Day 13: Smooth Highway 42

We were off to a fantastic start on day 13. I got in a solid night's sleep, about 7 hours, which is a lot for me, and woke up feeling well rested. Today, we have a few stops planned (and probably a few unplanned stops as well) on our way to the Drumheller Badlands.

I started the day off with some breakfast. I joined Lisa and her 2 boys, Kenton and Austin, downstairs and offered her some of my Nespresso while filling up my big drive coffee mug.

As we chatted over breakfast and coffee, Lisa's youngest, Austin, ran off to meet the school bus outside. Man, that bus driver must really wrack up the miles with all the homes in this area being so far away from one another.

Moose Jaw

And then I was off! For the first stop of the day, I was headed into Moose Jaw. First, I wanted to stop and see the Al Capone Tunnels. The tunnels offer a 50-minute tour explaining the prohibition era in Moose Jaw and the connection between Al Capone in Chicago and the residents of this city. Sadly, I arrived too early and they were not open until 9:30 AM. Since I had a lot of ground to cover today, I couldn't wait around. So I explored the outside of the tunnel entrance, looking through the photos and explanations, and then headed off to meet Mac the Moose.

Mac the Moose is apparently the largest moose in the world, both in antler size and height. Although Mac the Moose isn't a live moose, he is quite an impressive statue! Mac is a steel and concrete sculpture that can be found at the Moose Jaw visitor center, and he is around 34 ft tall and weighs about 10 tons. I heard that Mac was close to losing the honour of having the largest antlers to some moose in Norway, so in order to keep his title, his antlers had been resized to be even larger!

I took a quick selfie with Mac and said my goodbyes. I was off to Drumheller to see the Badlands, a desert-looking area similar to Nevada in the States. The navigation told me it would be about a 6-hour drive from Moose Jaw, but since I'm always taking the side roads full of gravel for a chance to see some hidden trails, it would probably take longer.

Before leaving Moose Jaw, I took the opportunity to fill up on gas. I pulled into a "Full-service" station, and was impressed when an attendant not only filled up my tank but also cleaned my windows for me! I can see now! I think these windows are even cleaner than when I first bought the car. Unfortunately, we know that after a few minutes of driving on the highway again, the bug splatter on the windshield will take over once more.

Someone should invent something that protects windshields from bug splatter at high speeds so that I can have a clean windshield all the time. I don't care how, just "make it so!", as Jean-Luc Picard used to say (It's a Star Trek reference - warming up for day 14 *hint hint*) I should have asked the gas attendant to clean my glasses, because now that the windows are so clean it's very obvious how smudged they are. 🤓

Wide Open Spaces

At this point, I was back on the road on Route 42 to West Saskatchewan. I took this route instead of the main highway for a chance to discover some rural gems on the way. Anyways, the main highway would have only saved us around 20 minutes, so I was eager to see what hidden trails the 42 had to offer.

The beginning of the 42 was breathtaking. It was a well-paved comfortable drive, and the road was completely empty. Just me and the vastness of the plains as far as the eye could see. I could see fields being ploughed and harvested, and everything was green and flat. Compared to the lake-filled Ontario, this was a completely different experience, but still beautiful in its own way.

Smooth 42 Craft Distillery

I stopped off at the Smooth 42 Craft Distillery in Brownlee. I had seen the sign and thought that this would be a great hidden gem to visit. I figured I could buy my wife, Ronit, a bottle of their best vodka. She's a vodka enthusiast (not an alcoholic, mind you!) so I thought this could be a nice souvenir for her from my travels.

At the distillery, I met Crystal and Adam Dombowsky, the owner. Adam told me how Highway 42 used to be the worst road in all of Saskatchewan. It was voted the worst road for several years consecutively. So the name of the distillery was actually a bid at some irony by calling it the "smooth 42" when Highway 42 was so well known for being anything but.

I got a detailed private tour of the grounds and learned a bit about the history of the place. I got to see how they produce their vodka and also had the privilege to taste from a small barrel of single malt whisky that Adam is experimenting with. It was very good! Like "Wow I want to buy this right now", good. In fact, I liked it so much that I made Adam pinky-promise me that when the barrel gets bottled I'll get first dibs on buying a bottle.

The distillery was definitely a hidden gem, but the biggest hidden gem turned out to be Adam himself! Adam is a true entrepreneurial genius! He and his partner really have an incredible success story. He bought the building for just $1 as it was going to be demolished, and turned it into a multi-million dollar business that produces some of the finest alcohol in the region. A true testament to what you can achieve when your work is also something you enjoy and are passionate about.

Elbow City

Next up, was a hidden trail to the small city of Elbow. I had seen signs for a harbour and lake, and after miles of flatlands, I was ready for a dose of water to wash out my eyes. First off, I noticed a granary container with a very clear Pool Company logo on it. After getting a bit of history on this yesterday, Willie from Antler would have been proud to see me standing right here admiring the magnificent tower. It even looked like it was still in use. Willie, if you are following the blog, this is a shout-out to you for teaching me all about it!

I continued on in search of the body of water I was promised and was in utter shock and awe once I found it. Here I thought I'd have a similar experience as yesterday. I figured maybe it would be a dried-up lake or a very small baby lake. But no, this was a huge lake! Not only that, but it also had a cliff edge that dropped steeply off onto a beautiful sandy beach. I felt like I was at the sea.

The cliff was almost a bit scary. There were no fences or barriers to keep you from slipping off the edge. And the ground at the edge of the cliffs was brittle and dry, and seemed to be breaking off and crumbling in places. One wrong step and you're skiing down a sand cliff! Despite the danger, I was in complete awe of the beauty of the scene. The cliffs gave the view an air of drama and adventure.

