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In Alberta’s Special Areas there are places where a person can stand in one spot and slowly turn full circle seeing nothing but horizon. On a bluebird day it feels a bit like gazing into infinity. And that’s a rare thing in this mostly crowded world. But this place is exceptional.
This is a place where there’s still room to roam. And, of course, the modern-day way to roam is to take a road trip.
Jumping in a vehicle and heading out on a road trip along the Range and Township Roads that plot The Special Areas north, south, east, and west is like being set adrift in a sea of sky. The only wake left behind is a cloud of dust and a brief woosh of air through the stubby, beige grasslands. This is a flat earth place. Its easily baked bone dry by hot summer sun and ever present wind. The ancient alkali lakes that dot the area are a testimony to these powerful forces.
John Palliser wrote this place off. This area is the northern tip of his “Palliser’s Triangle”. This is the land he surveyed for the Canadian Government and declared as semi-arid desert and most certainly not arable or inhabitable.
But, explored in its depth and breadth, this southeast central chunk of Alberta is not all starkness. There are clusters of soft round hills and deeply etched coulees. The graceful curves of the Red Deer River cut a wide swath along its southern border. Saskatchewan lies east. Alberta Highway 12 runs as straight as the crow flies for an east to west northern border. And, on the western side, there’s a more subtle but hugely important demarcation.
Here, there’s a crucial shift in terrain. The fields to the west are more fertile. The soil is black and the crops dense. There’s a transition from Bald Prairie to Parkland stands of Spruce and Aspen and healthy shelterbelts surrounding farms. It’s easy to see where precipitation starts and stops.
Where it stops is these five million acres spread of land known as Alberta's Special Areas. Some would argue that the 5000 people who call this home are Alberta’s toughest. Like their homesteader ancestors who arrived here in the early 1900s, they work hard to make a living from this place. And they’ve got a better chance since it was deemed The Special Areas. Only by understanding the history of this place can you understand the designation.
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