The Prairie Creek Inn

One of my favorite trips

by Darby2

One of my favorite trips is Highway 11 (the David Thompson Highway) west of Red Deer.

THE OLDEST TREE IN ALBERTA

About 6 miles from the Banff Park boundary at Whirlpool Point on the North Saskatchewan River is the oldest living tree in Alberta, possibly in all of Canada. This twisted, gnarled, Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) perches on the nearly bare rock and one huge limb extends out over the river.
This tree is over 1100 years old. There may be some slightly older trees on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, but none with as much character as this one.
The strong winds that rush through the gap in this area have contorted this tree into a fantastic shape that reminds me of a Michaelangelo sculpture. It's only about 30' tall and about 3 feet in diameter at the thickest part of the trunk. It could tell a fantastic story. It was a mature tree when some of the oldest cities in Europe were just getting started, and William the Conquerer invaded England. During the reign of Charlemagne it was a small seedling.

This picture photographed with my 8x10 camera shows the infinite detail of this ancient tree.
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Here is a list of the oldest trees on earth:

Oldest Trees

Copyright © 1982 David R. Belcher

The most recent photographs I took in 2008 with my digital camera.

To see the tree, just park in the wide pull-over beside the highway and walk about 250 meters east past the guardrail and the Trailblazers memorial cairn.

Kicked by his horse!

by Darby2

This area was explored first by James Hector, but there was an unfortunate accident that befell him here. The name "Kicking Horse Pass" lives on in the memory of his accident.

Read about the New Zealand connection here and the tale of two tombstones.

The Original Trail Blazers

by Darby2

In October, 1940, a group of intrepid travellers with two vehicles made the first trip from Rocky Mountain House to Saskatchewan Crossing, a dangerous undertaking of 118 miles. There were no roads in this area at the time and the trip took 10 days! Today you can drive the same route in about two hours.

There is a small cairn with a plaque on it at Whirlpool Point commemerating these brave and hardy travellers.

Behind the Shield of the Rockies

by FishinSam

"On the Road"

Just a short scenic drive west of town brings you to the awesome majesty of the Rocky Mountains. This massive wall of mountains actually changes weather patterns in our area. As an 8 foot fence stops the wind , 2 mile high mountains alter weather system paths. It creates a wind that can be warming in the winter and keep you cool in the summer. The temperature variances in the winter can go from -30 Celsius to +5 Celsius in a matter of a few hours.