New FREE CONNECTIONS - Design Quarry · 2013. 2. 19. · Crowsnest Pass. Join a guided hike and...

1ALBERTA CONNECTIONS – SUMMER 2002

CONNECTIONSFREE

Connecting Albertans to their community and promoting quality of life

Summer 2002 Volume 8, Number 2

Family-friendly adventures in AlbertaSee the full colour centre section of this magazine.

PlusEnjoying AlbertaBuilding Strong CommunitiesHelping Albertans

Preserving Alberta

Fire season begins earlyLack of snow has fire officials preparing for a busy fire season – see pages 5

Probing the mystery of dinosaur extinctionOK, so what really happened? – see pages 15-16

This summer, plan toexplore Alberta’s historicsites, museums andprovincial parks

(See the centre sectionfor more details)

Sunset at Cold Lake Provincial Park

2 ALBERTA CONNECTIONS – SUMMER 2002

H E L P I N G A L B E R TA N S

Feature Story5 Fire season begins early

Building StrongCommunities

6 Golden Jubilee awardsand scholarships

6 Remington Carriage Museumwins top honour

Enjoying Alberta7 Motor to an Auto Adventure

this summer

8 Tea for how many?9 Father Lacombe Chapel gives

“new sense of history”

10 A fortifying experience11 No microwaves in this kitchen12 Experience the Energy!13 Here come the bugs!14 Renowned artist gardens

15-16 Probing the mystery ofdinosaur extinction

Preserving Alberta17 Icelandic farmer-poet influences

Alberta artists

Helping Albertans18 Alberta Lottery Fund –

Continuing to benefit Albertans

19 New network addresses needsof brain injury victims

Back Stunning new art acquired byGovernment House

Alberta Connections is published two times a year byAlberta Community Development.

Opinions expressed are those of individual contributorsand do not necessarily represent the views of AlbertaCommunity Development.

Permission to reproduce any part of this publication forcommercial purposes should be obtained by writing tothe address below. Reproduction for other purposesshould credit this publication.

Publications Mail Agreement #1495542

Managing EditorBill Strickland

EditorsMarylu Walters and Gail Helgason

Contributing WritersDebra Cummings and John Dodd

Design & Pre-Press ProductionJack Born, Design Quarry

CONTENTS

CONNECTIONSSummer 2002 Volume 8, Number 2

Letters to the editor are welcomeand should be sent to:Alberta ConnectionsAlberta Community Development740 Standard Life Centre10405 Jasper AvenueEdmonton, AB T5J 4R7Fax: (780) 427-1496

13

15

8

7

Alberta Community Development

website: www.cd.gov.ab.ca

17


MINISTER’S CORNER Committed to the Community

GENE ZWOZDESKY, MINISTER

ALBERTA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

There’s nothing like an Albertasummer to lift the spirits. Vast blue skies,long hours of daylight, gardens andfields in bloom – all conspire to reviveour get-up-and-go following a longwinter and reluctant spring. Where togo? This issue of Alberta Connections ischock full of exciting places to see andthings to do to make the most of sum-mer in our beautiful province.

From the award-winning “Experi-ence the Energy” tour of Alberta’s oil sands plants, starting atthe Oil Sands Discovery Centre in Fort McMurray, to a sleep-over in a tipi at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump InterpretiveCentre, Alberta’s world-class historic sites, museums andinterpretive centres offer something for all ages and interests.

Check out the exotic new insects in the Bug Room at theProvincial Museum of Alberta or the automotive treasures inthe Auto Adventure and the Mysteries of the Warehouseexhibition at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. Take in theUkrainian Friends Music Festival at the Ukrainian CulturalHeritage Village or learn all about one of Alberta’s worst

Plenty to celebrate in an Alberta summernatural disasters at the Frank Slide Visitor Centre in theCrowsnest Pass. Join a guided hike and prospect for fossils fromthe Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta’s badlands or poke aroundNorth America’s largest collection of horse-drawn vehicles atthe Remington Carriage Museum. You’re bound to find outsomething new and have a great time while you’re at it.

Alberta’s provincial parks and recreation areas offer some ofthe most spectacular landscapes in North America andwonderful opportunities for outdoor family activities andwilderness adventures – from swimming at Aspen BeachProvincial Park or fishing for rainbow trout at Chain LakesProvincial Park to canoeing in William A. Switzer ProvincialPark. You don’t have to travel far in Alberta to get close to nature.

Be sure to keep our special insert Family-FriendlyAdventures in Alberta handy all season long. It will help youplan a whole package of things to see and do wherever you gowith family or friends in the province this summer.

Alberta is ours to enjoy. Let’s celebrate and make the mostof this bountiful season.

New interpretive centre spans over8,000 years in Fish Creek

Some 3,500 years before the great pyramids of Giza were builtin Egypt, the first people arrived in Fish Creek Valley, whichprovided water and shelter from the winds that swept theplains above. It would be another 7,900 years before the City ofCalgary was established not far away.

“Fish Creek is Calgary’s very own cradle of civilization,”says archaeologist Dr. Dale Walde of the University of Calgary,who directs the public archaeological program at Fish CreekProvincial Park.

That cradle, where the first humans settled and generationsof Aboriginal communities thrived for thousands of years, isrecognized and celebrated in the new Fish Creek ProvincialPark Archaeological Interpretive Centre. The centre, unveiledApril 12 by Community Development Minister GeneZwozdesky, includes a range of interactive archaeologicaldisplays and a working laboratory. Visitors can learn about thevalley’s earliest Aboriginal communities and European settlersand view ancient and historical artifacts excavated from sitesthroughout the park.


(From left to right) Honourable Gene Zwozdesky, Minister of CommunityDevelopment; Cindy Ady, MLA for Calgary Shaw; Dr. Dale Walde,University of Calgary Field School Director; and University of CalgaryPresident, Dr. Harvey Weingarten, cut the ribbon to officially open theFish Creek Provincial Park Archaeological Interpretive Centre.

The new interpretive facility, built with financial supportfrom the University of Calgary, Alberta Gaming, AlbertaHistorical Resources Foundation and an anonymous donor, islocated in the Bow Valley Ranch Visitor Centre.

continued on next page...

By John Dodd


H E L P I N G A L B E R TA N SIt’s the starting point for learning about the longand colourful history of the valley. A 25-metre-longmural shows the retreat of the glaciers, the arrival ofthe first humans, the coming of the buffalo and thewhole culture built around the buffalo.

The mural, painted by Calgary artist Luc Ho, alsodepicts the arrival of the first European settlers. Itends with a bird’s eye view of the park today withCalgary growing around it.

Visitors can look through glass viewing windowsinto the laboratory of the archaeological field stationand see staff at work on artifacts recovered aroundthe park. Archaeologists and archaeological fieldschool students will also be available to answerquestions.

“The displays and the field station go hand inhand with our extensive educational programs,” saysIan Waugh, coordinator of environmental educationat the park.

About 23,000 people participated in the educa-tional programs last year. Students learned about theimportance of protected areas and the variety ofecosystems found in the park, including naturalgrasslands, balsam poplar and white spruce forests,and wetlands.

The archaeological program, conducted by theUniversity of Calgary, invites visitors 16 and over tocome and “get your hands dirty” at a summer excava-tion. Participants work side by side with professionalarchaeologists and archaeological field school stu-dents. The program includes instruction, supervisionand all necessary tools for excavation including atrowel, bucket, tape measure, artifact bags, pens andclipboards.

This year’s program is operating at two differentsites in Fish Creek Provincial Park. One is a bison killsite dating to approximately 8,000 years ago; the otheris the site of the first European settlement in Calgary,circa 1873.

These are among the more than 70 archaeologicalsites identified throughout the park. The sites haverevealed evidence of early buffalo hunts along withAboriginal weaponry, cooking utensils and otherancient artifacts, as well as items used by the earlyEuropean settlers during the late 19th and early 20thcenturies. The oldest identifiable artifact found todate has been a broken spearhead, dated at around2,000 B.C.

“The Interpretive Centre is a significant additionto Fish Creek Provincial Park which will enhancevisitors’ experiences on site and give them an oppor-tunity to experience first-hand our natural environ-ment and the park’s 8,000-year human history,”says Zwozdesky.

To receive your complimentarycopy of Alberta Connections...Alberta Connections is distributed free of charge and is availablefor pickup at a variety of locations throughout the province,including local Alberta public libraries, provincial parks visitorcentres, provincially operated historic sites, museums andinterpretive centres, as well as Community Development regionaloffices. Regional offices are located in Stony Plain, Cochrane,Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, St. Paul, Peace River, GrandePrairie and High Prairie.

Alberta Connections is also available electronically. Visit theCommunity Development website at www.cd.gov.ab.ca.

We are reviewing our mailing list and would appreciate hearingfrom you. Do we have your correct address? Do you want toremain on our mailing list? Please let us know.

For more information, please contact the Communications Branchof Alberta Community Development at (780) 427-6530 (outside ofEdmonton, call 310-0000 for toll-free access) or send us an email [email protected]

...continued FROM previous page

For information: Fish Creek Provincial Park, 403 297-5293;for toll-free access dial 310-0000; www.cd.gov.ab.ca


“Real Alberta Pass” now on saleMake an open date with history this summer! The Real AlbertaPass is now on sale at all of Alberta's provincial historic sites andmuseums, offering unlimited access to all 19 historic sitesand museums.

