My alternate headline is: Running in a hail storm (and living to blog about it)
Oh I should mention there’s a Dinosaur Half Marathon in September. Check out info here. Must add this to my growing list of “must-do races”!
I had to unexpectedly take someone to the Calgary Airport this afternoon. I decided to make the best of the situation with a road trip near the city. I have not been to Drumheller yet and I have wanted to check out the area.
The drive was less than two hours from Calgary. My plan was to check out the world famous Royal Tyrrell Museum and to get in an hour run on the nearby trails. I didn’t do much research. I just packed all my gear in the Versa and hit the road. I think that’s the best way to go.
I found the museum easy enough. The signs were well marked and placed. For $11, I spent a couple hours wandering around the displays and reading about a time that seems unbelievable. I was creeped out by the small lizard-like dinosaurs. I blame the geckos in Thailand that have scarred me for life. Nothing freaks me out like those little monsters.
Outside the museum is a 1-km loop through the hoodoos or what I like to call earth pyramids. I walked up the stairs to a look out point to take this picture. The museum was packed. No doubt families were getting in that last bit of holiday before school starts up again. I was happy to get outside. My head was hurting from all the geology and I was seriously freaked out by the carnivore eating beasts.
I went to the parking lot to change in my Versa. Thankfully there was only a couple people in their cars and they weren’t paying me any attention. One person may have seem much more than he had bargained for. (Sorry!) I got directions from a woman behind the information counter. She called them “walking” trails but I didn’t hold that against her.
I ran through the park but stopped quite often to snap photos. When you’re surrounded by glory, it’s difficult to think about your running pace. Every angle I turned was a photo waiting to be taken. Glorious.
Little blue dinosaurs marked the paved trail. I don’t know what it was but I couldn’t stop laughing whenever I saw one! Imagine living in a town where there’s dinosaur caricatures on lawns and buildings everywhere. Too funny!
I crossed the road from the museum to reach the “hiking” trail. It took them along the river and into the town site. It was getting late so I decided to turn around at 6km so I could get an even 12km run before I had to drive back to Red Deer. What I saw of the trail along the river was nice and peaceful. I would have liked to have seen more. Another time.
Shortly after I turned around, the skies opened up to release a wicked hail storm. It was breathtaking – meaning I couldn’t catch my breath. It came without warning. And I still had 3K to run back to my car. A young girl on her bike was also caught. She tried to reach her parents on her phone to pick her up. I had no choice but to to try to outrun it. When that didn’t work, I stood under a tree for awhile to get a handle on my breathing. The wind was blowing hard and the hail was giving my legs a beating. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch!
I survived. And so did my iPhone. I saw this beautiful rainbow that spanned a large hoodoo. I tried to take a picture during the storm but my iPhone would not cooperate. Alas it will have to exist only in my memory. You can see a parital rainbow, if you look close enough in this picture.
I took this picture after the rain. I added a couple filters to make the colours pop. I just love the blue sky and red earth. Colours are a wonderful thing. I think we all should add more colours to our lives. I truly believe that colour can affect one’s outlook on life.
I made it back to Versa where I sat for about 10 minutes taking inventory of my bruises and licking my wounds. I changed quickly into warm clothing. The sky was once again beginning to darken so I thought it was best to head home. I drove around the town for a bit in hopes of finding a subway or pita pit. No luck so I went to the 7/11 and picked up hot coffee. I had a two-hour drive ahead of me.
Oh I should mention there’s a Dinosaur Half Marathon in September. Check out info here. Must add this to my growing list of “must-do races”!
What a fun trail to visit! Looks like it was the perfect weather too.
Thanks! It was a nice day!
I think this post reminded me a lot of the movie Jurassic Park…lol. And then you get caught in a hail storm: too perfect! lol. I have changed in my car many times and wondered if anyone has seen me! I'd love to run on that trail!
lol I hear you!