Like yesterday morning, we wanted to get on the trail early...and our routine was pretty much exactly the same. The weather forecast is for thunderstorms again today...starting early this afternoon. So with lunch and water packed in the cargo box on my quad, we were off. This time instead of going east once we left the campground, we went west. We're going to explore another section of Alberta's
Iron Horse Trail.
A pedestrian path on the left...and the multi-use Iron Horse Trail (part of the
Trans Canada Trail) on the right as we drive on the outskirts of St Paul...
We're finally out of town...
We chased these cows down the path for a bit...
...and then this couple came along passing the cows. They suggested an alternate route rather than riding this section of the trail because there's about 250 more cattle ahead and it's a mess. Don't have to tell us twice...their mud flaps were caked and dripping in cow goo!
We turned around and took the road to the first corner...
...then headed north along that road to catch the trail, thus by-passing the section of the trail where the cows were...
Back on the trail...
A lake in the distance...
So far the trail is much more open with lots of views, quite beautiful...
Potty break...its nice that they have these outhouses along the trail, but unfortunately, they haven't been maintained...
There's 3 horses on the far shore...
We came to Abilene Junction...where the trail branches into two arms...the west branch and the northeast branch...
We took the northeast branch....
A beautiful ranch...
More wildlife...
Peek-a-boo!
We took a brief break at Mallaig...
...and had a look around...
Shown in miles, not kilometres...
Downtown...
...and then we're on our way again. We found this next section of trail quite boring as most of it was in trees and bush with very few views...
Crossed a freshly graded road......
We went through the village of Glendon. There is a staging area for the trail as well...(we'll stop there later on our way back)...
I scared this hawk out as I drove by...
...and Steve managed to get some pictures...
At this point, we had ridden for about two and a half hours and made it as far as the Moose Lake Provincial Park turn off on the outskirts of Franchere. We still had quads to wash and load up today so we decided to turn around. A look at the muddy trail that continued across the road...
Outskirts of Glendon...
At
Glendon, we stopped at the local gas station and filled up....
This is the access from the trail to the town...for gas, groceries, etc...
Then we stopped at the staging area for lunch...
Glendon is apparently the Pyrogy Capital...of course, we had to find the giant pyrogy and take a picture. The area was fenced off as they were building a park...
Yikes...rain! That's the direction we'll eventually be going...
We had to laugh at the curve ahead signs when the curves are so gradual. I guess it's in case you're zoned out from the very long straight sections.
Hiding in the shade next to the trail...
Time to detour around the cattle again...
Back on the trail...
Arriving back at St Paul...and lots of green space. Yeh...we made it without getting rained on by those storm clouds ahead...
It was around 1:30 when we got home...another great 5 hours out on the trails. Amazingly our mileage was exactly the same as yesterdays ride, 134 km/84 miles! We didn't have the mud and water filled potholes we experienced yesterday. Before going in the campground, we stopped across the street at a truck wash to see if we could wash the quads. No problem...so once home, we emptied the cargo boxes and went right back across to the truck wash. It was a pretty pricey wash...$1/minute (total cost $18) but the quads were caked with prairie mud that dries like concrete after yesterday's ride...so we really had no choice, they needed to be washed before loading them back into the truck..
(Click on maps to enlarge)
Iron Horse Trail map showing our starting point and yesterdays and today's rides...
Tomorrow we are heading to the Bonnyville area. A couple of weeks ago we were contacted by fellow
RV Dreamers Dave and Leslie who we have never met. They had been following our blog so knew that we would be near by. They invited us to go riding and have property large enough for our rig with hookups. Sweet! This is what's so great about this lifestyle...networking and meeting like minded people.
It was around 1:30 when we got home...another great 5 hours out on the trails. Amazingly our mileage was exactly the same as yesterdays ride, 134 km/84 miles! We didn't have the mud and water filled potholes we experienced yesterday. Before going in the campground, we stopped across the street at a truck wash to see if we could wash the quads. No problem...so once home, we emptied the cargo boxes and went right back across to the truck wash. It was a pretty pricey wash...$1/minute (total cost $18) but the quads were caked with prairie mud that dries like concrete after yesterday's ride...so we really had no choice, they needed to be washed before loading them back into the truck..
another great ride with the 'Colibaba's'..thanks for sharing the route in pictures! too bad the bathrooms aren't as well maintained as your own 'private bathroom' here at Tunkwa!
ReplyDeleteenjoy the next stop!!