We had been driving for hours enjoying the sights, sounds, and familiarity of being in the car and at peace. We didn’t need to say anything, or do anything. We just were. The radio was on and we flipped through multiple country music stations while I smiled thinking this seemed like such a silly stereotype. My mind turned to the past few days and everything we had seen and heard but I had to forget about them because today was yet another new day with another new adventure. I could feel it in my blood.
We were driving through the Canadian prairies heading towards the rockies. We had already passed the Saskatchewan/Alberta border and I knew we were getting close. The sign said, Drumheller, 56km and although I couldn’t see anything in the distance, I didn’t think anything further of it.
The next sign said Drumheller, 34km. The land was still flat and there was absolutely nothing in front of me. I sat up a little straighter and strained my eyes to look a little further. I looked ahead, I looked a bit to the right and left. I scanned the horizon for something, anything – and found nothing. The land continued ahead as if Drumheller did not exist. All I saw was the continuing two-lane highway on flat prarie land.
I didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t sure I could believe my eyes. I looked to my partner in crime and he shrugged. I knew better than to ask him anything because he wouldn’t give anything away. I didn’t know if he knew why my eyes were deceiving me, but I also knew he wanted me to experience everything for the first time, like a child, and in awe. That’s how he lived.
Every sign that came up with a progressively smaller number seemed to indicate we were going in the right direction. And it wasn’t like there was another road to turn onto – I simply could not piece together the information. It did not make sense. I could not see Drumheller ahead of me, or around me.
17km to Drumheller – nothing. 9km to Drumheller – still nothing in site and no change – the town is invisible, I thought. 5km to Drumheller… and the road began to descend. We dropped in altitude and the road wound deeper and further into a mysterious land that seemed as though it belonged only in Wonderland. I felt like the car fell down the rabbit hole and all of a sudden, I saw with new-found eyes at this wondrous world surrounding me on all sides. It is as if this land rised up above me when I wasn’t looking, and magically, I forgot about everything else. We were in dinosaur country.
- Daisy
