Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#205

Five days ago, on 29 September 2014, I finally drove out to an area that lies NE of Calgary, that I had longed to go to for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw one particular area of the Badlands of Alberta. A few times since then, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip, All summer, we had been waiting for a day on which she didn't have to work and where the weather forecast was for no rain on the day or there had been no rain the previous day. The Bentonite Clay in the area becomes treacherously slippery when wet. The forecast for this day was for a mainly sunny day - at last, we were going! I think this was the longest day of driving I had ever done, especially to, and in, an area that I'd never driven to before. For anyone who doesn't know me, I have battled a driving phobia for decades, plus I have barely any sense of direction, lol! Thankfully, my daughter has an amazing sense of direction, so I knew we wouldn't be stuck out on the prairies in the middle of nowhere. A typical question at too many intersections went as follows: me - "Do we go left?"; my daughter - "No, we go right", lol! I met my daughter at 8:00 am. and I got home shortly before 9:00 pm. Much of that time was spent driving; the rest was spent wandering round three main areas - The Hoodoo Trail, Dorothy and Rowley, in different directions from Drumheller (known for its remarkable dinosaur findings). The forecast was far from accurate on our drive out to the Badlands and I began to wonder if we'd made a mistake going on this trip on that particular day. However, knowing that snow would be returning very soon ("returning" because we had two snowstorms on 9 and 10 September), I was beginning to feel rather desperate and really didn't want to risk not getting out there this year. The afternoon was less cloudy and we did have some sun. So, the first of our destinations was The Hoodoo Trail, a small area of protected, spectacular hoodoos (rock pillars capped with harder rock), and then we went further, to the almost-ghost-town of Dorothy. I had longed, for a long time, to see the two small, old churches that are to be found in Dorothy, as well as the old grain elevator. After that, we drove over 11 bridges and called in at the tiny hamlet of Wayne. We had passed the old Atlas Coal Mine near the main highway, but, much as we would have liked to visit the mine, we knew that we just didn't have time. From Wayne, we continued to Rowley to see the three old grain elevators, and to wander round this very small, historical place. There are actually three elevators, with two being right next to each other and the other one a little further from them. Dorothy felt and looked almost deserted, whereas Rowley was beautifully kept. There were several old pieces of farming equipment thoughtfully placed, including this beautiful old tractor. From Rowley, we made our way back across the prairies to Calgary. I had planned on getting back before it got dark as I no longer like night driving and very rarely do it, but we didn't quite make it. On the return drive, the last sighting was a Great Horned Owl that was perched part way up a power pole. Well done, Rachel, spotting this welcome bird! Not easy to see in the dark. By the time I got home, I was so tired and my arms were so painful from driving, but, what a great day we had!!

It always bothers me when a butterfly hits my windscreen while I'm driving, knowing how delicate their wings are. My daughter happened to notice this brightly coloured Common Sulphur that had been hit by the front of the car somewhere along our drive in the Badlands area of Alberta, on 29 September 2014. It never occurred to me that it might still have been alive until I posted this photo this morning. I had thought that the grill (?) would have been hot and the drive would have been dusty with tiny chips of gravel flying against the grill. Must remember to check when I next use my car.

Was out walking all morning at 12 Mile Coulee, up and down steep hills, and now I am absolutely tired out : ) Lots of fresh air and it has been quite a warm day with bright sunshine for most of the day. It actually rained very briefly on the drive home - I think that was our first rain of the year! Another Tulip from Safeway, of course : ) Hopefully, no one is in need of a bright flower to brighten their day.

Another photo that thankfully came out well enough to upload : ) This young Red Fox was hanging out in the den area with one of his/her siblings while we watched from the car.

One of my favourite creatures to see at the Calgary Zoo! Would love to see one in the wild, though. I think this is one of the young from earlier this year, as the eyes were white/more white than the yellow eyes that the adults have.