When I was told on Wednesday that I had to head into the unknown on my own in search of some unpopular rock that the Albertans never deemed important enough to core, I had no idea what to expect. Yeah, I am the typical field hungry dude (at least back in Nigeria) but not in a totally unknown environment. Then again, I really did not have an option and as of Thursday, I was not sure if I was heading to Peace River, Smoky River or to the town of Taylor in British Columbia. When all other options failed, Peace River was the only feasible option and a quick plan evolved and I sure was set for a real experience within the interiors of Alberta. Typical concerns included what the reception of the locals would be like, how successful I would get with my objectives and other things I cannot recollect (LOL!).
Greyhound bus was the clear choice for this trip and leaving Edmonton at 00:05hrs on Saturday morning, I braced myself for the worst and consoled myself that no matter the outcome; I’ll hopefully live to tell the story. The schedule was a crunched one so sleeping in the bus was a necessity as I had work to do on later that morning in Peace River. Shortly before 07:00hrs, a beautiful town glowing under the morning sun lay below us; a sight beautiful enough to lift downcast spirits and instill hope for better times.  |
| The Saw Ridge Inn |
Typically, I sought all the cheap hotels I had made note of prior to my trip and they were all full! Saw Ridge Inn was the next option and some 2 hours later, I was settled, washed up and ready to work. Heading into the unknown, my first stop was the RCMP station owing to my experiences back in Nigeria. Now the weird thing about the station was the fact that it had no visible entrance that was open. It sure felt creepy and after unsuccessfully trying to get in, I chilled at the sidewalks and looked over the beautiful scenery in front of me. From high surrounding hills covered by a blanket of green grass and trees to houses running along the sides of the Peace River which had a couple of bridges running across it and creeks feeding more water into it. The air was a bit windy and can be chilly in the mornings but gets pretty warm in the afternoons and evenings. Further south in the river were big braided/point bars which had lush green vegetation and would be the perfect destination for a secret getaway for creepy encounters.
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| View of some parts of Peace River Town from the train tracks |
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| The beautiful Peace River with braided and point bars adorned with lush vegetation! |
A bad taste to the day came from negotiating for a cab man to take me around town for the rest of the day. Now his hourly charge was sixty bucks an hour and after a series of bargaining between me and his manager (a scrawny old lady), I failed to get them to agree for a 40 bucks an hour rate. I also did not like the fact that the cab man kept calling me ‘this geologist’ and ‘black gentleman’ because sincerely, I still do not feel like a geologist and for all I know, he was a hick talking to another hick and presenting me as a ‘black gentleman’ probably was not helping my cause (yeah, maybe I am a bit paranoid). Eventually, he dropped me off at the Shaftesbury Trail and ripped me off sixty bucks after driving me around for only half an hour!Dumped and confused, I realized my mission impossible was suddenly turning to mission fucking insane! How the hell was I going to survive out here and do my work without a car to move around; cell phone credit to call for another cab (yeah, the typical telecom nightmare in Canada!) and someone to get help if something happened to me??? Then again, the face of my Prof looking at me and saying, “I can’t help you Matthew, you would have to fail this project and come back next year” was enough motivation to get me going. Stifling my fear and worries, I set to work by the side of the Shaftesbury trail digging up dirt to get to rocks and looking around for snakes (after seeing a dead one!)
After working for half an hour I was set to walk back to the town (probably would have taken an hour or more) and at that moment an old couple walked down the hill with some lovely dogs. After some conversation, the old man volunteered to show me around town being sympathetic with me being a student (Yes, was rocking my UoA Sciences T-shirt!) and that was goodbye to old scrawny folks trying to rip me off! For another 3 hours, we drove around town to the banks of the Peace River adorned with serene parks, the XXX Creek (beside which was a lovely baseball field) where we could see the Paddy Formation and its contact with the basal Shaftesbury Formation and then we went up the old highway running by the side of the Pat Creek. Tracing the Pat Creek, I looked at more shales from the Shaftesbury Formation and then stumbled on some remarkable bear and coyote tracks (good thing it was just tracks and not the real animal!).
