Toronto to Vancouver (41 of 102)  

   After leaving Dinosaur Provincial Park, we took the slow route back to 3 Hills, Alberta where we were spending the night.  

Toronto to Vancouver (42 of 102)

The best part of a road trip is getting off the main highways to see what the countryside is all about.  To me this image is what I always thought the Canadian parries would look like.

Toronto to Vancouver (43 of 102)

The next morning we drove around the area looking for interesting stops.  Our first stop was Dorothy, a hamlet in Southern Alberta which is now almost a ghost town.  The community was named for Dorothy Wilson, a young girl that lived in the area at the time the post office opened.  Dorothy is home to two former churches.  

Toronto to Arizona (1 of 1)

Toronto to Vancouver (44 of 102)

The view behind the church.

Toronto to Vancouver (45 of 102)

The Alberta Pacific  Grain Company began in 1900 as the Alberta Grain Company.  In 1911, the company merged with the Alberta Grain Company Limited to form the Alberta Pacific Grain Company Limited.  In 1967, the company was taken over by Federal Grain.   This  historic  grain elevator was built in 1928 and is protected. 

Toronto to Vancouver (46 of 102)

Toronto to Vancouver (47 of 102)

We came across a colorful bridge crossing the river just outside of Dorothy.

Toronto to Arizona (1 of 1)

We walked across a suspension bridge to cross the Red Deer River to see  the remnants of the Star Coal Mining camp and mines.

Toronto to Vancouver (48 of 102)

 Early mine camps around the area (Drumheller) were called "hell's hole" because miners lived in tents or shacks with little sanitation and little comfort.  Drinking, gambling and watching fistfights was the entertainment of the times.  

Toronto to Vancouver (49 of 102)

In the afternoon, we drove to Horse Thief Canyon which was located in the Red Deer River valley.  The area earned its name during the early settler years when ranching was the main industry.   The legend was that the horses would disappear into the canyons and re-appear with a different branding, hence the name Horse Thief Canyon.  

Toronto to Vancouver (50 of 102)

Prairie dogs were all over the place- you could see their holes everywhere. When a predator approaches, the first alert that a prairie dog gives is a sharp warning call.  Then it bobs up and down in excitement, calls again and then plunges below.  

Toronto to Vancouver (51 of 102)

An old abandoned building on the side of the road.