Grande Cache

From Grande Prairie, we headed south down Highway 40, one of Alberta's less-travelled roads (but the most direct route from Edmonton to Dawson Creek, the head of the Alaska Highway). We stopped for the night in Grande Cache, a "remote" town in the eastern ranges of the Rocky Mountains, heading to the town campground after supper and a visit to the Visitor Centre (which has some displays on the area's coal mining history).



The next morning we backtracked slightly, heading to Sulphur Gates Provincial Recreation Area for a short hike and view of the Smokey River canyon, created by a section of erosion-resistant bedrock that was thrust into a vertical position, restricting the flow of the river where it joins the Sulphur River. Sulphur Gates is at the entrance to Wilmore Wilderness Park, an "off-road" park where the only access is by horse and foot.


It was a very windy day and up on the rock we had to hang on to our hats - and the railing so as not to get blown off the cliff! The view is spectacular, and of course these pictures don't do it justice.