Taking the Bus Down Memory Lane

Posted by Jill Browne Jul 5, 2007

Last weekend, I travelled from Calgary to Edmonton by bus. Usually I drive, but in an attempt to reduce my carbon footprint, and to be a bit lazy, I decided to take the Red Arrow bus. This brought back many memories of dozens - perhaps hundreds - of trips along that same road.

For out-of-towners, Calgary and Edmonton are the two large cities in the province of Alberta, Canada. They are connected by 300 km of highway - what we used to call Highway 2. Since a visit from Her Majesty, we are now calling it the Queen Elizabeth II Highway.

This stretch of road is one of the most heavily used in Canada. While it's much more civil than the notorious Highway 401 in Toronto, it is still a busy road, particularly on a long weekend in the summer, which is when I was travelling.

Many Alberta residents, including me, find themselves making the Calgary-Edmonton (or Edmonton-Calgary) run fairly often, at least during some phases of their lives. It may be to attend school, to work, to visit relatives and friends, or to take in the attractions of the other place. No matter what, we all have our Highway 2 stories.

At the halfway point lies the growing city of Red Deer, much smaller than the other two but currently in the middle of the same oil-driven economic boom. In my article about taking the Red Arrow, I mentioned that the bus between Calgary and Edmonton sometimes stops in Red Deer. However, it doesn't stop at the part of the journey through Red Deer that I like best, the south end of Gasoline Alley.

Gasoline Alley is turning into an ugly stretch of road, as more box stores and non-descript block buildings pile up there, but there will be a breath of fresh air in Red Deer as long as the nearby wetlands remain.

There are two natural sloughs at the south end of Gasoline Alley. It was here I first discovered the joys of watching ducks, geese and swans during their annual migration and nesting periods. Right after that, I discovered the joys of a hot cup of coffee and a cinnamon bun at Glenn's, a long-time Gasoline Alley favourite.

The Red Arrow won't take you to Glenn's, but if you keep your eyes open while approaching the south end of Red Deer, you might see some fantastic birds. For that, you can thank the landowners and conservationists for their efforts in preserving some valuable wetland habitat.