Day 15 - Irricana to Drumheller

76.36 km - Total so far 1,308.99 km - http://ridewithgps.com/trips/4942596

• We were able to recover Day 11- Gloden to Banff from the world wide web!

• We had a really good stay at the Irricana Municipal Campground. The campground hostess, as she refers to herself, has taken a personal interest in the place and you almost feel like your are staying at her home. Some may not like that, but we sure did appreciate the little extras. Highly recommended for cyclists to stop and overnight there.

• As we relaxed at the campsite, we saw a huge jack rabbit run (hop) down the dirt road. Without a word of a lie, this thing was the size of a medium sized dog. Could not snap a picture but the rabbit in the video looks like what we saw.

• We had a quick tour of Irricana and its murals before we left. We were very much impressed by the efforts of the residents to make this a most welcoming place. There are benches and small gardens all along the main access road from Hwy 9. Very nice.

  

  A mural on the edge of town

  

  The once very popular Irricana Hotel

• The shoulders on Hwy 9 are as wide as the traffic lanes and that on both sides of the road. We figure that the wide shoulder is to accommodate large farm equipment later in the summer. We saw the odd old farm truck driving down the shoulder.

  

  A nice wide shoulder

• The scenery is not as breathtaking as we experienced earlier in Alberta. After a while, we realized that the only thing that would attract attention is a "silo". We found that silos are strewn all over the country side. You can have anywhere from 2 to as many as 10+ silos in the fields. There are trees but not that many and our neighbors at the campsite told us to enjoy them as we won't be seeing any in Saskatchewan.

  

  A nice (bunch, group, clump, cluster) of silos

The only tall vertical structure not a silo between Bieseker and Drumheller

• Our friend Denis, who did the ride from Quebec WEST to Vancouver, did tell us that heading in that direction the excitement builds as you near the Rockies. Going the other way, as we are, is not nearly as exciting as you head home. I am starting to understand what he meant. 

• After a fast 2 km ride down an 8% grade, we finally made it to Drumheller. We made a quick stop for a mocha coffee at McDonald's and off to the Information Center to plan our 1 day vacation within our vacation. Tomorrow we are not pedaling but will be chauffeured around to see the sights and go to the Royal Terryll Museum.

Finally entering the Badlands

47.45 miles - Total so far 813.37 miles