Going to the Sun Ride, Day Three: Three Hills via Drumhella, Wayne & Dorothy to Lethbridge, AB

Dorothy, AB

This was a hot and arduous ride along very straight roads again, but there were some gems and highlights that broke this day up. For one, there were some hills!  Second, it didn't rain, well not water...grasshoppers yes; rain no.  Third, there was Dinosaur Provincial Park, nothing to be sneezed at - unless you're allergic to dust and dry bones. This entry is more pictures than text, as the riding was fairly banal.  The route...

Three Hills to Lethbridge via Wayne, Dorothy, Patricia...and Turin.

Above: Entering Wayne, Alberta.  "Deep in the heart of Alberta's Badlands," so the story goes, "ghost-towners can find the tiny ghost town of Wayne, once a thriving coal mining town of more than 3000 people.  But now, the ghosts are knocking on Wayne, which has witnessed its population dwindle to about 40 diehard souls..."  

We got there early, before anything was open.  

Three buildings and some flowers, all in good working order.  Wayne looked more like a Tourist Trap than a ghost town.  Moving on then...

At least Dorothy had a church and a grain elevator...

Below: Dinosaur Provincial Park.  It was very hot, so the air conditioned cafe was great.  The park was ok, but looking at the RV's all parked up against a slough with campers swimming in the syrupy green goo, I made a mental note not to return in the heat.  Lest I'm putting you off a visit, I don't mean too.  The park itself is a great place to explore, just don't attempt to remove any fossils...

Below: Probably the highlight of the day, was this stop in Turin.  Turin?  No, not Italy, although it felt as hot a Mafioso's armpit in Sicily; Turin, Alberta where a tornado had rolled past the week before...pursued by storm-chasers...

Above: Man, a coke never tasted so good!  According to the owner, the Country Corner store gets single digit customers a day; the biggest one day sale being 3 snickers bars and a 12 pack of pampers for the storm-chasers the week before.

Below: At one point prior to Turin, we had run through a swarm of grasshoppers at triple-digit speeds which had lasted for a few hundred metres. They were everywhere: they seemed to be attracted to the road surface and would lift off in a wave as we approached.  Initially I was seriously worried about sliding on the guts, or blocking the rad, but as they hit like bullets on our shins, and I was thankful for the shield and deflecting air flow around us.  

All of this in ten seconds or less... 

Well, while I wouldn't recommend the route as a fascinating ride, it is a means to an end, and little did I know, the next few days would be among some of the best riding we have done...

Going to the Sun Road: Day 4 - Glacier National Park