This easy to use pass provides unlimited access forone year from the date of purchaseand opens doors to the fascinatingworld of Alberta's rich history andculture. The pass sells for: $75 forfamilies; $30 for adults; $25 for seniorsand $15 for youth (7-17). Children under7 are admitted free.

Besides offering a variety of educationaland learning activities for Albertans of allages, many sites have a wide range of specialevents and inter-active programs throughoutthe entire year. They're exciting places to stopon a vacation, where families, children andindividuals come to learn and have fun.

For information and details on all of Alberta's historic sitesand museums, hours of operation, and program availability, calltoll-free at 310-0000 and ask to be connected to the site of yourchoice or visit the website at www.cd.gov.ab.ca and click onEnjoying Alberta for more details on all of Alberta's historic sitesand museums.


FEATURE STORY Forest Fires

potentially busy fire season. Visitors in provincialparks and other forested areas need to be especiallycareful with their campfires this summer.

Cyndy Jones, supervisor of the Public InformationUnit for Parks and Protected Areas in CommunityDevelopment, says this is the third consecutive yearthat the fire season was launched earlier than normalbecause of dry conditions.

“Over the last decade, fire seasons in NorthAmerica have generally increased in both length andseverity,” she says.

Last year was particularly severe in Alberta. Thefire season lasted nine months, the longest in theprovince’s history. Over 900 fires burned an estimated153,000 hectares of forested land in the province.

Over the 2001 camping season, fire bans, travelrestrictions and campground closures affected morethan 80 provincial parks and recreation areas, anunprecedented number.

In addition, Sustainable Resource Developmentissued fire bans across the Forest Protection Area andimplemented a forest area closure in southern Albertacovering more than 750,000 hectares. Municipaldistricts, cities and towns also implemented fire bansthroughout their regions.

“One of the biggest challenges during the 2001fire season was communication between agenciesinvolved and with the public,” says Lesia Boyko,information officer for Parks and Protected Areas.

She says staff in Sustainable Resource Develop-ment, Parks and Protected Areas and various munici-pal districts, towns and cities worked hard during theseason to improve communication between variouslevels of government.

In addition, a number of measures were taken toimprove communication with Albertans, especiallythose who live and work in wildland areas.

A new website, alberta.firebans.com, waslaunched last summer, providing the public andmedia with up-to-date information about fire bansaround the province.

Approximately four out of every 10 wildfires inAlberta are caused by humans.

L ast year saw a continuation of the drying trendin Alberta. A lack of snow in parts of theprovince has fire officials preparing for anotherFire season begins early

To report a wildfire, call (780) 427-FIRE (3473) or#FIRE on the Telus Mobility Network.

During the fire season, any person lighting anopen fire for burning debris or any other purpose,with the exception of campfires, must have a valid firepermit.

Campers should never build a campfire underoverhanging trees. Keep your campfires small forcooking and warmth only. Never leave campfiresunattended and keep a supply of water at hand. Whenputting out fires, always soak the fire and then soak itagain, making sure to stir the ashes.

Albertans interested in learning more aboutprotecting their forest area home and communityfrom wildfire can obtain the new FireSmart HomeOwners Manual from Alberta Sustainable ResourceDevelopment offices throughout the province.


H E L P I N G A L B E R TA N SBUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES Awards & Scholarships

Golden Jubilee awards and scholarships

benefit Alberta’s youthto commemorate the Golden Jubilee of QueenElizabeth II.

A Queen’s Golden Jubilee Scholarship worth$5,000 will be awarded each year to a student in thevisual arts who shows extraordinary talent andpotential and who demonstrates clear educationalgoals and objectives. Another Queen’s Golden JubileeScholarship in the same amount will be awardedannually under the same terms to a student in theperforming arts.

A Premier’s Citizenship Award in recognition ofthe Queen’s Golden Jubilee will be presented annuallyto one student in each Alberta high school who hasmade a significant contribution to his or her commu-nity through good citizenship, leadership, communityservice activities and volunteering. The five mostoutstanding recipients of the Premier’s CitizenshipAward will be selected to receive the Queen’s JubileeCitizenship Medal and a $5,000 award to be usedtoward their future education or development.

“The Golden Jubilee provides a special opportu-nity for Alberta to acknowledge the contributions ofour youth as citizens of this province while alsorecognizing other exemplary qualities of youngAlbertans,” says Premier Ralph Klein.

Commenting on the scholarships, CommunityDevelopment Minister Gene Zwozdesky said, “These

Y oung Albertans who excel in citizenship andthe arts will benefit from several new awardsthat were created by the Alberta Government scholarships will encourage and showcase our youngartists, while leaving a lasting impact in the areas ofculture and education.”The scholarships represent a significant award for

students of the arts, says Dr. Jeffrey Anderson, chair-man of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. “We havea great number of extremely talented visual andperforming artists in this province, and these awardsare going to be a great opportunity for artists in eachof these disciplines to further their training.”

The new awards and scholar-ships are part of Bill 1, theQueen Elizabeth II Golden JubileeRecognition Act, introduced byPremier Klein on the first day ofSpring Session to commemoratethe Queen’s accession to thethrone. Funds for the awardsand scholarships will be drawnfrom the Alberta HeritageScholarship Fund.

For information: (Queen’s Golden Jubilee Scholarships)Alberta Foundation for the Arts, (780) 427-6315 or calltoll-free 310-0000; (Premier’s Citizenship Award andQueen’s Golden Jubilee Citizenship Medal) AlbertaScholarship Programs Office, (780) 427-8640 or toll-free310-0000; or visit the Alberta Community Developmentwebsite at www.cd.gov.ab.ca

Alberta’s Remington Carriage Museum was

recognized as one of Canada’s best cultural and

educational sites in the 2002 Attractions Canada

Awards program, winning honours in the “small

indoor facilities” category.

Attractions Canada is a program sponsored by

the federal government, the media and private

sector firms to encourage interest in attractions

that have educational or cultural value. Some

320 attractions from across Canada submitted

applications in a variety of categories.

The Remington Carriage Museum , in

Cardston, houses one of the largest collections

of horse-drawn vehicles in North America in

addition to a working restoration shop,

cafeteria, gift shop and an active horse

program in summer.

Three other cultural and historic sites and a

provincial park operated by Alberta

Community Development won provincial

awards in the competition: the Ukrainian

Cultural Heritage Village, in the “developed

outdoor sites” category; the Royal Tyrrell

Museum, in the “large indoor sites”

category; and Dinosaur Provincial Park, in

the “natural outdoor site” category.

For information: Doug Chow, (514) 842-3014, ext. 371; www.attractionscanada.com or visit www.cd.gov.ab.ca and click on Enjoying Alberta.


Remington Carriage Museum wins top honour


Motor to an Auto Adventure

Reynolds-Alberta Museum exhibit features tall “auto tales”

hood of a yellow LaSalle convertible?The surprising stories behind these and many

other vehicles “with a past” are the focus of AutoAdventure and the Mysteries of the Collection, a featureexhibit at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum inWetaskiwin this spring and summer.

Have you heard about the Cyclops-like car madeof papier maché?Or about the mystery that dwells under the and German engineers designed the vehicle out ofchopped-up paper mixed with an adhesive. Itfeatured a single headlight, giving it a Cyclops-likeappearance.

If you think some of today’s engines are powerful,you won’t want to miss having a peek under the hoodof the collection’s restored 1927 LaSalle convertible.Cadillac originally built the engine to power a tank, aspart of the Second World War effort.

To add to the fun, the exhibitdraws on the style and traditions ofthe pulp magazine. Other displaystell why champagne and truffleswere as important as the surveyor’sgear during a certain wildernesstrip, and probe the identity of anameless “orphan truck” thatturned out to be equipped withextraordinary technology. “Ifyou’re intrigued by some of thesemysteries, or just appreciate a talltale, make sure to drop by and takein Auto Adventure and the Mysteriesof the Collection,” says Blackmore.The exhibit will be open untilLabour Day.

For information: The Reynolds-Alberta Museum is located1 km west of Wetaskiwin on Hwy 13; (780) 361-1351; toll-free outside Edmonton dial 310-0000.

The museum’s collection not only traces thesignificance of cars and trucks in the history ofWestern Canada, but also reveals that many of thevehicles were players in some fascinating yarns. “Thecars and trucks with some of the most delightfulstories have been selected for exhibition this summerin the East Hall,” says Cynthia Blackmore, marketingmanager.

The Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Company, forexample, manufactured the Cyclops-like car in 1912as an experiment in body-making materials. French

this summerBy Gail Helgason

Museum staff work on a vehicle “with a past.”

Pondering the mystery that dwells under the hood.

ENJOYING ALBERTA Auto Adventure


H E L P I N G A L B E R TA N SENJOYING ALBERTA Rutherford House

Tea for how many?Rutherford House revivesan elegant tradition

Rutherford, and his wife did in 1912. And all 20members of the university’s first graduating classshowed up.

The Rutherfords lived in an elegant Edwardianmansion near campus and had a close relationshipwith the university. After that first Founder’s Day, asthey called the occasion, they made an annual eventof it until 1938. Three hundred grads took tea withthe Rutherfords that final year.

