So what’s this about hoodoos? Do hoodoos have anything to do with voodoo?
Yep.
Hoodoos are fascinating geological formations in the Canadian Badlands . But… what and where are the Canadian Badlands?
Outside of Drumheller, Alberta, large erect hoodoos gather like sleeping titans in this land French Canadian trappers called Des mauvaises terrains à traverser---“badlands to cross”.
Reaching towards the sky, hoodoo formations capture the imagination. Origin of their neat name in North America comes from the black magic practices of African Americans in the southern United States (hoodoos are found around the world). With their unusual shapes, their striations of rock and sand in different colours, they look magical. Aboriginals believed they were giants turned to stone for their evil deeds and were harbingers of bad luck .
Standing before hoodoos in the hot sun under a cloudless blue sky, it’s easy to understand their attraction. They are cool dudes, or, as they are known in France, ‘ladies with hairdos’. Hoodoos are actually formed over thousands of years by erosion. Their solid mushroom-like caps protect the soft, underlying shape.
Yep.
Hoodoos are fascinating geological formations in the Canadian Badlands . But… what and where are the Canadian Badlands?
Outside of Drumheller, Alberta, large erect hoodoos gather like sleeping titans in this land French Canadian trappers called Des mauvaises terrains à traverser---“badlands to cross”.
Reaching towards the sky, hoodoo formations capture the imagination. Origin of their neat name in North America comes from the black magic practices of African Americans in the southern United States (hoodoos are found around the world). With their unusual shapes, their striations of rock and sand in different colours, they look magical. Aboriginals believed they were giants turned to stone for their evil deeds and were harbingers of bad luck .
Standing before hoodoos in the hot sun under a cloudless blue sky, it’s easy to understand their attraction. They are cool dudes, or, as they are known in France, ‘ladies with hairdos’. Hoodoos are actually formed over thousands of years by erosion. Their solid mushroom-like caps protect the soft, underlying shape.
Drumheller---also known as dinosaur country--- is a fascinating destination. Cute dinosaur replicas with friendly faces dot the townscape leading to the world’s largest…a giant 86 foot high Tyrannaurus Rex welcoming you to the visitor centre. I know every tourist destination talks about the longest, highest, best…..well, this is purported to be the world’s largest dinosaur statue..
Not far out of town explore and discover more about these extinct creatures at the world (another superlative) famous Tyrell Museum. We thought we’d zip through this building (sometimes we get ‘museum-ed out’) but this is one place where we wish time could stand still. Floor exhibits are educational and well laid out. No boring stuff here.
Still more exciting, wild west drama awaits in the great outdoors not far away, along the Red Deer River valley. Horsethief Canyon conjures up visions of bad guys corralling and herding stolen horses ---after rebranding them for resale---down the canyon to the U.S. Close your eyes, smell the heat of the day, breathe in the dust of the dry earth ---and you are back in cowboy country hearing the sound of thundering hooves.
We cross the Red Deer on a pulley ferry at a narrow section of the river where we bump into Don and Val, owner guides of a local adventure tour company. While the ferry captain tells us we just missed Brad Pitt (damn!) in a highspeed boat heading upstream with Tom Hanks to check out locales for their latest film venture, an HBO mini series on explorers Lewis and Clarke, the seasoned tour operators nod in agreement, explaining this landscape attracts plenty of film makers. Among them, Clint Eastwood who used the locale for some scenes in The Unforgiven.
Tour operators Don and Val also share with us a sometimes overlooked hot spot: site of the Canadian Badlands Passion Play held during July weekends. Since our visit did not correspond with a live production, Don and Val---in typical western hospitality fashion---invited us to follow their van to the location. What a setting for the passion play! More than 3,000 spectators from around the world view this production during nine sold-out performances each July when it is rain-free. Don challenges us to use our imaginations. He says during a performance actors stand on rock outcroppings surrounding the main stage and in the dark, they add an ethereal dimension to the drama.
Like each Canadian province, Alberta offers a wealth of activity, natural and man-made. And because the wild rose is found across Canada, we wondered how it emerged as Alberta’s provincial flower emblem in 1930. At the time, the editor of an Edmonton newspaper suggested the province should select a provincial floral emblem. Eventually Alberta’s schoolchildren made the final choice. Now politicians have stepped in and created The Wildrose Party. What a shame!
Route: Calgary to Drumheller
New e-letter: The H Word
You are invited to sign up for my new e-letter, The H Word. I plan a dozen or so e-letters a year. Then you can follow website updates, news of my latest publications, and other tiny tidbits. And you can unsubscribe at any time.
You are invited to sign up for my new e-letter, The H Word. I plan a dozen or so e-letters a year. Then you can follow website updates, news of my latest publications, and other tiny tidbits. And you can unsubscribe at any time.
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