Mention Alberta and the first thing that comes to mind is ....Banff. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Banff and the Canadian Rockies are up there on most bucket lists, and if they're not, they should be. But for something a little different, I decided to head east from Calgary (a fantastic City FYI) to the Badlands of Alberta. What I found was an authentic taste of the region's pioneering past swaddled in that famous Canadian hospitality that makes the country feel like home each time I visit, eh. There are not many places on the planet where you can climb into abandoned coal mine, dig up a 75 million year old fossil, drop into a hidden valley that's home to a thriving theater community, creep through a ghost town, helicopter above a prehistoric river valley, drive towards a golden horizon and never encounter a soul, share stories with a Blackfoot Indian, and feel the power of an ancient medicine wheel on a 34,000 acre cattle ranch.
When Robert Frost said, "I took the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference," maybe he too had just returned from the Badlands.
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| Abandoned tracks |
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| Last Chance Saloon, Wayne |
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| Brad Tucker finds a dinosaur toe as we are walking |
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| Hiking out of the Atlas Coal Mine |
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| The Rosebud Theater |
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