And they were “royally entertained,” saysAlison Moir, program coordi-nator of RutherfordHouse, which isnow a Provin-cial HistoricSite. The housewas decoratedin green andgold, theuniversitycolours. And,while there is norecord of what was on themenu for the Founder’s Dayteas, she says, “Mrs. Rutherford generallyserved tiny tea sandwiches, sweet cakes, tarts andcookies” when she hosted tea parties.

The tea capped a traditional Founder’s Day “riteof passage” in which the grads made a pilgrimagearound the university, stopping at key locations oncampus. At each point someone would speak to thegrads and at the end they would plant a tree inrecognition of their passage, according to anEdmonton Bulletin article on May 10, 1912, reportingthe first Founder’s Day event.

Imagine inviting the entire graduating class of theUniversity of Alberta in for tea.That’s what Alberta’s first premier, Alexander Although Founder’s Day celebrations fell by thewayside after 1938, Founder’s Day Tea at RutherfordHouse was revived this year – with a twist. Instead ofinviting the U of A graduating class, which nownumbers in the thousands, Rutherford House invitedthe public to a re-enactment of Founder’s Day cel-ebrations on May 26. Staff served tea, cake decoratedin green and gold, and cookies baked on the woodstove in the Rutherford House kitchen. Visitorsreceived evergreen seedlings to take home and plantin honour of the day.

The first Founder’s Day tree was planted by theclass of 1912 beside Ring House, the home of Henry

Marshall Tory, the university’s firstpresident. “There are trees all over

campus planted by graduatingclasses,” says Moir.

Rutherford, whoserved as chan-

cellor of theuniversitybetween 1927and the day hedied in 1941,often wel-

comed studentsinto his house to

use his library. Atover 4,000 books, it

was bigger than theuniversity’s collection in the early years, Moir says.Rutherford was known to leave dollar bills as book-marks, a habit that, perhaps, made his library evenmore popular with the students.

For information: Alison Moir, Rutherford House,(780) 427-3995 or toll-free 310-0000. Visit the websiteat www.cd.gov.ab.ca

By Marylu Walters Rutherford House.

Main livingroom inside

Rutherford House.


ENJOYING ALBERTA Father Lacombe Chapel

Father Lacombe Chapel gives

“new sense of history”

“Our parish priest had said there would be amajor renovation. So I offered to help make the signsthat would go in front of the artifacts for the newdisplays. I was up to my neck in it from that time on.”

Last fall Borgstede decided to retire after 32 yearsas an energetic volunteer at the oldest standingbuilding in Alberta. During that time the FatherLacombe Chapel has undergone a host of changes,including major restoration, designation as an Al-berta Historic Site in 1980 and a move to its presentlocation alongside the Bishop’s Residence (also

known as the Vital GrandinCentre) on Mission Hill.“The chapel stands on top ofthe hill and for all of itssimplicity, looks quitemajestic,” Borgstede says.“I’ve really enjoyed myvolunteer time there. It’sgiven me a real sense ofhistory.”

Father Lacombe, therevered Oblate priest andmissionary who lived from1827 to 1916, constructed the simple log buildingwith Métis helpers in 1861. The chapel served as theSt. Albert Roman Catholic Mission. It also became thecentre of the Métis settlement of St. Albert and thediocese of St. Albert, which extended through muchof present-day Alberta, Saskatchewan and northernManitoba.

Today the chapel has been restored to look muchas it did in the early 1860s and relocated closer to itsoriginal site on St. Albert’s Mission Hill. It’s opendaily May 15 to Labour Day, with guided toursavailable in both English and French, and attractsabout 3,500 visitors annually.

“Many local people bring visiting friends andrelatives,” says Borgstede. “But the site also attracts

rlene Borgstede remembers the day in 1969when she first volunteered to help at the FatherLacombe Chapel in St. Albert.

Europeans, especially visitors from France andPoland.” Some of the European visitors, she explains,come because two Oblate priests who lived at themission, Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin and BrotherAnthony Kowalczyk, are being considered for beatifi-cation by the Roman Catholic church.

Three special events on summer long weekendsfeature interpreters wearing fashions circa 1861, aswell as demonstrations of pioneer crafts such as ice-cream making, weaving and spinning. “We try to lookat what life might have been like in that early decade,when people of St. Albert were mostly Métis,” saysBorgstede.

Over the years, her volunteer duties have rangedfrom cataloguing artifacts togetting funding for museumstaffing and looking afterschool tours. For several yearsshe also served as HeritageOfficer with the St. AlbertHistorical Society, a paidposition. Since the 1980s shehas represented the St. AlbertHeritage Society, AlbertaCommunity Development’scommunity partner, indecisions affecting the FatherLacombe Chapel. “She’s just awonderful fountain of infor-mation about St. Albert andthe chapel,” says MarianneMack, facility supervisor,Father Lacombe Chapel,

Alberta Historic Sites and Cultural Facilities Branch.Borgstede admits that, in high school, the study of

history “didn’t turn me on at all. But in St. Albert, Ilearned that there were a lot of ordinary people whomade the community what it is today. So I’ve foundthat quite interesting – that it’s the ordinary peoplewho should be celebrated.”

For information: The Father Lacombe Chapel is locatedon St. Vital Avenue just off the St. Albert Trail inSt. Albert. Open May 15 to Labour Day, 10 am - 6 pm;(780) 459-7663 summer, after Labour Day,(780) 431-2300 or toll-free 310-0000; www.cd.gov.ab.ca

Borgstede retires after32 years as a volunteer

ABy Gail Helgason

The Father Lacombe Chapel, located in St. Albert.


H E L P I N G A L B E R TA N SENJOYING ALBERTA Fort George-Buckingham House

A fortifying experienceFort George-Buckingham House marks siteof old rivalry

often setting up shop within a stone’s throw of eachother. That’s what happened in 1792 near what is nowElk Point, Alberta. The rapidly expanding NorthwestCompany built Fort George in the summer of thatyear. The Hudson’s Bay Company, scrambling to keepup, arrived in October and erected BuckinghamHouse nearby.

T wo centuries ago, the Northwest Company andthe Hudson’s Bay Company competed fiercelyto dominate the fur trade in Western Canada – But archaeological digs, traders’ journals, andcompany records provide clues as to what went oninside the missing walls. “Although no buildingsremain, you can see where they were,” Mack says.Boards set in the ground with single posts at eachcorner mark the location of the walls of the variousstructures.

Over the next two years, the Friends of the FortsSociety plans a project to mark the corners, gates andbastions of the forts with “ribbons” of eight or 16posts to give visitors a better idea of what the wallslooked like, Mack says. Funding will be providedthrough an Alberta Community Facility Enhance-ment Program grant.

In the meantime, there is plenty to experienceduring a visit to the site, located 13 km southeast ofElk Point on Hwy. 646. A modern interpretive centretells the story of the two trading posts. Visitors hearWilliam Tomison, the chief factor of BuckinghamHouse, reflecting as he writes in his journal, and get aglimpse of the life of Louis, a voyageur. They alsomeet a “country wife,” an Aboriginal woman marriedto a trader, and learn about the pivotal role she playedin the fur trade as a link between the two cultures.

“The woman provided the fur trader with con-tacts in the tribes he traded with,” Mack says. “He alsodepended on her to produce the clothing he neededin winter, particularly snow shoes. Her childrenbecame the people known as Métis.”

A 1.5-km walk through the bush along aninterpretive path leads to the archaeological site of theforts on the North Saskatchewan River.

“It’s in a natural setting with an incredibly gor-geous view of the river valley,” Mack says.

For information: Marianne Mack, facilities supervisor,Fort George and Buckingham House Historic Site,(780) 431-2360 or toll-free 310-0000. Visit the websiteat www.cd.gov.ab.ca

After doing a lively business for about eight years,the companies moved on, leaving hardly a trace. Butvisitors to Fort George-Buckingham House ProvincialHistoric Site can get a fascinating glimpse of what lifewas like at the forts for the European fur traders andthe Aboriginal people with whom they did businessand often married.

“Most fur trading posts didn’t exist for very long,”says Marianne Mack, facilities supervisor for the site.“When an area was trapped out, the traders movedon.” Fort George and Buckingham House wereabandoned around 1800 or 1801. The wood wastaken to be reused and what remained was burned.

Volunteersportraying what

life was like atFort George-Buckingham

House ProvincialHistoric Site.

Family-Friendly Adventures in Alberta

Exploring Alberta’s historic sites, museums and provincial parks

www.cd.gov.ab.ca

A L B E R TA ’ S T O P FA M I LY F I N D S – Supplement to the Summer 2002 Issue of the Alberta Connections Magazine2

They may have been cruising in an open

cockpit biplane, scraping the earth for

fossils, pummelling their brother in a

potato sack race, spying on bison or

roasting cinnamon-dipped bannock

that could very well be the crispiest, sweetest bread on this planet. Not to

mention sleeping in a tipi while listening to the yipping howl of a coyote.

And all these family-friendly adventures are just day trips from either Calgary

or Edmonton. Which means you don’t need to update passports or booster

shots or change currency. Between Alberta’s historic sites, our 324 provincial

parks and our five UNESCO World Heritage sites we have enough four-star

thrills to fill the most exotic of photo albums.

Read on for the inside track on our Alberta treasures.

