Monday, August 14, 2017

More Badlands, Smoky Prairie Cruise

Today's (Monday) journey was from Drumheller to Swift Current - using backroads mostly.

But - first things first - I started with a look around the Drumheller Badlands at some of the stuff I skipped yesterday

A stop at Horsethief Canyon - you will hear me incorrectly say Horseshoe Canyon - that is later - this is Horsethief.







Then across the Bleriot Ferry and over to the Orkney Viewpoint. Does anybody recognize this shrub? Tons of it in that area. I had no clue what it was.




Next - over to Horseshoe Canyon - which meant a bit of a backtrack - but it was worth it.




Good video


Then - back through Drumheller - and out 570 - because it follows the Red Deer River Valley - and was just fantastic. The next picture just marks the exit


So, the badlands were great, right? Well - in my opinion the next couple of hours cruising prairie backroads  was just as good. You gotta do it to see it. Visibility was really on and off as the smoke thickened and thinned. At the time I took this picture - the smoke was not bad - and there was a fair amount of cloud - I think it made for nice light! A few drops of rain - no big deal - did seem to help clear the smoke


 Then - back down into a river valley - this time the South Saskatchewan River






After that - more prairie and I continued to just love it. When I got down to Hw 1 - I stopped and gassed up. I looked for a room down near Grasslands National Park - and could not find one. So - I looked for one in Swift Current - it will thus be a straight shot south tomorrow!  As I headed east on Hw 1 - the smoke got thicker again.

Another really great day. The badlands are fantastic. Just driving prairie backroads was fantastic. Ohh - I stopped for a smoke and to check my phone to find gas (I was down to about 150 km of range). ended up talking to a guy on a bicycle who  had also picked the corner of 570 & 41 as a place for a break. Cool guy - from Germany - cycling across Canada. It was a neat discussion!

That's it for today - off to Grasslands tomorrow!

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