Grandson Nathan headed home to Ottawa on July 21st after a terrific week and a half with Sue and I. We kept him (and us!) pretty busy with lots of fun activities, and when we asked him what he most enjoyed he said it was the road trip. Now this is one you can do in a day and is great if you have family visiting or just want to do it yourself.
We started at 9.00am (not too early) and headed north an hour, on Highway 22, to Sundre. First stop was the Backwoods Bakery and Café for a coffee and cinnamon bun. Then it was over to the Sundre Museum and World of Wild Life. This was a fascinating exhibit and we enjoyed the scavenger hunt.
Then we headed east on Highway 27, for an hour, to the village of Torrington to visit the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum, and this did not disappoint. Entrance fee is a donation and our tour guide gave us a little bit of history on the museum: The Government of Alberta had given the Village of Torrington a grant for the purpose of creating a tourist attraction to generate business for the community. There were several meetings to generate ideas and at one of them someone said: why not stuff “gophers” (actually ground squirrels) and put them on display. The tourism concept was born.
The guide continued that the specimens were provided by farmers, hunters and veterinarians and a number of the villagers offered to learn taxidermy. The museum opened in 1996 and over 10,000 visitors came in the first year. News of the little (the size of a double wide trailer) museum travelled far and wide and we were shown a map of the world which was covered with pins from many countries.
It was time to check out the dioramas and we saw gophers depicted as hunters, firefighters, priests, bank robbers, RCMP officers, pool players, and Olympians (Fastest grain eater, hole digger and bear dodger). Since its inception there have been over 130,000 visitors and efforts are now underway to raise funds to build a bigger museum.
We said goodbye to our tour guide and it was time to get back on the road. Heading south on Highway 805 then west on 583 and south on 806 we arrived, 20 minutes later, at Linden and the High Seas Coffee Company for lunch. The best grilled ham and cheese sandwiches ever. From there it was south for 30 minutes on Highway 806 to our final destination, Pioneer Acres just outside Irricana. If you like old tractors this is the place for you.
The final leg of the road trip took us west for an hour on Regional Road 274 and Highway 567 to Cochrane. We got back at 4.00pm….Home, Sweet, Home. What a great day.