There should be a sign on Alberta’s

19 historic sites that says, “Warning: Kids

may mutiny at closing time.” And who

could blame them?


Missionary Trail

Berries & Blacksmith Trail

Black Gold Trail

Village Trail

Autos & Airplanes Trail

Poet Trail

Urban Trail

Badlands Trail

Wild West Trail

Cowboys to Oilmen Trail

Buffalo Trail

Coal Mining Trail

Horse & Buggy Trail

Farmland Trail

page 4

page 5

page 4

page 6page 7

page 7

page 8

page 8

page 10

page 9

page 9

page 10

page 11

page 11

Fort Trailpage 5

To help make the most of your summer weekends we’ve

highlighted on the following pages 15 family-friendly

adventures showcasing Alberta’s historic sites and nearby

provincial parks (where in many cases you can camp), as well

as special seasonal events.

These tailored trips to every pocket of the province are neatly

laid out with distances and driving times. They require no

expertise or special equipment other than a tank of gas, a road

map, a picnic lunch, camping gear and a trunk full of curiosity.


Feel its pulse at the Oil Sands Discovery Centre in Fort

McMurray where you’ll discover how Canadian technology turns

prehistoric sand into what pioneers once called black gold.

Although today the city of Fort McMurray is heavily dependent on

the oil sands, it was originally founded in 1790 as a North West

Company fur trading post.

The Athabasca Oil Sands has the largest deposit of oil in the

world – more than all the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia, the

United States, and Western Europe combined.

Just 34 km southeast of the city is Gregoire Lake Provincial

Park, one of the few auto-accessible lakes in the Fort McMurray

area. Many species of waterfowl nest here and mammals such

as moose and black bears are relatively common. Located 19 km

south of Fort McMurray on Hwy. 63 and 10 km east on Hwy. 881.

Must-See: Look up, waaaay up, at “Cyrus” – the bucketwheel excavator,

one of Canada’s largest land-based

artifacts, just outside the Discovery

Centre. Then take a “ride” in a

monstrous 150-ton truck. Want more?

Join a plant tour to either Syncrude or

Suncor by phoning (780) 791-4336.

Special Events: Summer Science Camps (July and Aug.); Historic Abasand

Hikes (Aug.). Watch the award-winning

film, Quest for Energy.

Black Gold Trail

Join knowledgeable guides in Historic Dunvegan on a tour

through one of Alberta’s earliest fur trade posts and missionary

centres. You’ll find meticulously furnished 19th century log

buildings, a rectory where you’ll glimpse the Spartan lifestyle of an

Oblate Missionary, as well as the Factor’s House, furnished with

artifacts to reflect how a Hudson’s Bay factor and his family lived.

Named after an ancestral castle on the Isle of Skye, the fort and its

two nearby missions closed in 1918. Historic Dunvegan is at the

location of Alberta’s longest clear-span bridge, the fourth longest

suspension bridge in Canada.

Historic Dunvegan Provincial Park, located 26 km south-

west of Fairview on Hwy. 2, at the bridge where highway crosses

the Peace River (canoeing, kayaking, fishing and interpretive

programs); Moonshine Lake Provincial Park, 27 km west of

Spirit River on Hwy. 49, then 7 km

north on Hwy. 725. The park is

best known for its windsurfing and

rainbow trout fishing and is a prime

wintering ground for moose.

Must-See: Pop by a market garden and scoop up produce on a

site that has been farmed for well

over 100 years.

Special Events: Historic Dunvegan – Parks Day Celebration, July 20, salutes parks with nature themed-

activities, hikes along the banks of the mighty Peace River,

plus games. Heritage Day, Aug. 11, is another family-

friendly festival.

Missionary Trail

Location of Historic Site: The Oil Sands Discovery Centre, 515 MacKenzie Blvd., Fort McMurray. 4.5 hrs. northeast of Edmonton.

Phone: (780) 743-7167

Season: Open daily, May 15 to Labour Day and Tuesday through Sunday the remainder of the year.

HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK

PROVINCIAL CAMPGROUND

Location of Historic Site: Historic Dunvegan is 26 km south of Fairview on Hwy. 2. Close to 6 hours northwest of Edmonton.

Phone: (780) 835-7150

Season: Open daily, May 15 to Labour Day

HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


63

63

69

881

Fort McMurray

Oil SandsDiscoveryCentre

Gregoire LakeWillow Lake

GordonLake

BirchLake

To Edmonton

2

49

49

2

681

725

680

726

682

732735

731733

To Grande Prairie

MoonshineLake Dunvegan

Historic Dunvegan

Fairview

WanhamRycroft

Spirit River


For thousands of years natives have come to the area now known

as Saskatoon Island Provincial Park to collect, as the name

suggests, Saskatoons (serviceberries). The berries still cover nearly

a third of the 102-hectare park. The park is also home to North

America’s largest waterfowl species, the trumpeter swan. Located

21 km west of Grande Prairie on Hwy. 43, then 4 km north on

access road.

Must-See: Take a trek into the life of a pioneer smithy at Sexsmith Blacksmith

Shop, built in 1916 by Dave Bozarth. Horse

and oxen shoeing, wagon repairs and

ploughshare sharpening were the prime

tasks back then.

Berries & Blacksmith Trail

Rivalry and camaraderie characterized the competing

Fort George and Buckingham House, both of which were

fur trading posts in the 1700s. The men working at the Hudson’s

Bay Company’s Buckingham House were mostly from the Orkney

Islands, while those at the North West Company’s Fort George were

mostly French Canadians. Both companies traded the same goods

– guns, blankets, beads, tobacco, liquor and knives for a variety of

furs, hides, meat, fat and horses. Today, at the Interpretive Centre,

meet the “Country Wife,” the link between both cultures and stroll

down the interpretive path to the archaeological sites of the forts.

Continue your travels to Victoria Settlement. Founded as a

Methodist mission in 1862, it originally consisted of a small house,

church and school. In 1864 the Hudson’s Bay Company established

a fur trading post at the site which eventually closed in 1897 only

to be reincarnated by Ukrainian settlers a few years later. The

restored Clerk’s 1864 log quarters may be the oldest building in

Alberta still in its original location.

Whitney, Ross, Laurier and Borden lakes are the attractions at the

1,490-hectare Whitney Lakes Provincial Park on Hwy. 646.

The fishing is excellent in all but Borden. Fishing is best for north-

ern pike, perch and pickerel, because this park is in a transition

zone, plant, mammal and bird species are abundant. Long Lake

Provincial Park is a spectacular

remnant of the last ice age that

scoured and scraped this landscape

some 10,000 years ago. Hikers love

the lakeside trail as well as the fact

that it’s a prime spot to see moose and

to fish for northern pike.

Must-See: The vast reserves of salt, located at Lindbergh and harvested

by the Canadian Salt Co. Tours of the

factory are available on weekdays. Also

see two of Alberta’s wild and wacky icons: the world’s largest mallard

duck, in the town of Andrew, and the planet’s largest mushroom,

in Vilna.

Special Events: Fort George and Buckingham House – Forts des Prairie Jamboree, Aug. 25, musical performances, site tours,

food, games and activities for kids. Victoria Settlement – Jamboree

and Quilt Fest, July 14, dips behind the scenes to salute the domestic

culture of the fur trade and pioneer Alberta; Fort Day, Aug. 18,

celebrates the fur trade and Mission period with re-enactment.

Fort Trail

Location of Historic Site: The Sexsmith Blacksmith Shop is on Hwy. 2, just north of Grande Prairie. 5 hrs. northwest of Edmonton.

Phone: (780) 568-3681


HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


Location of Historic Site: Fort George and Buckingham House 13 km southeast of Elk Point on secondary road #646. Some 2.5 hours northeast of Edmonton. Victoria Settlement Off Hwy. 855, near Smoky Lake. 80 mins. northeast of Edmonton.

Phone: Fort George and Buckingham House (780) 724-2611 Victoria Settlement (780) 656-2333

Season: The Fort George and Buckingham House and the Victoria Settlement are open daily, May 15-Labour Day.

HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


43

2

43

59

40

736

724

723672

674

733

666

BearLake

To Edmonton

Sexsmith

Saskatoon Island

WembleyGrande Prairie

28

41

28A

646

881

657

640

897

MurielLake

WhitneyLakes

Fort George &Buckingham House

Elk Point

St. Vincent

St. Paul

Lindbergh

Smoky Lake

LongLake

63 831855

VictoriaSettlement

656

28


Location of Historic Sites: Provincial Museum of Alberta 12845-102 Ave. in Edmonton; Rutherford House 11153 Saskatchewan Dr. in Edmonton; Father Lacombe Chapel St. Vital Ave. in St. Albert.

Phone: Provincial Museum of Alberta (780) 453-9100; Rutherford House (780) 427-3995; Father Lacombe Chapel (780) 459-7663.

Season: The Provincial Museum of Alberta and the Rutherford House are open year-round. The Father Lacombe Chapel is open daily, May 15 to Labour Day.

HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK

NATURAL AREA


On Edmonton’s very doorstep are three top-notch historic wonders:

the Provincial Museum of Alberta, one of Canada’s most

popular museums, where the entire family can pack a billion

years into one day; the Father Lacombe Chapel, the oldest

building still standing in Alberta, built in 1861; and the handsome

Rutherford House, a post–Edwardian home where the family of

Alberta’s first premier once resided and entertained.

