The End of the Line : Smoky Lake to Waskatenau

Today marked our last day of walking on Alberta's Iron Horse Trail.  While at times it has been a challenging trail to navigate on foot, we have really enjoyed the scenery, being immersed in nature, exploring the small towns along the way, and being welcomed by a friendly community of ATV riders. As we head back into a long stretch of road walking, we will really miss this beautiful trail! 

Having said that, we felt like the Trans Canada Trail today by-passed some important historical places just south of Smoky Lake.  The Victoria District National Historic Site of Canada is located about 15 km south of Smoky Lake, and extends along the shores of the North Saskatchewan River to just below Waskateneau, which is the western terminus of the Iron Horse Trail. 

The Victoria Settlement is located around Fort Victoria, which was established in 1864 by the Hudson's Bay Company.  A Methodist Missionary Site had already been established there in 1862, and the HBC set up a trading post to do business with the local Cree First Nations.  The fort gave rise to a small agricultural community which included a mix of First Nations, Métis, and European settlers. Evidence of this community can still be seen in the shapes of the farms in the area, which are long, thin river-front lots.  The oldest building in Alberta is the HBC clerk's house, which dates from 1865.  

There are 28 points of historic interest located along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River in the National Historic Site, as well as Métis Crossing, Alberta's first major Métis cultural interpretive centre.  This 512 acre site holds a large celebration during National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 22 each year, and the Voyageur Days Festival in late August, which is a celebration of Metis culture.  Visitors to the site can camp, enjoy traditional foods, music, and dancing, learn about Métis culture, and visit historic buildings.

Since our trail uncharacteristically does not take us south to the river at this point, we followed it back through town, stopping once again at the central Pumpkin Park, with its large row of squash.  A small plaque at the side indicated that the installation had been built by a multi-generational team of volunteers under the leadership of the sculptor Mervin Bielish. The completion of the park project is seen as a continuation of the spirit of volunteerism and cooperation that has helped the community of Smoky Lake survive in the Canadian West.  The whimsical pumpkins are intended to inspire a spirit of volunteerism and service.  We hadn't expected to find these noble sentiments and words of wisdom at the Pumpkin Park. 

 

As we headed out of town we found ourselves surrounded by a very active and vocal community of ground squirrels in the central park.  Then we were back out in the countryside, surrounded by relatively flat, lush green fields.  The trail stretched out in front of us, extending to the horizon in a straight line.  Dynamic and dark clouds moved across the sky above us, contrasting with the white line of the gravel trail ahead. 

A few kilometres later we passed through a small stand of aspens, their straight white trunks forming walls on both sides of us, and their green leaves making a shady tunnel.  In this small protected stretch there was a rest area with a bench, a pit toilet, and two interpretive signs - one on trembling aspens and the other on the Great Grey Owl.  We were intrigued to see that the bench had a red flag on a long pole attached to the back, presumably so it could be located under the snow. 

Soon we were back out in open country, listening to the iconic screeches of two Red-tailed Hawks that were circling each other above us.  They swooped and dove, coming at each other with legs and claws extended, then seeming to calm down and circle in unison. It was an impressive aerial display. 

As the morning progressed we passed quite a few picturesque barns and outbuildings scattered among the colourful fields. Many of the barns were painted a bright red with white trim, which is something we haven't seen too frequently in Alberta up until now.  Another change we noticed was that many of the fields we passed were planted with row crops, including canola, which was blooming bright yellow.

It was a peaceful and quite morning, surrounded by the buzzy calls of Clay-coloured and Savannah Sparrows, the clear notes of Song Sparrows, and cheerful songs of American Robins sitting atop the grey fence posts that lined the trail.  We passed ranches with cows that watched us curiously as we walked, and a herd of beautiful horses came to investigate what we were up to. 

At one point we passed a small cattail marsh tucked into the corner of a pasture.  It was full of Red-winged Blackbirds feeding young, and the cries of Black Terns filled the air.  High above us a magnificent Bald Eagle was circling, its bright white head standing out against the dark clouds above. 

As Sean was photographing the Bald Eagle, a small Tawny-edged Skipper butterfly landed on the bright blue dry sac that he keeps the birding camera in.  No matter how many times we removed the very sweet looking, furry, orange butterfly it insisted on landing back on the dry sac.  The colour must have been irresistible. We really enjoyed watching it curl and uncurl its long tongue, sometimes wrapping it underneath its body to taste the material beneath or behind it.  

When we reached the tiny community of Warspite we discovered a mystery that I haven't yet been able to solve.  We were greeted at the edge of town by a beautiful sign welcoming us to the community, which depicted the HMS Warspite.  Construction of this British Queen Elizabeth-class battleship  cruiser was completed in 1915, and she served in both World Wars, including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916.  This battle was fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during WWI off the coast of Denmark in the North Sea.  It was the largest naval battle of WWI and the last one in world history to be fought primarily by battleships.  As far as I can tell, the HMS Warspite did not have any Canadians on board, and she was not built here. So, the mystery is, why is a town in the middle of one of Canada's landlocked provinces named after a British battleship? 

We took a break at the picnic table in the freshly mowed and impeccably clean Staging Area at the edge of town.  It was a beautiful spot, and evident that the small community took pride in keeping the town looking beautiful.  The only thing it was missing was an interpretive plaque explaining the mystery of its name. 

As we made our way out of Warspite a family passed us on two ATVs. They slowed down and waved, and we realized there was a small boy out for a ride with his parents.  He looked very happy, and raised his sunglasses to inspect us as they passed, giving us a very curious look.  We've seen a lot of families out on the trail, and it is really nice to see kids out in nature, spending time with their families, and learning trail etiquette. 

 

 

The last 10 km of the Iron Horse Trail were beautiful but largely uneventful.  We walked among flat, lush green pastures and fields, interspersed with patches of beautiful yellow canola.  One farm had a pair of shaggy, curious donkeys who followed us the length of their pasture.  There was a whole selection of beautiful barns and wooden outbuildings.  We tried to savour our last moments on the trail, but all too soon we reached the end at Waskatenau.  It was marked with a sign thanking us for our visit to Alberta's Iron Horse Trail, and then a barricade.  

It was clear that the railway bed continued ahead of us, but it was blocked off.  We diverted onto a dirt road, which took us past a cemetery and a beautiful Ukrainian Orthodox Church, with its graceful onion domes and free standing bell tower.  As the road dipped down to a river we found ourselves beside a tall wooden trestle bridge. The bridge was installed in 1919 by CN Railway, and has become a symbol of Waskatenau. It was too bad the trail didn't continue into town over the trestle bridge, but erosion of the river bed and some broken parts of the trestle likely made that unsafe.  

Waskatenau (pronounced Was-et-na) is a small community of around 250 people.  It's name is a Cree word meaning "opening in the bank" and refers to the opening in the nearby ridge through which Waskatenau Creek flows.  It has hosted various baseball championships from across Western Canada, and the Pine Creek Ball Park and adjacent Campground is considered to be one of the top baseball facilities and hosting sites in Alberta.  The town also holds the Guinness World Record for the longest softball game played, which was 115 hours and 3 minutes, and was played on June 30 - July 5, 2009. 

It is a small town with a big spirit, and a wonderful place to end our walk along the beautiful Iron Horse Trail.

See you on the trail!

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