Family Travel Story: Weekend Escape

AN IMPROMPTU ROADTRIP ADVENTURE

Billions of sparkling lights spread out above us. The bright stars. The dimmer stars. The band that marks the Milky Way. How I have missed seeing the night sky away from Edmonton’s city lights!

I hold my 22-month old son close to me. Wrapped in a light blanket over his fall jacket, his teeth are still chattering as he admires the view. “Stars!” he says. He has never seen this many stars in his short life. “Pretty stars.” Four year-old Alisha, too, is wrapped in a blanket and cuddled with Daddy and shivering, but reluctant to leave. This chance opportunity for stargazing was one of many unplanned events that took place on our impromptu road trip to Drumheller, Alberta.

We didn’t start out heading for the dinosaur capital of Canada. (In fact, although we had talked often of making the three-hour drive, the thought of bringing an active, curious, very tactile toddler to a fossil museum made me rather nervous.) Here we were, a sunny weekend in November, no social or work obligations, nobody sick, winter snows ready to make their apperance, and everybody bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 8:00 am on a Saturday morning. “Let’s go somewhere!” I suggested to my husband. “A ghost town!” said he. “We can bring the kids’ bikes and we can explore.” I packed a bag with clothes, fresh diapers, bedtime storybooks, and toiletries, in case we decided to spend the night somewhere. Ken jumped on the computer to decide where to head. An hour-and-a-half later, breakfast sandwiches in hand, we were out the door.

The plan was to drive an hour to Camrose, explore a bit, then move on to Stettler and see what there was to do there. Now, I spent my preschool years in a town called Greenwood, population: 656, home to one set of stop signs. When I think ’small town,’ I remember Greenwood. Thus envisioning Camrose, I was mildly surprised and disappointed to see large strip malls as we entered the city. “Where,” I thought, “will we find a place to ride bikes and explore here?” But near the city centre, we found a nice little lake and playground adjacent to the Visitor Centre. The kids had loads of fun climbing and sliding. Alisha had her first experience biking on a slope. Ken and I enjoyed being surrounded by large trees, fall leaves, and a body of water.

Inside the Visitor Centre, we learned that November was not a great time of year for finding touristy things to do. Nothing open in Camrose. Nothing in Stettler. We decided to go to Drumheller after all. After lunch at the Lefse House (Scandinavian food, very friendly service) we took advantage of afternoon naptime to make the two-hour drive to dinosaur land. By the time we got there, it was four o’clock and the sun was beginning to set. We spent a few minutes at a rest stop for Alisha and Ethan to climb and jump off some ‘giant’ rocks (about 1/2 metre high). They were very excited to be in a place away from home! But, it was starting to get cold and would soon be dark. There was just enough light for Alisha to glimpse dinosaur statues all over town as we drove through looking for a place to stay. We settled on the Jurassic Inn, a.k.a. Best Western Drumheller.

After washing up and eating packed sandwich wraps for dinner, there was still time to do something active before bedtime. It occurred to us then that we were out, away from a large city, after dark. We bundled the kids back up, jumped in the car, and drove five minutes around the bend and there we were, away from city lights, under a magical blanket of jewels in the sky.

The second day of the trip was a little more packed with activity. We climbed 106 steps up “The World’s Largest Dinosaur” into the mouth of a 25-metre tall roaring Tyrannosaurus Rex, spent the early afternoon in Fossil World digging up real fossils, toured Wayne just south of Drumheller, and took the wrong highway going home. All in all, an exciting, rejuvenating trip, well worth tossing housework and budget to the winds for a weekend.

What We Brought

one change of clothes for the kids, pajamas and undies for everybody
makings for lunch and water bottles
books for bedtime
toiletries
potty
water for washing
diapers and plastic bags
bikes
snacks and fruit

What Is Always In the Car

first-aid kit
maps and GPS
blankets
car toys

What We Forgot

mittens
lavender essential oil (to help bring sleep to the over-excited)

Road Trip Tips

It is safer and more comfortable to strap kids in car seat with coats OFF. Throw coats or blankets overtop to keep them warm.

If children nap in the carseat, keep an eye on their heads. A head flopped forward (chin to chest) closes the airway and restricts oxygen intake. We have used a small folded blanket tucked behind the lower back to slightly tilt Ethan so that his head rests back and stuffed animals upon which he can lean his head sideways. Right now, what seems to work best is a large folded blanket resting on his lap and side of the carseat. He then leans slightly forward and to the side to rest an arm and cheek on the blanket.