Note: Road Trip Memories is a series on Traveler Ahoy where I look back at the various things I’ve seen and done on past road trips.
Donalda is a small village located along highway 53 in Alberta. It’s about a two hour drive southeast from Edmonton. This summer driving back from Saskatoon I decided to take a different way home and I stopped in Donalda.
I’ve actually been to this town few times before. It’s a pretty town, and is quite different from the other towns I’m used to seeing. I think it’s because of the Meeting Creek Coulee which is on the edge of town. When I drive through Donalda I can start to see the landscape change from prairie farmland to the badlands which continue on into southern Alberta. Donalda has an art gallery housed in a 1932 art deco style building, which used to house a bank. There’s also a museum with a large collection of oil lamps and local artifacts. Unfortunately on my last visit the museum and the art gallery were closed for the day.
Donalda also has the World’s Largest Oil Lamp which measures 12.8 metres high and 5.18m wide (or 42 feet high by 17 feet wide). At dusk the lamp lights up.
The world’s largest oil lamp in Donalda, Alberta.
We toured Donalda Lamp Museum. Pretty cool and Main Street has some dynamite early western architecture. Met a guy who took us down a road to Ferry Landing site (early pioneers if they weren’t traveling by railroad they were on barges). Gorgeous country – badland formations and from gravel road on our way down, he pointed out old Winnipeg Trail that covered wagons, etc would have traveled on. We came to remnants of Ferry Point, a going concern back when. Only a plaque and small rest stop where small town once stood. Close by, three “badland” hills lined in a row. Told us an amazing story about eagle-hunting by First Nations in these hills-they would set eagle ‘traps’ – basically, a hole dug into the top of a coulee hill on the northern tips, the hole would be camouflaged and fresh meat set for bait. The idea was to grab the eagle as it came in for meat. Can imagine there were many hands, eyes, etc lost in battle.
Wow that’s an incredible story. I think there are so many people who don’t know the history that this area has. I certainly didn’t. I’m glad you enjoyed the Badlands. It really is a unique area of the country.
Hmm, curious, I would have never imagined Donalda to have the World’s Largest Oil Lamp! I would have expected it to be in an Asian country since they use oil lamps all the time!
I didn’t know oil lamps were still used. I think with Donalda is more of a nostalgia thing, although they are supposed to have a good antiwque shop too.
Ha! Had no idea such a thing existed.
If I hadn’t been to Donalda before I would’ve never known about the oil lamp either.
If you ever go further south, you should do a roadside attraction article about Vulcan and the startrek…thing. Leonard Nemoi (I know I didn’t spell that right) went to celebrate their centenial:)
Totally Murielle. I’ve actually never been to Vulcan so a road trip there is long overdue. There’s so many strange things to see in Alberta.
I love stuff like this. Goofy and weird, they’re always worth a stop!
For sure. They’re a great way to break up a road trip. Thanks for the comment JoAnna.