In the Father Lacombe Chapel, look up at the beams. They’ve been

moved upwards. The story goes that, in 1868, when the tall and

strapping Bishop Grandin used the chapel as his cathedral, his

mitre kept hitting the ceiling, so they raised the roof, so to speak.

There are several provincial parks and natural areas close to

Edmonton. Wagner Natural Area, located just 5 km west of

Edmonton off Hwy. 16, contains a diversity of habitats, includ-

ing peatland, willow-sedge wetland and black spruce forest. It

is world-renowned for its many species of orchids, including the

rare bog-adder’s mouth orchid. The area’s boardwalk trails allow

visitors to explore the site. Wabamun Lake Provincial Park

is just 60 km west of Edmonton. The original Wabamun town site

is located within the park. The original town site was moved when

coal mining operations began. Today exposed coal seams can

still be seen. There is an 18-hole golf course adjacent to the park.

Located outside the city of St. Albert on the banks of the Sturgeon

River, River Lot 56 Natural Area is an island of public land sur-

rounded by privately-owned farmland and housing developments.

The area contains upland aspen forests, stream bed aquatic plant

communities and large open meadows. There are many species of

birds in the area, as well as mammals such as muskrat, beaver and

deer. There is a system of recreational trails that is used extensively

for hiking, cross-country skiing and nature observation. Situated on

the western edge of the Cooking Lake Moraine, just 4 km south of

the city of Sherwood Park, the Sherwood Park Natural Area

contains forests and wetlands that provide habitat for many plant

and animal species. White-tailed deer and red squirrel are common,

and bird species include black-capped chickadee, blue jay, ruffed

grouse, great horned owl, saw-whet owl and pileated woodpecker.

The area provides many trails for visitors to explore.

Must-See: The Provincial Museum of Alberta opens two new exhibitions this summer. Domestic Arts: Quilts from the

Museum’s Collection runs from May 4 to September 2, 2002.

The Money/L’Argent Exhibition, featuring rare coins and currency

from around the globe, opens June 29 and ends on September 2,

2002. Get up close and personal with residents of the museum’s

Bug Room, where a group of beetles have trained for a research

mission on the International Space Station. After that, have a spot

of tea on the sunny porch of the elegant Rutherford House.

Special Events: Rutherford House – “Edmonton in the Past,” July 28, captivating tours and fun family activities,

celebrating local history; “Old Time Penny Carnival,” August 18,

fishpond, penny throw, ring toss and other old-fashioned carnival

games. Father Lacombe Chapel – “Mission Hill Day,” August

11. Try your hand at some traditional crafts, sample jerky and

bannock, wash a little laundry the old fashioned way and before

you know it you’ll be back in the St. Albert of 1861. July 1, step

into the past and come celebrate Canada Day at a place older than

Canada. Provincial Museum of Alberta – This summer, check

out our new additions to the Bug Room, including a rare Goliath

beetle from Tanzania and five new species of scarab beetles.

Urban Trail16

2

14

21

21

28A

60

37

19

39

633 830

795

627

628

779

814

623

625833

834

CookingLake

St. Albert Father LacombeChapel

River Lot 56Natural Area

Wagner Natural Area

Rutherford House Edmonton

Leduc

Sherwood ParkSherwood ParkNatural Area

Cooking Lake

Fort Saskatchewan

StonyPlain

Wabamun LakeProvincial Park

To Lloydminster

To Calgary

16

43

Lac Ste. Anne

PMA

Devon


Inhale... that’s fresh bread you smell and that’s the jangle of

harnesses you hear. At the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage

Village time stands still when you tool around its 30 restored

historic buildings on a 320-acre site. Its farmsteads, rural

community and town site are populated by costumed, role-playing

interpreters portraying the time from 1892 to 1930.

East-Central Alberta was home to the largest Ukrainian settlement in

Canada. Arriving from their homeland in Eastern Europe, Ukrainians

came to the Canadian prairies, where for many years they dressed

and worked in the ways of the Old World. Lamont County, where the

Ukrainian Village is located, is also known as the Church Capital of

North America. Within its borders are 47 country churches, three of

which are Byzantine churches on the grounds of the Village.

Close by is one of Western Canada’s shorebird reserves, Beaver-

hill Natural Area, a natural haven for over 250 species of birds

and home of the annual Snow Goose Festival. Just 32 km east of

Edmonton, lies a superb picnic area Cooking Lake-Blackfoot

Village Trail

Location of Historic Site: The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village is 25 minutes east of Edmonton on Hwy. 16.

Phone: (780) 662-3640

Season: Open daily, May 18 to Labour Day and then weekends to Thanksgiving.

HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


Museums of this calibre are usually located in major cities, but

situated just outside of Wetaskiwin is a world-class facility known as

the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. Imagine a massive catalogue

of all types of machinery (1890s to 1970s), from vintage cars to

motorcycles to farm machinery – except the goods are on display

and help tell the fascinating story of how the daily lives of Albertans

were affected by machinery from the 1890s to the 1970s.

The museum’s bragging rights are lengthy – home of the world’s

oldest production Chevrolet, a 1913 Chevrolet Classic Six; home of

the world’s oldest dragline, a Bucyrus Class-24; home of Canada’s

Aviation Hall of Fame, with an outstanding display of vintage air-

craft housed in a large hangar. On most summer weekends visitors

can take a ride in a vintage open cockpit biplane ($75 for two).

Surrounded by hummocky, forested land and lakes, Miquelon

Lake Provincial Park is located 3 km south of New Sarepta on

Hwy. 21, then 20 km east on Hwy. 623. The park is a significant

waterfowl viewing area and is criss-crossed with lots of hiking and

biking trails. There is an 18-hole golf course adjacent to the park.

Pigeon Lake Provincial Park is 45 km west of Wetaskiwin on

Hwy. 13 and 10 km north on Hwy. 771, just

105 km southwest of Edmonton. It is one of

Alberta’s most popular boating, water skiing

and swimming lakes. The park’s excellent

trail system allows visitors to explore the

area on foot during spring, summer and fall,

and on cross-country skis during the winter.

Aspen Beach Provincial Park on Gull

Lake, 17 km west of Lacombe along Hwy. 12

is Alberta’s first provincial park. Wide sandy

beaches and warm shallow water make it

ideal for paddling, swimming and lazing in

the sun.

Must-See: A full-scale replica of the AVRO Arrow, the very one used in the TV mini-series The Arrow, starring Dan Ackroyd. If you own a plane, well, just fly to this museum

– it’s one of only two fly-in museums in the country.

Special Events: Reynolds-Alberta Museum – Harvest Festival, Aug. 31, Sept. 1-2, farmers’ market, farming demonstrations, bread baking and agricultural

machinery, where the machines get cranked up to be used in the Parade of Power.

Autos & Airplanes Trail

Location of Historic Site: Reynolds-Alberta Museum is 2 km west of Wetaskiwin on Hwy. 13. About 40 mins. south of Edmonton.

Phone: 1(800) 661-4726

Season: Open year round, daily from May 1 to Sept. 7

HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


Recreation Area. Don’t forget

to pack your binoculars – you just

might spot a great blue heron or a

tundra swan. The area is laced with

mountain bike paths, canoe routes

and horseback trails and is home to

the Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival

held each year in February.

Must-See: At the nearby town of Mundare you can pick up homemade style Ukrainian sausages from

Stawnichy’s Meat Processing Plant.

Special Events: Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village – Ukrainian Day, Aug. 11, terrific time to sample Ukrainian foods and “taste” this vibrant

culture; Friends Ukrainian Music Festival, Aug. 25, spectacular showcase for

some of Alberta’s finest Ukrainian musicians; Harvest and Heritage Food

Festival, Sept. 15, where you can sample wild game and join a threshing bee.

2

2A

2A

21

21

53

50

11

53

13

53

20

1313

56

39

775

625

623

616

822

822

605

601

835

821

815

595

597

814834

833

609

617

833

616616

778

792

611

622

771

Leduc

MiquelonLake

WetaskiwinCamrose

Reynolds-Alberta Museum

Pigeon Lake

Aspen Beach

Red Deer

To Edmonton

To Calgary

16

14

830

630

833

630

626

834

Beaverhill LakeCooking Lake Hastings Lake

To EdmontonTo Lloydminster

Elk IslandNational Park

ArdrossanAntler Lake

Cooking Lake-Blackfoot

North Cooking LakeCollingwood Cove

South Cooking Lake

Ukrainian Village

Half Moon Lake


Visit the tranquil homestead of one of Iceland’s and Canada’s

greatest poets. The home of Stephan G. Stephansson,

Stephansson House, has been restored to its 1927

appearance with activities and special events that illustrate

Alberta’s Icelandic heritage. From poetry readings to house tours,

baking and spinning demonstrations – costumed interpreters

recreate the life of this pioneer-poet who moved to the

Markerville area in 1889.

Born in Iceland in 1853, Stephansson farmed by day and wrote

by night. So prolific was he, Stephansson gained the reputation of

being one of the greatest poets in the western world. His works are

studied in elementary schools in Iceland.

