Neil Young - "Unknown Legend"

Somewhere on a desert highway
She rides a harley-davidson
Her long blonde hair flyin in the wind...

- Neil Young - "Unknown Legend"

Airdrie to Drumheller - 124 kms / 77 miles

Not quite a Harley Davidson but my Trek 5000 made of carbon fibre is certainly doing the trick..!

I was a bit slow off the mark getting out of camp this morning and by the time I got my act together it was already about 8am. It was due to be a relatively short day and the following day was a rest day..!! Hooray..! I was thinking about heading down to Calgary from Drumheller for the famous Calgary Stampede (heeeee hawww!) as Drumheller is only about an hour north of Calgary.

I spent most of the day biking with Jane which was good fun – we did loads of chatting and made quite a few pit-stops for photos. It was nice to get out of the mountains and witness the way the scenery changes… it went from mountains to rolling hills to flat fields to a desert like and almost completely barren landscape. The area is certainly an archaeologists dream come true. The fields were golden with canola and there was a great tailwind that pushed us along. Some people stopped in Acme (home of the Road Runner!) for photos and a double breakfast - we missed Acme as were too busy chatting. We passed through Irricana and Beiseker, both on Highway 9 stopping for more photographs along the way.

We noticed the scenery begin to change just before Drumheller (http://www.dinosaurvalley.com/) as the landscape started to resemble the Badlands like those in South Dakota. It was very dry and very hot and it was not hard to imagine how barren and desolate the area once looked during the age of the dinosaurs. I had no idea such landscapes existed in Canada..! Apparently the site is full of fossils and the bones of a tyrannosaurus have been found there as well. Everything has been carefully reconstructed and explained in a world-class museum just off of highway 838, just before our campground.

Jane and I decided to grab a quick drink just about 8 kilometers from the campsite because it was relatively early to be getting into camp and because it was boiling hot. The tarmac seemed to radiate heat and it felt like we were constantly biking up hill. We found a great little very local saloon called the ‘Drumheller Longbranch Saloon’. It was very local and reminded me of the Arlington Tavern in Ridgetown – complete with swinging doors like in a real cowboy saloon..! It oozed atmosphere and it was a perfect escape from the bike saddle and opportunity to indulge in some chicken wings and a plate of fries before heading to the Dinosaur Trail Resort RV Resort.

Jane hesitated before going into the bar because there was a huge rather viscious looking dog outside of the Saloon which seemed to be guarding the five 'pimped up' 4X4 pick-up trucks parked outside. When we were gulping down our nice cool Corona's inside of the bar Jane commented on the dog to the waitress. A cowboy-hat yielding local sat at the bar chuckled and lifted up his arms... to reveal he was missing one of his hands... and commented that it was a good thing we used the front door to get into the bar. Hmmm....! Drumheller has a sense of humor.

The RV resort was great – we had a lovely grass field for our tents complete with picnic tables and a fence where we could hang our clothes on to dry. There was a nice breeze, the sun was shining, and everyone was in good spirits. Brendan and I quickly did some reconnaissance and found a ‘secret laundry house’ and sorted our washing – good to get that out of the way early on so that it wouldn’t interfere with our relaxing time on the Rest Day. Then we were served a wonderful pasta dinner by the Galley Crew.

At around 8pm Andrew, Brendan, Cullen, Megan, James, Eric, Graham and I decided to head back to the Longbranch Saloon and enjoy a few drinks on the patio to celebrate the long awaited (and much deserved) Rest Day on the Saturday...! The Longbranch Saloon did not fail to deliver. We had a wonderful evening drinking pitchers (and pitchers) of beer and listening to the fantastic tunes coming from the jukebox until about 11:30pm. The locals in the bar were so friendly and the owner of the bar, Sheila was also really nice. It was pretty quiet on the patio so we had the place to ourselves for most of the evening. Johnny Cash, Spirit of the West, Blue Rodeo, Neil Young etc. etc. made for a great evening.

Again, I could not help but reflect on what a great experience this is – we have so many laughs about so many different things. Everyone seems to have a story to tell from their ‘days on the road’. I can’t remember the last time I was so content and relaxed and happy. A great day.