by The Amazing Alberta Time Travel Adventures of Wild Roping Roxy
“Hey look, they’ve got Uncle Bob with them,” Roxy said. In the passenger seat was the twins’ favourite uncle, who taught high school science and math. “Hi kids!” He shouted out the window and waved as Michele pulled into the garage. Roxy heard the car doors slam and knew that Uncle Bob, Mom, and Big Eyes—still balancing on her shoulder—would be heading through the garage to the kitchen.
“Kind of makes you wish what?” she asked Ray.
He gave her a questioning look.
“You said something about the past and wishing something,” she reminded him.
“Oh, yeah, I was just wondering what would happen if people could actually go back to the past.”
Roxy nodded. “I guess that’s why I read history—it’s kind of like going back.” She gave a little shiver. “Let’s go in—it’s getting chilly out here.”
They were crossing the porch toward the door, Jasper trailing behind them, when Roxy stopped short and turned to Ray.
“What?” he said.
“I don’t know exactly. Just for a second I had this funny feeling like the past is closer than we think.”
Ray shook his head. “You’ve been reading too much.” He gave her a little push. “Come on, let’s find out what cool thing Uncle Bob is up to.”
Chapter 2
Uncle Bob’s Discovery
Cla-nngg—ri-nngg!
The clash of cymbals startled the first-period Math 10 class into alertness. Uncle Bob kept a drum set in his classroom for just such times as this. It was the Monday following his visit to the twins’ home. With three weeks still remaining before summer holidays, his sleepy students needed a wake-up call!
Being an attention-getting teacher was not Bob’s only claim to fame. For a single night, he had played drums in one of Canada’s highest-selling rock bands when their drummer had fallen ill before a concert in Calgary. He now had a band of his own, called Bob and the Rockin’ Dinosaurs, and every year the group performed for the school’s Christmas concert.
Bob’s other passion was hunting for dinosaur bones. During the summer months, he would spend no less than six hours a day searching the badlands. This coming summer would be no exception.
The holidays arrived at last, and Bob devoted almost every day to digging for bones. One night, toward the end of August, he was out after sunset and was startled to see a bright florescent glow coming from under a small mound of dirt. He dug down several feet and discovered a pronghorn skin bag. As he shook it to remove excess dirt, he recalled that pronghorn antelopes, the world’s second fastest animal, are found in southern Alberta.
Now that the bag was free of dirt, the glow it gave off was strong enough to light up the area all around Bob. He carefully opened the bag, curious as to what could shine so brightly even after being buried.
Inside the bag were two glowing dinosaur eggs: a small bright blue egg and a larger bright red one. There was also a very sharp tooth. Bob opened the bag a little wider and could see an old aboriginal peace pipe, sweetgrass, and three folded notes. He pulled out the notes and carefully unfolded them. The first was written in Cree and included a diagram. The second was written in Blackfoot. The last one was written in a language that he was not familiar with.
He wrapped up the eggs and the tooth carefully and, to hide the glow, placed them in his old black leather bag. He did not want questions when he got back to town.
Bob went to see Strater Crowfoot, the former head chief of the Siksika Nation and great-great-grandson of Chief Crowfoot. Chief Crowfoot was the head of the Blackfoot Confederacy in 1870 and, on behalf of the Confederacy, signed Treaty 7 with Colonel James Macleod on September 22nd, 1877. This led to the creation of the First Nations’ reserves in Alberta. The Blackfoot Confederacy was made up of seven tribes: Siksika (Blackfoot), Piikani (Peigan), Kainai (Blood), Tsuu T’ina (Sarcee), Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley/Goodstoney (Stoney).
Bob greeted his old friend then asked him to translate the mystery note written in Blackfoot. Strater looked puzzled as he read:
when these two magical eggs are crused and aglow, then time travelling you may go.
Bob decided not to explain about the magical eggs. He thanked Strater very much and headed back to Drumheller with a bag of delicious homemade banuk.
Two days later, Bob visited another aboriginal friend, Barbara Eagle-feather, originally from the Samson Cree First Nations. She now lived in Okotoks, which took its name from the Blackfoot word okatok, meaning big rock. This refers to North America’s largest glacial rock, located nine kilometres west of town.
Bob showed Barbara the Cree note and diagram. She began to read the note to him, translating as she went:
•The magical blue egg will permit one hour of time travel. The larger red egg will allow two hours of time travel to one destination, followed immediately by a trip to another time period, which will last no longer than two days.