Close by on the banks of the Little Red Deer River, 15 km west of

Bowden on Hwy. 587 is Red Lodge Provincial Park, ideal

habitat for deer and moose with some prime swimming holes. Just

north is Dickson Dam Provincial Recreation Area, noted

for windsurfing, hiking, cycling, power

boating, canoeing and sailing. It is located

30 km west of Innisfail on Hwy. 54, then

south on access road (on Gleniffer Lake at

Dickson Dam).

Must-See: Pop by the nearby historic Markerville Creamery for a cuppa in its

Kaffistofa (coffee room in Icelandic) and

indulge in some Icelandic sweets. If you’ve

got time tour the historic creamery, which

won many awards for its fine quality

butters until it closed in 1972.

Special Events: Stephansson House – Join the special family events and activities on Sundays, including the Annual Cream

Day (Aug. 11) at the Markerville Creamery where there will be a cow

pie throw, petting zoo, goat milking contest and cream can ride. On

August 25 will be Harvesting the Past.

Poet Trail

Location of Historic Site: Stephansson House is 30 mins. southwest of Red Deer, off Hwy. 592 & 781. (90 mins. northwest of Calgary)

Phone: (403) 728-3929


HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


Benalto

Sylvan Lake

Dickson

242

11

20

54

781761

760

766

791

590

595

598

596

587

592766

587

To Calgary

To Edmonton

GlenifferLake

Blackfalds

Red Deer

PenholdMarkerville

Stephansson House

Sylvan Lake

Spruce ViewDicksonDam

Red Lodge

Innisfail

Bowden

Where else can you experience the earth’s history while the

skeletons of real dinosaurs tower overhead? At the Royal Tyrrell

Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, studies of 75-

million-year-old dinosaur communities and bone beds are just the

beginning. You too can reach back in time and grab hold of history.

You’ll find 35 complete dinosaur skeletons on display, one of

the largest collections in the world. The museum offers far more

than bones, however. It’s packed with multi-media displays and

computer terminals where visitors can travel back in time or play

simulation games. Take a hike outside along the lunar-like trails

and feel the warm prairie wind nuzzle the back of your neck. They

call this the badlands – barren, rugged and harbouring the remains

of creatures that once ruled the Earth.

Continue your prehistoric journey and walk the trail of the

dinosaurs at the Dinosaur Provincial Park, a UNESCO World

Heritage Site and one of the richest fossil sites in the world, 50 km

northeast of Brooks on Hwy. 874 and Hwy. 544.

Flanking the west side of Drumheller

on Hwy. 838 is Midland Provincial

Park, the perfect picnic stop along the

60 km loop road known as the Dinosaur

Trail. A hike through the willows and

cottonwoods along the river provides

welcome shade on a hot summer’s day.

Just 50 km southeast of Drumheller on

Hwy. 573 is a lovely shady campground

in Little Fish Provincial Park. It’s a

key staging area for snowgeese, white

pelicans, loons, mergansers, pronghorn and mule deer.

Must-See: In the nearby town of Drumheller you can clamber up 106 stairs into the belly of an eight-storey-tall T-Rex and get your photo

snapped while grinning from the jaws of this beast.

Special Events: Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology – Day Digs, Dino-site! Summer Day Camps and a raft of other special

tours and talks run throughout the summer.

Badlands Trail

Location of Historic Site: The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is 90 minutes from Calgary, close to 3 hours from Edmonton.

Phone: (403) 823-7707

Season: Summer hours May 18-Sept. 2 (9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily).

HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


56

9

10

56

9573

851

851849

575

840

841

837

838

839 851

862

848

576

Little FishLake

HandhillsLake

DowlingLake

855

MorinCraigmyle

Michichi DeliaMunson

Royal Tyrrell Museum

Nacmine DrumhellerMidland Little Fish Lake

To Stettler

To Hanna


Start to understand the Wild West and Canada’s cowboy heroes

with a trip to Cochrane Ranche, just west of Calgary. Rich in

heritage, this provincial historic site salutes the history of ranching

in Alberta. Interpretive displays and programs, and hands-on

activities, are available during the summer months.

It’s easy to imagine this site as ranch headquarters for Senator

Matthew H. Cochrane’s original 189,000-acre tract of land. Step

outside and marvel at the backdrop of the Rockies – precisely what

the Senator saw in 1881 from the saddle of his horse.

Just 13 km from the town of Cochrane on Hwy. 22 is Big Hill

Springs Provincial Park, a day-use area with picnicking and

hiking. Several archaeological digs have uncovered prehistoric

sites suggesting this was once a buffalo jump. Also nearby is

Bow Valley Provincial Park, nestled in the Rocky Mountain

front country near the entry to Kananaskis

Country. Here you’ll find hiking, camping

and numerous day use areas with easy

access to the urban facilities of the

mountain town of Canmore.

Must-See: Saunter down Cochrane’s Main Street and fling open those swinging

doors of the Stageline Saloon, just like a

Wild West gunslinger. For milder tastes

there’s an old-fashioned ice cream parlour

at MacKay’s.

Special Events: Cochrane Ranch – Heritage celebrations are often held on the holiday weekend in August.

Wild West Trail

Location of Historic Site: Cochrane Ranche is 15 mins. west of Calgary, at the junction of Hwys. 1A and 22.

Phone: (403) 932-0361


HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


2

2

22

22

22X

1

8

1

1A

22

1A

567

567

772

566

791

791

564

762

552

773

To Edmonton

To Banff

To Lethbridge

To Medicine Hat

Big Hill Springs

Cochrane Ranche

Airdrie

Calgary

Redwood Meadows Fish

Creek

ShepardChestermere

De Winton

Cochrane

Cochrane Lakes

766

Visit Chain Lakes Provincial Park,

located 38 km southwest of Nanton on

Hwy. 533, for spectacular wildlife viewing:

moose, deer, elk, white pelican, osprey,

great blue heron and much more. It’s also

a great place to canoe and fish for rainbow

trout. At Brown-Lowery Provincial

Park discover a mixed forest laced with

hiking trails, fields of wildflowers, and

superb views of the Rockies, located 35 km

northwest of Turner Valley off Hwy. 762.

Must-See: Turner Valley’s Chuckwag-on restaurant – noted for its ranch-style

breakfast “scramblers” and beefy burgers

for lunch. After noshing there, take a stroll

along the 3-km Friendship Trail linking

Turner Valley with Black Diamond.

Cowboys to Oilmen Trail

Location of Historic Site: The Turner Valley Gas Plant is 45 minutes southwest of Calgary in the town of Turner Valley.

Phone: (403) 933-4944 or (403) 562-7388


HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


55

22

2222x

7

2

2540

533

532

541540

543

783

552

799

547

546

549

773

22x

To LethbridgeTo Crowsnest Pass

To Red Deer

To Medicine Hat

23

Llyod L.

Frank Lake

CalgaryIndus

Dalemead

De Winton

Okotoks

TurnerValley

High River

BrownLowery

Turner ValleyGas Plant

Longview

Cayley

Nanton

Stavely

ChainLakes

BlackDiamond

Turner Valley Gas Plant, in the town of Turner Valley,

showcases the oil and gas industry in Alberta. Set against a

spectacular Rocky Mountain backdrop, visitors can tour the

original workings of this historic plant and relive the drama of

the petroleum industry decades ago.

The stunning wilderness, featured in Hollywood films such as

Unforgiven, lures people here as well as the locally produced

chewy slivers of Beef Jerky. What originally put Turner Valley on

the map dates back to 1914, when Canada’s first major petroleum

discovery was made right here. But it was gas, not oil, that first

sparked interest in the valley. In 1903 a rancher named Bill Herron

found gas seeping from fissures in his land. The legend goes that

Herron persuaded two oilmen to become involved by taking them

to the site of the gas, lighting it, and frying up breakfast right on

the flame. That event led to the development of this field, which,

between 1914 and 1947, accounted for 97% of Alberta’s oil and

gas production.

A L B E R TA ’ S T O P FA M I LY F I N D S – Supplement to the Summer 2002 Issue of the Alberta Connections Magazine1 0

In the heart of Alberta’s extensive irrigated farmland lies the Brooks

Aqueduct, spanning an entire valley like a giant centipede. Erected

nearly 90 years ago by the Canadian Pacific Railway’s irrigation

division, it carried water across a shallow valley to dry prairie on the

other side, opening up a massive chunk of otherwise unproductive

land to farming. This vital link in the development of agriculture in

southeastern Alberta operated until the 1970s.

When the Brooks Aqueduct was completed in 1914, the 3.2-km

structure was the longest concrete aqueduct of its type in the world

and boasted of revolutionary engineering principles.

Just 13 km south of Brooks off Hwy. 873 is Kinbrook Island

Provincial Park, an actual island in Lake Newell, the largest

man-made body of water in Alberta. Swimming, fishing and

boating are all popular water activities. The park attracts a large

number of gulls, pelicans and cormorants which nest on the island.

Between Brooks and Kinbrook on Hwy. 1 lies one of the province’s

best developed parks, Tillebrook Provincial Park, full of cool

shade and even colder

drinking water, an ideal

base for exploring Lake

Newell and the aqueduct.

With enclosed kitchen

shelters, laundry facilities

and serviced sites, this

park’s campground has

been hailed as the best-

designed campground in

North America.

Must-See: While you’re in this neck of the woods pop by the Crop Diversification

Centre or go for a tour of the Canadian Pheasant Company.

