Hoo Doo U Think U Are?

Our trip to the Hoodoos started on Thursday,
with the purchase of camping gear. This
took awhile since we kept forgetting things
we needed, and had to keep returning to
Canadian Tire. Anyway, some several
hours and hundreds of dollars later, we
had all of our camping gear. We think.

So on Friday, off to the Badlands we go. It was
a waaay longer drive than we thought it would be. No
comment on that subject. However, it was well
worth it.

On Saturday, we start out by going to Drumheller to see the
world's largest Dinosaur - an 86 foot tall plastic
dinosaur. You are welcome to climb the 106
stairs to the top for $3. We just took pictures.

and bought some cool fossils.

It's not super clear, but here's what you get:

We also bought wood and bones:

and a fossilized escaping bug

The entire trip was filled with fields of Canola flowers.

We then headed for the HooDoo Trail. HooDoo Trail
is part of the Badlands. The HooDoo rock formations
are fascinating.

Hoodoos take millions of years to form and stand 5 to 7 metres tall. Each hoodoo is a sandstone pillar resting on a thick base of shale that is capped by a large stone. Hoodoos are very fragile and can erode completely if their capstone is dislodged (in other words, no climbing allowed).

The name "Hoodoo" comes from the word "voodoo" and was given to these geological formations by the Europeans. In the Blackfoot and Cree traditions, however, the Hoodoos are believed to be petrified giants who come alive at night to hurl rocks at intruders.

It is illegal to climb certain areas or deface the rocks.
Sadly though, there is some graffiti carved into the rocks.

We could not believe the people climbing these rocks!
The slope was very steep and covered in fine sand.
There were some people climbing in flip flops!
Crazy. I was surprised at the kids allowed up there.

Next we checked out the Rosedale suspension bridge.
The sign said a maximum of 20 people on the bridge
at any one time. There were way more than that, which
made us nervous. But we went for it anyway. It was
very windy and the bridge was swinging back and forth.
We met an old fellow on the way back who looked terrified.
The bridge is 117 metres high and felt it.





Further on our travels, we saw this tiny little church on
the side of the road. It was small en0ugh that it almost
looked like an ornament. Turns out it was a real church.
This 7'11" Church seats 6.

The last stop on our trails is Horse Thief Canyon.
This canyon is reputed to have 'stolen' many horses.

Horses would disappear into the canyons of Red Deer River

and later re-appear wearing a different brand.

You are very high up. With no fences. And prairie

dog holes lining the edge of the viewing area. You have
to be very careful when walking around the edges.

We are on our way back to the camp site, and spot this cute little ferry.
It operates on a pulley system, you ring a bell to get
service. We were pretty tired at that point so didn't
do the ferry adventure. The hill leading to the Ferry

was very steep.

It was a great experience and we saw lots of interesting things.
Our campsite was very nice and wooden, and we were
visited regularly by bunnies and friendly old men.

Who didn't like their pictures taken.

The bunnies, not the old men. We didn't try

to take their pictures.