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| Tracks of a bear and a coyote on the bed of the Pat Creek |
By 3pm, I sure looked like a pig after sliding down muddy and steep cliffs, digging into clay and wandering through thorny bushes. I called it a day (having done some good geologic work) and parted ways with Mike. He sure was a wonderful man! He had two boys (the eldest my age) and had spent over 30 years in Peace River.
I tried unsuccessfully to sleep even after uploading a KFC chicken meal into my system and resorted to watching some old movies and convincing myself to write this. Talking about KFC, they always have a way of staying close to me, from Shoprite back in Nigeria (which was pretty close to my office and my house) to Edmonton (where we are practically neighbors) and now Peace River Valley (where they were sitting right in front of the Saw Ridge Inn!).
By 9pm, I sure was restless. I had cleaned up my logs, watched some old movies and yet, I knew I had to get out there once again….get to look at the scenery and possibly look at more outcrops I had noticed around. And what the hell, the sun was very much up and it sure did not look or feel like 9pm! Putting my dirty clothes back on, I headed out east and got up to the rail tracks. The view from there was breathtaking and I wondered what it would look like from the hills further east. Feeling all young again with the typical fatigue that had recently plagued me fading away, I crossed the highway from underneath it (LOL!) and got as high as I could till my aging body reminded me that I have spent too much time living like an old man and had to take it easy. Then again, the view was much better and my heart leaped once again realizing that this was what I had always wanted all my life! To be a scrappy field geologist who travels the world in search of rocks and in the process get to satiate his youthful craving for breath taking sceneries!
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| The train tracks above the town of Peace River |
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| The Peace River youth baseball field |
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| The deer patiently waiting for more shots! |
Getting down the hill, I continued on the rail tracks and found myself on top of the baseball field and the Pat Creek. Further down, I meet some deer who seemed not so bothered about me and were kind enough to pose for some pictures (I swear it! They did! Lol!). Further down the rail tracks, I meet a sign by the RCMP stating that I was already violating a Police order! Now that ended my adventure because I sure did not want to end up in their station that had no apparent escape route (yeah, I know I ain’t no Scofield, but would have tried at least….lol!). Too bad though, because I was going to cross over to the other side of the Pat Creek and slide down to its cool waters and have some real fun!
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| The fun spoiler!! |
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| The route to the anticipated fun! |
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| The fun itself....the intended final destination! |
A bit disappointed, I walked home (avoided the rail tracks) and planned for some Boston’s Pizza and Black Ice (the best beer I have seen in Canada!) for dinner until I saw the signs and all I could think of was ‘Meatball Mariana’ with sweet onion sauce! You see, I have this friend called Kartik Thammisetti, the most amazing Indian I have met (who believes India is the Superpower of the world) and he introduced me to Subway’s Meatball Mariana and Kokanee! I found a substitute to Kokanee and that was Black Ice but for the Meatball Mariana…….nothing could replace the feel of those in my mouth, down my throat and in my tummy especially with white bread! It feels like descending the plateau of an orgasm and makes me feel complete! So, Boston’s Pizza got kicked in the butt as a settled for a foot long Subway meal and a six pack Budweiser (as they only had 12 packs of Black Ice and I had no where to put the extra ones). All the way, I kept meeting some real nice folks who were always eager to talk to you and get to know more about places they haven’t been to. The night ended quite decently for me and after lots of beers and my Subway burger, I was set for an amazing time in bed watching ‘No strings attached’ (for the third time already!)
Waking up in a blur, I Skype’d with ‘none of your business’ and got my lazy bones out of bed. Check out time was close and I had to wait an extra five hours for my bus and Subway was once again the place to be (don’t even ask……had to be Meatballs again!)
Typing away this piece on my laptop and meeting some more white folk and a Togolese dude (the first black I was seeing here), I realized I was happy, felt so free and relieved, felt alive with blood rushing through my vein arousing deep feelings and inspirations (for new poems) and I realized for the 1000th time exactly all my heart wants and needs. Problem still is….how the hell do I get the freaking balance between the two……then again, in darkness, two hearts still to love! Haha!
Some nice shots!
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| Misery Mountain (An amazing ski centre during the winter) |
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| Besides BCMI Lodge (by the bank of the Peace River) |
