Nature Journal Entry #2: A Day Trip to the Badlands!
Where: Drumheller Hoodoos and Horseshoe Canyon
When: August 5th 2024 (Late Morning to Late Afternoon)
Highlight: The mountain bluebirds and the Badlands topography!
Taylor, Alexis, and I started by exploring the disturbed areas around the parking lot near the Drumheller Hoodoos and found a bunch of plants to identify. For starters, we quickly stumbled upon a plains pricklypear and sand sagebrush (one is spiky and one smelled good - take a guess). As we looked at some of the flora of the Badlands, we seen a hawk souring over the Red Deer River and a red-winged blackbird perched on a roadside pole. After spending some time with the plants near the parking lot, we started making our way to the top of this hill along the rocky slopes. We found nooks and crannies that were packed full of life, with rocky gullies still showing remnants of past erosion (and recent rainfall). Eventually we got to the top of the hill and the vastness of the valley below was better revealed. There were new plants to identify, including dotted gayfeather and broom snakeweed. We enjoyed the "summit" for a bit, with all of its scattered sunflowers, busy native pollinators (like a bee flies), and a bit of vertigo, before beginning our descent. It was fairly steep at points, but manageable nonetheless.
After stopping for lunch at Asteriod, Alexis' fantastic burger joint recommendation, we decided to check out Horseshoe Canyon to the west of Drumheller. As we went through the canyon, there was a lot of sand sagebrush and goldenrod, but also a special avian wonder I've never seen before: a mountain bluebird. It was definitely a lifer for myself. Thanks for the good eye, Alexis! As we went through the canyon, we also came across creeping juniper and a Richard's ground squirrel, before running into Krystal. She showed us a beautiful and more peaceful nearby path through a bit of the canyon that we never saw last summer. It really highlighted the unique topography of this region. On this path, there were conifer trees (which I found a bit odd), small birds hopping along the cliffside, and silverberry bushes, along with a reunion of many of the plant species we had been introduced to that day. Eventually the path disappeared, so we turned and headed back to the vehicle.