•The dimensions of the pesim okn (“time machine” in Cree, Barbara explained) are to be 48 inches high and 24 inches wide. It is to be supported by four buffalo bones of equal length.
•The top of the pesim okn is to be covered by a beaver skin with a quarter-inch hole cut precisely in the middle, and the bottom of the pesim okn shall be made from cowhide.
•Place a three-foot-long funnel into the hole.
•Take a dinosaur bone and, around the centre of the egg, carve the date and the year you wish to travel to. Choose the dates wisely, because the eggs can only be used once.
•Crush the carved dinosaur egg and mix the crushed substance with one litre of fine sand found near the hoodoos.
•Have all those who are time travelling hold on tightly to two buffalo bones. When they are ready, place the mixture in the funnel. Do not let go of the bones. After eight seconds the time travellers will vanish.
•When the last of the formula passes into the pesim okn, those who went back in time shall reappear.
caution: if you are not within 10 feet of the exact spot where you appeared in the first time travel destination, you will be stuck there for the rest of your life!
Barbara told Bob that, as a child, she had heard the legend of the magical dinosaur eggs that brought two fighting Cree and Blackfoot warriors together for a peace pipe ceremony. She swore that Bob’s secret was safe with her, and then she provided him with a beaver pelt, a cowhide, and four buffalo bones for the construction of the time machine.
Bob next paid a visit to his Métis friend, Art Cunningham, a brilliant paleontologist who worked in one of the laboratories at the Tyrell Museum.
“Art,” Bob said as his friend looked up from the microscope, “I have a couple of questions for you.”
“Anything for one of my son’s favourite teachers,” Art said.
“Could you check out this tooth that I found in the badlands?” Bob asked. “What type of creature did it come from?”
Dangerous meat-eating Albertosaurus.
© John Ternan, The Calgary Zoo.
Bob gently placed the large tooth beside the microscope on the metal examining table. Art studied the tooth for a few minutes and took some measurements.
“This banana shaped sharp tooth belonged to the Albertosaurus,” Art said. “It was a meat-eating dinosaur that roamed the area now known as Alberta 70 million years ago. It weighed close to two tons, had tiny two-fingered hands, and a massive head with dozens of large, sharp teeth. Albertosaurus was related to the T-Rex dinosaur, which was made famous in the movie Jurassic Park.”
“No kidding?” Bob said. “Having a tooth from the dinosaur named after our province makes this extra special. There’s one other thing, Art. The tooth came with this note written in a language that I don’t recognize. I was wondering if you have any idea what it says.”
Art quickly scanned the note. “Bob,” he said, “this is my mother’s first language, Mi
chif. It’s a Métis language made up of French nouns and Cree verbs. Lucky for you, I can still read it.”
As Art read the words, he shook his head in disbelief. He then translated the note word for word for his friend:
This magical time travel tooth can be very dangerous if not used properly. If there is a full moon in the sky, the tooth and those holding it will be transported to the exact moment when the tooth broke loose from the living dinosaur’s mouth, not the time and date they so desire.
How to use the tooth:
1.With a sharp dinosaur bone, engrave the exact time and date you would like to visit on the tooth.
2.Next, use the sharp tooth to make a small incision in the palm of your hand, enough to draw blood.
3.Then, clasp your hands together to form a blood bond between the two hands.
4.Finally, close your eyes and slowly count to eight.
If there are two individuals using the tooth for time travel, both must pierce the palms of opposite hands. They must then clasp these two hands to form the blood bond necessary to initiate the time travel process.
“Bob,” Art said, “I’m not sure who put you up to this prank, but please tell them that April Fool’s Day is still months away.”
Bob just smiled, wrapped up the tooth, and told Art he was sworn to secrecy about it. He thanked Art, said goodbye, and went outside to his waiting yellow Ford 150 pickup truck.
It took Uncle Bob less than three hours to build the time machine. But before he engraved the dates on the eggs, he wanted to share his amazing discovery with his favourite niece and nephew, Roxy and Ray.
Chapter 3
The Adventure Begins
Uncle Bob invited Roxy and Ray over for dinner with the promise of revealing some exciting news. Naturally, their dog Jasper came with them.
When Bob told the twins about his discovery, they stared, wide-eyed, in disbelief. But then he showed them the Cree, Blackfoot, and Michif notes, the English translations, the time machine, and finally, the glowing magical eggs. As they took in the amazing find, the twins’ looks of doubt vanished.
“Wow, that’s awesome,” Ray said.