The Gardiner Dam

I was on a water kick now! So off I went to the Gardiner Dam.

The dam, which is on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan is the 3rd largest embankment dam in all of Canada and is considered one of the largest of its kind in the whole world. It was completed in 1967 and took 8 years to finish!

I stopped at the visitor center and spoke to Charise, a nice lady who worked there. She explained to me how several rivers feed into the dam, and pointed out the "elbow" shape of the lake in Elbow City. I told Charise about my route to Drumheller and she warned me that there was heavy construction along my route. I wasn't deterred, however, and figured I'd just risk it.

Off I went, and not 10 minutes into the drive I hit very heavy construction. Can't say I wasn't warned! I spoke to a trucker that was driving towards me from the other direction and he said it was pretty bad back the way he'd come and did not recommend I continue this way. Finally heading the words of warning, I turned back and decided to go the long way (which will hopefully end up being shorter than the short way which is now full of construction).

In Isolation

Back on Route 42, I felt I was completely isolated from the world. There was no one on the road, no buildings, no cars, no farms, no electric lines, no nothing. It was the first time I felt a bit concerned about the road I was on. What would happen if anything went wrong and there was no one around to ask for help? Oh well, it'll be fine, I told myself. What's the worst that could happen? And then it started to rain...

That wasn't even the worst of it. First came the rain, slowing me down. I was alone out here and was not about to drive recklessly. The road was getting worse and worse. And then it was horrible. There were potholes absolutely everywhere. The "road" was very uneven and narrow, and honestly felt more like a game trail than a road for vehicles.

With the rain, all the potholes and dips were filling up with water, which made it really difficult to ascertain the depth of each pothole and whether or not I could drive through it or needed to slowly navigate around. I was travelling at turtle speed. At the start of the route I had been on the phone with my sister (also named Ronit), and I had to hang up so I could concentrate fully on driving.

90 minutes, I was on that god-forsaken road...My eyes were hurting from keeping them wide open scanning every inch of the road as I turtled along. I was so focused on staying alive, I forgot to take photos along the way! But I survived, and that's the most important thing. I finally made it onto the paved road again and it was smooth sailing from there!

Badlands Con?

So I was finally back on the safe road to Drumheller. The road was flat and smooth like glass for miles and miles. Everything around me was flat, not a large rock or mountain in sight. I was only a few miles away from my destination and getting a bit suspicious about this supposed badlands area. I was starting to wonder if this was a hoax and that I would come across a few giant rocks they'd stacked up to call it the badlands to lure in unsuspecting tourists. I mean really, I was only 2 minutes away and there was nothing to see.

There I was, preparing myself for disappointment, when literally just 1 mile away from my final destination, up sprouted the Badlands! Suddenly, there were these structures of rocks and stones, creating mountain tops and small hills all around me. I was completely caught off guard, but pleasantly surprised.

From one minute to the next, it felt like I had entered a completely different country. To go from hours of flat flat land to being surrounded by these incredible rock formations was breathtaking. Especially since it happened so quickly. Definitely an air of drama in this area of Canada!

Drumheller

Since I had arrived in Drumheller, it was time for my routine stock-up on sandwich supplies.

After a long drive, I was looking forward to getting some tasty sliced meat for the next day's sandwiches. But I had arrived too late. 🙁 They were not slicing any more meat for the day. That is until Dale and Tariel saved the day! 🤩 These two went above and beyond for me, and made it happen. I was so grateful! I gave them both Hidden Trails Expedition cards and told them to check out the blog. So if you're reading this Dale and Tariel, thanks so much for the excellent customer service and just all-around kind and caring energy. You guys rock!

While perusing the shelves at Freson Bros, I noticed that many of the bread packaging had "Alberta Wheat" written on them. So I asked a local, who just so happened to be a farmer, about it. His name was James Hammerton, and he told me that he grows wheat, peas and canola on his farm. He explained that Alberta is very well known for their wheat and that most bread found in this area uses locally grown crops.

I asked James why I hadn't seen any wheat during my 400-mile drive today, and he said that it was planting season, so none of the crops will have grown yet. He told me if I come back in a few months it would be to a spectacular view. Thanks for the help, James!

I continued through Drumheller on my way to my hotel for the night and saw a bunch of unlikely locals. This city sure takes their dinosaurs seriously! This place is popping with them. some literally popping out of the buildings!

Everywhere you looked, there was a dinosaur. At the fire station, the pharmacy, restaurants, on every street corner. I especially like the giant T-rex at the entrance to the Badlands. This big boy is the world's largest dinosaur, at 86 ft tall, and is made of fibreglass!

Ok, I know I know, Drumheller is in fact the dinosaur capital of the world. So of course there would be dinosaurs.

Their Royal Tyrrell Museum even houses the world's largest display of dinosaurs and is exclusively dedicated to palaeontology. The region that is now Alberta was once a dinosaur paradise with its warm-temperate climate. Today, many dino bones and fossils have been found in the Badlands.

The day was almost done, but first, there was a message I needed to address. As I have a black car and have been driving on dirt roads that kick up plenty of dust, you could say my vehicle was a bit on the dirty side. Someone (ehem, me) had the audacity to write "please clean me" onto the thick layer of dust on the door. So off I went to the carwash.

And then I was home. I think I have a newfound love for small 1-star hotels. They have all the necessities (hot water, shower, AC, bathroom, comfy bed) but I can still feel as if I'm camping, at least compared to 5-star hotels. Well, as close to camping as I'll probably come anyways. 🤣

Special thanks to Jay, the manager at The Badlands Hotel, who was very welcoming and gave me the lay of the land before I settled in for the night.

I'm off to bed. See you guys tomorrow!

-Shlomo