Farmland Trail

Location of Historic Site: The Brooks Aqueduct is 8 km southeast of Brooks, 3 km off Trans-Canada Hwy. 1. Two hours southeast of Calgary.

Phone: (403) 653-5139 or call the Summer Line at (403) 362-4451


HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


36

1

873

875

535

873

539

542

876

To Medicine Hat

To Lethbridge

Cowoki Lake

TilleyReservoir

Newell Lake

To Calgary To Drumheller

BrooksAqueduct

Brooks

Tillebrook

KinbrookIsland Tilley

Rainier

Don’t let the name Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump trick you

into thinking this place is just a gag. One of Canada’s 13 UNESCO

World Heritage Sites, it spirits you back some 6,000 years to the

times when the early natives stampeded herds of buffalo to their

death at special jump sites. This cliff-side buffalo jump is one of the

oldest, largest, and best-preserved buffalo jumps in North America.

Further east is a lovely spot to camp – Willow Creek Provincial

Park, where the sites are cradled in a dip of willow trees. The area

is rich in Aboriginal history and is located 6 km west and 8 km

south of Stavely on Hwy. 527. And 22 km northeast of Lethbridge

is Park Lake Provincial Park, another area rich in grassland

residents such as cottontail, pronghorn, golden eagles, prairie falcon

and prickly pear cactus.

Must-See: The Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump’s gift shop features beaded necklaces, moccasins, pipe bags, gloves and

homemade jams, all crafted by local Blackfoot. In the cafeteria,

order a juicy buffalo burger and buffalo chips. In the olden days

buffalo chips were what we

call cow paddies today and

were used as fuel out on the

barren plains... now they’re

just French fries. If you’ve ever

wanted to bunk down in a

tipi you can do so at the site

July 26-28 and Aug. 16-18.

Just east of Head-Smashed-In

Buffalo Jump is the town of Fort Macleod. In 1874 the North West

Mounted Police established its first headquarters in this location. From

this tiny fort in the middle of an ocean of Prairie grew the “Red Coat”

police force that is synonymous with Canada.

Special Events: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump – World Indigenous Peoples Day, Aug. 9, drumming, dancing and day-long

atlatl throwing competition; Stone and Bones, Sept. 7, great day to

identify artifacts, partake in flint knapping, etc.

Buffalo Trail

Location of Historic Site: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is 18 km north and west of Fort Macleod on Hwy. 785. Located 1.5 hrs. south of Calgary.

Phone: (403) 553-2731

Season: Open daily, year-round

HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


3

23

25

2 4

3

520520

843 845

522

526

529

527

519

811

785

810

520

To Calgary

To Taber

StavelyChampion

TurinBaronsClaresholmWillow

Creek

Head-Smashed-InBuffalo Jump

GranumPark Lake

Monarch

Coalhurst

Fort MacleodLethbridge

Picture Butte

Diamond City


Long before you arrive at the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre

you’ll be awestruck by the condo-sized boulders that lie jumbled

on both sides of Hwy.3, which slices through Crowsnest Pass.

A mammoth rock slide peeled away 90 million tons of rock from

the flanks of Turtle Mountain, killing 70 people and burying part

of the coal mining town of Frank. Step into the centre and walk

back into the lives of the coal miners and families who endured the

catastrophe that buried their town at 4:10 a.m. on April 29, 1903.

Then take a hike along the Frank Slide Trail and a web of other

trails, with magnificent views of the slide and spectacular Rocky

Mountains. Continue your journey at Leitch Collieries. Walk

amidst the ruins of the powerhouse, the mine manager’s residence,

coke ovens, washery and tipple. This was one of the largest and

most amibitous mines in the early days of the Crowsnest Pass.

Head to Beauvais Lake Provincial Park where you’ll find

award-winning interpretive programs, 15 km of hiking trails,

excellent rainbow trout fishing, and a new 3-km trail that leads to

a small rustic backcountry campground. The park is located 11 km

west of Pincher Creek on Hwy. 507, then 8 km south on Hwy. 775.

Coal Mining Trail

Location of Historic Site: The Frank Slide Interpretive Centre is on Hwy. 3, Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, just 2.5 hrs. south of Calgary.

Phone: (403) 562-7388


HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


3

6

22

505

800

507

786

785

510

507

507

775

774

Oldman River Res.

Waterton Res.

To Calgary

To Fernie

To Waterton

Crowsnest Pass

Frank Slide

Leitch CollieriesCowley

Lundbreck

Beaver Mines

BeauvaisLake

Pincher Creek

Pincher StationBrocket

Glenwood

To Lethbridge

Poke around North America’s largest collection of horse-drawn

vehicles at the Remington Carriage Museum. Some 250

carriages, buggies, wagons and sleighs are displayed here, many in

beautiful interpretive settings, with loads of guided tours and special

events that bring these magnificent vehicles to life. The museum also

features a stable with 15 work horses, and a restoration shop.

Remember Jackie Chan rattling around in a stagecoach in Disney’s

Shanghai Noon and Tom Selleck doing much the same in Crossfire

Trail? The precise vehicles used in those movies are here along with

scores of other classic wagons and stagecoaches of the wild and

woolly West.

Located near the Alberta/Montana border, 10 km south and 23

km west of Cardston on Hwy. 2, is Police Outpost Provincial

Park where in 1891 the Northwest Mounted Police set up an out-

post to nab whiskey smugglers. Just northeast in a wooded valley

beside the St. Mary River is Woolford Provincial Park, located

The Horse & Buggy Trail

Location of Historic Site: Remington Carriage Museum, 623 Main Street, Cardston. Located 2.5hrs. south of Calgary.

Phone: (403) 653-5139


HISTORIC SITE

PROVINCIAL PARK


11 km northeast of

Cardston on Hwy 5,

then 14 km south on

Hwy. 503. This park

is a favourite with

families. Activities at

both include canoeing

and fishing for rainbow

trout.

Must-See: A recent donation to the Remington Carriage Museum by Bill Irwin, a direct descendent of

R.J. McLaughin, chairman of the McLaughlin Carriage Company, including a wicker-body

pony Phaeton, a doctor’s buggy, a trap, a sleigh and a governess cart, all of which bear

the McLaughlin Carriage Company name.

Special Events: Remington Carriage Museum – Cardston and Area Farmers’ Market, Aug. 31, scoop up fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, preserves and country crafts.

2

6

501

505

800

801

503

RemingtonCarriage Museum

St. MaryResevoir

WatertonRes.

WatertonLakes

Ross Lake

To LethbridgeTo Pincher Creek

Hillspring

Spring Coulee

Cardston

AetnaBeazer

Mountain View

Waterton Park

Chief MountainPolice Outpost

Carway

Woolford

Must-See: The award-winning audio-visual

presentation, In The

Mountain’s Shadow, at

the Frank Slide Interpretive

Centre. Rich in coal seams,

mining ruins and pristine

blue ribbon rivers (world

famous for fly fishing), the

small historic towns and

recreational areas in the

Crowsnest Pass area are well worth exploring. For good eats in the Pass, try Pick’s

Roadhouse or Popiel’s, the Swiss Alpine in Pincher Creek. While you’re in Pincher

Creek, pop into the new cruciform log museum, the gateway to the Kootenay Brown

Outdoor Museum, which often has superb exhibits.

Special Events: Frank Slide Interpretive Centre – Frank Slide’s Inter-national Year of Mountains Festival, Aug. 2-5, a great chance to view some of the

award-winning films from the Banff Mountain Film Festival as well as scramble up a

climbing wall or join a guided mountain bike tour.


Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

Celebrate Alberta’s heritage: you’re always welcome.

You are.

Hiking in Alberta Mountain Parks

What’s missing in these pictures?

Whitney Lakes Provincial Park Remington Carriage Museum

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Hiking in Alberta Mountain Parks

Whitney Lakes Provincial Park Remington Carriage Museum

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump


ENJOYING ALBERTA Victoria Settlement

No microwaves

a project planned by the Friends of Fort Victoria.The settlement is the spot where Reverend George

McDougall founded a Methodist mission to the Creein 1862 and where the Hudson’s Bay Companyestablished Fort Victoria in 1864 to trade with thelocal natives. Although the mission and fort becamethe centre of a bustling Métis community that ex-tended six miles along the North Saskatchewan River,all that remain today are the Hudson’s Bay Companyclerk’s quarters built in 1864 and the 1906 Methodistchurch.

The Friends are raising funds to re-create thesecond kitchen that was attached to the Red Riverframe clerk’s quarters between 1874 and 1888. “We’llbe building a kitchen in an exact replica of the erausing the origi-nal hand tools ofthe times fromthe local area,”says BillieFriesen, presi-dent of theFriends of FortVictoria. “Thatmeans when thewood dries itwill have thesame kinds of markings on it as the original building.

“Everything will be done exactly as it was in thosetimes. The only thing electrical will be the securitysystem.”

Nothing is known about the first kitchen attachedto the clerk’s quarters, Friesen says. However, theground markings for the second kitchen arestill there.

Friesen says the project “will keep our history aliveand also lend something of the women’s perspective.”

Like the rest of Victoria Settlement, the kitchenwill be interpreted to the 1890s, says Marianne Mack,facility supervisor for the site.

