Home »
Rubber Tire Roaming: Southern Alberta
Rubber Tire Roaming
By Ian Cobb/e-KNOW
Southern Alberta evokes a diverse range of thoughts and feelings from people who have toured through it.
The uninitiated on average perceive Southern Alberta as cowboy country and farm country, and to a strong degree they are correct.
But when one delves down the back roads and highways and stops to soak it in, the area that encompasses Alberta South in Travel Alberta literature, is a fascinating and spectacular realm.
As residents of the East Kootenay, we often travel east to explore, lured by the majestic splendour of Waterton Lakes National Park. Simply put, Waterton is among my favourite spots on Earth – a magical place where rolling prairie rushes up to the Rockies and a lakeside oasis, shelter from the raging eastslope winds, is nestled, offering small village escapism and spectacular, world-class scenery.
With such a treasure only 2.5 hour’s drive from Cranbrook, it is often difficult to tear away and explore further east.
We recently did just that on a jaunt to Lethbridge, where we based ourselves for a couple of nights.
On the way, we veered off Highway 3 just east of Pincher Creek onto Highway 785, which led us past a portion of the Old Man Reservoir and then east, northeast to Head-Smashed-in Buffalo Jump.
A World Heritage Site, Head-Smashed-in Buffalo Jump is a fascinating glimpse back in time as one of the world’s oldest, largest, and best-preserved buffalo jumps.
The Jump bears witness to a method of hunting practiced by native people of the North American plains for nearly 6,000 years.
We headed into Lethbridge on this particular early summer weekend because we were desperate for a getaway and opted for the city’s commercial and entertainment options as a quick and easy escape.
I spent two years in Lethbridge, a few moons ago, attending the then-named Lethbridge (Community) College (happy 25th reunion fellow grads!).
My favourite head-clearing spot was Henderson Lake Park, which I lived near one year. The lovely park features a trail that more-or-less wraps it (on three sides), with lots of nice views.
Adjacent to Henderson Lake is the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, a four-acre garden designed by Dr. Tadashi Kubo of Osaka Prefecture University in Japan. Every stone is placed for a reason in this small piece of Japan located in the middle of Southern Alberta.
While Carrie enjoyed these two locations, I believe her favourite thing about Lethbridge (LA to locals) is Cora’s Breakfast and Lunch Restaurant (located in the south end of Mayor Magrath Blvd.)
Of course, Lethbridge, population 89,074, offers a great deal more than the little we sampled.
With a lazy afternoon to idle through, aided on with warm temperatures and blue skies, we drove an hour south down Highway 4 to Milk River and then turned east on Highway 501 to Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park (about 85 minutes from Lethbridge).
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is in three words – ‘really freaking awesome.’
Also a World Heritage Site (as is Waterton), the park on the edge of the Mike River, is one of the largest areas of protected prairie in Alberta. However, it is the large number of rock carvings and paintings and unique rock formations that make Writing-on-Stone so distinct and fascinating.
The views across the Milk River toward Montana’s Sweetgrass Hills are epic western panoramas.
As we toodled back Lethbridge, we opted to make a couple more stops.
The first was Warner, where the Devil’s Coulee Dinosaur Heritage Museum is located. Unfortunately, we were too late in the day to check it out. However, we did come upon the largest pea field either of us had ever seen.
The second stop was in historic Stirling, at the Michelsen Farmstead. Again, off hours only allowed us to check out the exterior.
On our way home the next day, we stopped at Fort Macleod to wander around the Fort Museum.
Despite having driven through Fort Macleod countless times over the past couple of decades, I’ve never stopped at the fort, a blending of two eras of Northwest Mounted and Royal Canadian Mounted Police presence in the area. The First Nations Interpretive Centre was also a fascinating stop.
It was only a couple of days away but they were packed full of exploring, enlightenment, and entertainment; the three legs of the Rubber Tire Roaming stool!
In total, this road trip covered just under 1,000 km.
Lead image: Looking at Montana’s Sweetgrass Hills across a canola field east of Milk River.
Please click on an image to enlarge and to begin self-directed slide show…
Photos by Ian Cobb and Carrie Schafer/e-KNOW