A Tiny Yellow Square on Earth’s Timeline — Drumheller, Alberta, Canada

By 5:15, I am up and ready to start my day. I also want to leave before people come out of their houses. Staying longer, I feel, would be like abusing Katie’s kindness.

I do have a core route as I travel through Canada, but it is a very fluid core. Right now, I have changed it so many times. :)

Most of the research I do is a day or two before, or even just as I start driving. So before going to bed last night, I created a route to Drumheller.

That is how I found myself at Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park.

The park surprised me with its quiet and powerful beauty. It is named after a flat-topped mesa, a “dry island,” rising above the Red Deer River. The grassy cliff carries the memory of an ancient buffalo jump, where Cree people once hunted bison by guiding them over the high cliffs.

The wind is wild, and the silence is raw, with a few birds’ songs wishing me good morning. It is a place of survival, memory, and triumph.

From this viewpoint, you can take a steep dirt road down to the river. I hesitate between taking the chance and seeing how my car handles it, and staying in my comfort zone. I am not sure why, but lately I feel like I have lost my mojo. There is a thin layer of fear holding me back, and I have no idea where it’s coming from.

If there is anything I have learned in the last four years, it is how to distinguish between my fear and my intuition. Right now, it is just pure fear.

I guess there is only one way to find out if my minivan can handle such a challenging drive. And there is only one way to crack and melt my fear. Just go for it. I do have my Garmin in case I find myself in a bind.

Just before I start my descent, a large sign warns me that the road is impassable when wet. I look up at the sky. Some gray clouds are floating above me, but nothing alarms me.

I go slow, my heart pounding. I can see that my challenge will not be going down, but the drive back up will be the real test. I hope that in the valley the wind will subside a bit. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I do not stay too long, as it is unpleasant to hike against the wind. A rainstorm is heading my way, so when the clouds get darker, I bolt out.

Good news! My Pacifica is quite a beast. There are a few moments when my heart skips a beat, as my wheels spin on the gravel road, but overall, I make it in one try.

From my research last night, I saved another viewpoint in my Google Maps: Orkney Viewpoint. Here, the horizon stretches on forever along the river. I sit down on a bench, relaxing into the landscape, imagining the vast past life in the meadow beneath me.

My next stop is to hike at Horseshoe Canyon. I love this hike! This whole region is called the badlands, and yes, it does resemble the badlands in South Dakota, but on a much smaller scale, which gives it a more intimate feel. I love how here the green grass creates life against the muted colors of the sculpted rock formations.

I still have a few hours left in the day, but I decide to rest for now at the local library in Drumheller and catch up on my writing. I spend an average of 5 to 6 hours on each post. It is definitely time-consuming, but I truly enjoy every minute of it.

Time to figure out dinner and my place to call home tonight. Sometimes the easiest solution is to stop at a grocery store and buy a cooked meal. I stop at Freson Bros Fresh Market and am very pleased with my options. I pack my dinner and drive to a small park along the river. It is a nice evening, so I take a long stroll along the river, enjoying the beauty of the badlands across the water.

All along, I figured I would park at the local Walmart, however, due to construction, that privilege is not available. Oh well, time to put plan B into action. I open Google Maps to check the parking lots of the local hotels. That is usually my go-to in case I am in a bind and need a safe place.

The first hotel has too many cameras, which is not good. The second hotel is just perfect; there is parking in the back, with plenty of other cars, so I can blend in. I set my car for the night and go into the lobby to relax and use the bathroom to wash up. I learned that if I go into a hotel with full confidence that I am a guest, no one will stop to question me.

All night, the rain is pounding on my roof. The rainstorm is here!

It is windy, cold, and wet. I know I need to change my plans, so I keep my original plan and visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum. I am visiting Drumheller because Sandra insisted I make it one of my stops and visit the dinosaur museum. It turns out Sandra is always right. :)

The museum is impressive, and the collection of original dinosaur parts is remarkable. One display catches my attention, and I am reminded how long and slow the story of our planet has been. Earth has been forming, changing, breathing, and evolving for billions of years. Oceans appeared, life began, plants and animals slowly found their place, and then, at the very end, almost like a tiny yellow square on the timeline, here we are.

Seeing it this way makes me feel how small and fragile we are. We are only a tiny part of Earth’s long journey, and yet we hold so much power to hurt it or protect it. Maybe that is why I feel even deeper frustration when I look at the state of our world right now. We have been given this precious moment in time, and I wish we would treat it with more responsibility, humility, care, and love.

I know my body will appreciate my next decision. Continuous traveling in this kind of weather would only create misery in my soul and body. Being stuck in my tiny home for hours takes a huge toll on my body. Not being able to stand and stretch creates stiffness in my bones. So, for the next two nights, I booked a room at a small, charming motel. Of course, that means a nice, long, hot shower. Yay!

I do plan to move on tomorrow, rain or shine. I need to continue heading south. In a few days, Janet and I will reunite.