V isitors to Victoria Settlement Historic Site nearSmoky Lake will get a better idea of the furtrade from a woman’s perspective as a result of

The Friends group plans to start building thekitchen in the fall of 2004. Friesen says the societyhopes to attract major sponsors in the corporatesector to help raise half of the $55,000 to $60,000 costof the project.

in this kitchen

Costumed interpreters answer children’s questions atVictoria Settlement.

The clerk’s quarters at VictoriaSettlement. For information: Marianne Mack, facility supervisor,

Victoria Settlement, (780) 431-2360; Billie Friesen, Friendsof Fort Victoria Society, (780) 636-2844.

10 km south of Smoky Lake on Highway 855 and 6 km eastalong the Victoria Trail.

Call toll-free 310-0000 or visit the website atwww.cd.gov.ab.ca



“Everything is just that big,” says Helen Daymond,executive director of the Fort McMurray Visitor’sBureau (renamed the the Fort McMurrayTourism Centre).

The half-day guided tour starts at the Oil SandsDiscovery Centre, where visitors view a historic filmon the development of the oil sands and see a livedemonstration of the innovative hot water extractionprocess that made it all possible, rub the gritty oil

W ow! That’s what most people say when theycome to the end of the Experience theEnergy oil sands tour in Fort McMurray.

Experience thesands through fingertips and smell the freshly ex-tracted bitumen. After lunch they then board a bus toeither the Suncor or Syncrude oil sands mining site,depending on the day of the week (Suncor – Sundaythrough Tuesday; Syncrude – Wednesday throughSaturday).

Contributing to the “wow” factor is a giant shovelthat can load a 380-tonne truck in 100-tonne scoops.“You can watch the earth move before your eyes,”Daymond says.

Daymond warns, however, that children under 12are not permitted on the mine site tours. “You’reentering an industrial mine site, so Workers Compen-sation Board regulations apply.”

New on the tour this year is Syncrude’s Giants ofMining Industrial Park, where outmoded behemothsof the oil sands are retired. One of the stars of theshow is a 7 1/2-storey bucket wheel reclaimer and dragline system, which has been replaced by a more cost-efficient truck-and-shovel operation. “It’s massive,”Daymond says. “The boom is the length of a regula-tion football field.”

The tour is the result of a partnership among theDiscovery Centre, Fort McMurray Tourism and localhotels. Visitors may take the half-day tour or book atwo-night package that includes the film and demon-stration at the Discovery Centre, a tour of the Suncoror Syncrude mining site and Heritage Park, plusaccommodation and an Experience the Energybreakfast.

The tour has been very popular, says Bert MacKay,facilities supervisor of the Discovery Centre. “Peoplecome up here by the busload for it. Last year we hadan increase of 30 per cent in the number of partici-pants.” Experience the Energy has been so successful,it won the Tourism Alberta ALTO award for success-ful partnerships in 2001. MacKay says, “the secret tothe success of this site is the partnerships developedwith industry and tourism; also one of our staff(Annette Milot, Interpretation Officer) has beenelected a director of Fort McMurray Tourism.”

For information: Bert MacKay, Oil SandsDiscovery Centre, (780) 743-7167 or toll-free 310-0000;Helen Daymond, Fort McMurray Visitor’s Bureau,1-800-565-3947.

ENJOYING ALBERTA Oil Sands Discovery Centre

Exhibit hall re-opens this fallHistory will repeat itself when the Oil Sands Discovery Centre in Fort

McMurray celebrates the opening of its newly redeveloped Karl Clark

Exhibit Hall this fall. Mary Clark-Sheppard, daughter of famous oil sands

scientist Dr. Karl Clark, will cut the ribbon on the new hall, re-enacting

the role she played at the opening of the original hall in 1985.

Alberta Community Development Minister Gene Zwozdesky and

Municipal Affairs Minister Guy Boutilier, MLA for Fort McMurray, will

share the honours with Clark-Sheppard at the official opening

ceremonies on September 27 followed by an open house and BBQ for

the public on September 28.

The redeveloped exhibit hall will be “much more dynamic and up-to-

date with the latest technology,” says facility supervisor Bert MacKay.

“Rather than walk through a museum and read text boards, visitors will

have a highly interactive experience.”

The Discovery Centre will be open during construction this summer with

half-price admission. While the exhibit hall will be off limits, the centre

has set up a mobile lab where visitors can see a live demonstration of

the oil sands separation process used in the Suncor and Syncrude oil

sands plants.

“It’s quite intriguing for visitors to see,” MacKay says. “It’s essentially the

same principle Dr. Clark originated.” Visitors can also view historic films

on the discovery and development of the oil sands in the Discovery

Centre theatre, and take in new “Discovery Giftshop” inventory of

science, Aboriginal art and history.

Energy!


They include an unusual velvety beetle and apraying mantis that mimics a moth perched on a

blade of grass, all the better to snagits unsuspecting dinner. If all goesaccording to plan, the population inthe museum’s Bug Room gallerywill grow by five new species ofscarab beetles, five new species ofmantids, two new species of walk-ing sticks and more over the nextfew months.

Bug Room assistant Jay Staples,a.k.a. “Spiderman,” is besidehimself at the prospect.He describes one

of the most exotic of the newcom-ers, the Goliath beetle, as “theheaviest beetle on the planet.”

“This species, weighing up to100 grams (almost 1/4 pound) iswhite with black streaks and filigrispatterns and it has tiny scales on theback which give it a velvety feel,which is very cool.”

Then there is the tiny beetle (2.5 cm)from Africa without an English common name.“We’re going to end up calling it the spotted flowerbeetle,” Staples says. “They collect pollen from flowersand are also brightly coloured – metallic green andmetallic red with white spots all down the back – agorgeous, gorgeous beetle.”

Not to be outdone, the soon-to-arrive whalechafer beetle sports a bright yellow colour and awhale-shaped pattern on its back. “It’s a beautiful,beautiful beetle from Africa,” Staples says.

The Bug Room is also importing some of themost impressive of the 2,500 species of mantids in theworld, he adds. Among them is the “incrediblybizarre” Indian violin mantid.

“Its thorax is very skinny, almost like a blade ofgrass and its arms have big fins, or leaf-like projec-tions. When it’s sitting waiting for its prey, the way itsarms and head come together makes it look like aninnocent little moth on a blade of grass. So whensomething comes along to eat the moth, it ends upbeing dinner for the mantid.”

T he Provincial Museum of Alberta is gettingready to welcome some VIBs (very impressivebugs) from around the world this summer. Also coming is a “verystriking” orange Malaysianhuntsman spider, whichhas a 3.5 to 4-inch leg span,says Staples, who admits heonce was afraid of spiders.“I bought my first taran-tula to get over that fear.”Now he keeps several aspets and raises blackwidow spiders at home.

Other new bugs onorder include a PuertoRican white millipede with orange spots, a hornedAfrican ghost mantid that mimics dried up leaves,

and a Peruvian fern-eating walking stick that,unlike most insect predators, is active in

daylight.Bug Room supervisor Terry Thormin

warns that he can’t guarantee you’ll seeall of these bugs on your next visit.“When it comes to live animals you’repretty much at the mercy of yoursuppliers and the animals themselves.”

Some of the insects could be in theirlarvae stage when they arrive, he explains.

“In that case we may have to wait for themto reach a stage in their life cycle where we can

exhibit them.”Meanwhile, plans are underway for a new, im-

proved Bug Room in the summer of 2003. Detailsaren’t finalized, but visitors will see the ProvincialMuseum’s bugs in a more natural setting, Thorminsays. “It will be visually quite different. We’re going togive it almost a rainforest type of appearance.”

For information: Provincial Museum of Alberta, (780)453-9100 or toll-free 310-0000; www.pma.edmonton.ab.ca

Here come the bugs!ENJOYING ALBERTA Provincial Museum of Alberta

By Marylu Walters

The Provincial Museum of Alberta will welcome some newbugs this summer, including the Goliath beetle.



Renowned artist gardens

successful touring art expositions called Flowers of theBible and Flowers of the Americasthat have toured Canada, theUnited States and abroad. Hervivid, rich style has created asubstantial following for herworks, which are now in privateand corporate collectionsthroughout North and SouthAmerica, Australia and Europe.Her dramatic compositions andbold use of colour evoke feelingsof passion and stretch the param-eters of traditional watercolourtechniques.

Passion in a carrot?“Painting things like carrots

and onions brought me down toearth and that’s good,” saysCheladyn, who showed her worksto Prince Phillip, the Duke ofEdinburgh, at a 1996 exhibitionin Geneva. “It was getting easierfor me to do floating, translucentflower petals. Now I’m dealingwith the solid things that were soimportant in the life of my owngrandmother.”

Her new collection of water-colours – which will be displayedat the Ukrainian Cultural Herit-age Village from the May longweekend until Thanksgiving – iscalled Baba’s Garden. Cheladynhopes to capture some of the magic that she, like somany others, experienced in her own Baba’s garden.Including carrots.

Each painting is inspired by her own personalexperiences in the garden as well as those of pioneers,whose life depended on their gardens.

New FREE CONNECTIONS - Design Quarry · 2013. 2. 19. · Crowsnest Pass. Join a guided hike and...

Documents

Transcript of New FREE CONNECTIONS - Design Quarry · 2013. 2. 19. · Crowsnest Pass. Join a guided hike and...