Speechless with excitement, Roxy just nodded. Now I can actually meet my heroes from history, she thought. How cool is that?
Uncle Bob and the twins spent the next two hours figuring out which places, dates, and years to visit. Bob wanted to go back to the 1950s and watch Elvis perform, but Roxy looked at the calendar and noted that it was August 30, just two days before Alberta would celebrate its anniversary. Always the history fanatic, she thought it would be amazing to see the first official ceremony in Edmonton in 1905. Ray protested that if they were going back in time, it would have to be after the Calgary Stampede started in 1912. Knowing Ray’s love of bull riding, Roxy was not surprised at his point of view.
They debated for some time and, in the end, reached a happy compromise. For the first two-hour stage of their adventure, they would visit Edmonton in 1905; afterward, they would take in the 10th anniversary celebrations in 1915. Then they would ride the train south to Calgary to check out the Calgary Stampede.
Uncle Bob wanted to make sure that the time machine worked safely. But how could they test it? After some thought, he came up with a brilliant idea: Bob would pour the crushed, small blue egg and sand formula (which was good for one hour of time travel) into the funnel, while Jasper’s leash was tied loosely onto two of the buffalo bones so that he could yank himself free. He would then have the dog fetch a Drumheller Mail newspaper, first published in 1911, and bring it back to the present day.
To ensure Jasper’s co-operation, Roxy went out and bought a foot-long hot dog with cheese and promised it as a reward if Jasper fetched the paper.
Bob engraved August 30, 1915, onto the egg with the tip of a sharp dinosaur bone from his personal bone collection. Roxy then attached the bone to the leash. Jasper seemed to know something was about to happen and started to bark louder and louder with anticipation. Bob carefully stated to pour the blue egg and sand mixture into the funnel. Instantly, the room became silent, and Jasper vanished.
Roxy began looking at her watch nervously. She couldn’t help but worry about her beloved pet. What if he didn’t get back to the right spot on time? What if someone tried to keep him? What if he had simply vanished and Roxy never saw him again? What were we thinking? she asked herself as she paced the kitchen floor.
But precisely one hour later, the dog reappeared with a newspaper in his mouth. “Drop it!” Roxy told Jasper and rewarded him with the well-deserved hot dog, which he quickly devoured.
With bated breath, the twins and Uncle Bob unrolled the Drumheller Mail. Uncle Bob shouted out the news headline: “Excitement Builds for Annual Calgary Exhibition.” The date on the front page read August 30, 1915.
Hardly able to believe their eyes, Uncle Bob and the twins jumped for joy. Jasper had returned safely and they would be next!
The next day, Uncle Bob asked the twins’ parents if he could take them to Edmonton to watch Alberta’s annual birthday celebration. Knowing how much Roxy loved her Alberta history, they said yes.
On the way to the provincial capital, Bob and the twins stopped off at Heritage Park in Calgary to borrow some turn-of-the-century clothes. They didn’t want to look like fashion misfits when they went back in time. Roxy, however, wasn’t keen on the Anne of Green Gables look and told her uncle she would probably spend most of the time in her favourite tracksuit or rodeo attire.
Donald Smith driving the last spike.
© Glenbow Archives: na-1494-5.
Before leaving Calgary, they also visited Albern Coins on Centre Street and bought $150.00 worth of early-1900s money, just in case.
The three-hour drive to Edmonton felt like an eternity. Everyone was so excited they could hardly contain themselves. The whole way there, they imagined what they would see when they were back in time.
When they arrived in Edmonton, they checked into the Old Strathcona Hotel. They chose this hotel because it had been operating since 1891. That way, when the twins travelled back to 1905, they would arrive in the privacy of a hotel room. Also, the hotel was built by the C&E Railroad Company and was conveniently located across the street from the train station. Roxy explained that the hotel and area was named after Lord Strathcona, who was Donald Smith before Queen Victoria elevated him to Lord in 1897. He was the man who drove in the last spike to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway on November 7th, 1885.
Before going to bed, they set the alarm for 8:00 am. The next day was September 1.
During breakfast, Roxy gave her uncle and brother a history lesson to prepare them for their adventure. She informed Uncle Bob and Ray that Canada purchased Rupert’s land from the Hudson’s Bay Company on March 20th, 1869 for 1.5 million dollars. Before Alberta became a province on September 1, 1905, it had been part of the North West Territory, led by its first and only Conservative premier, Frederick Haultain. Haultain didn’t want to split the territory into two provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan. His preference was to have one larger province called Buffalo.
“Can you believe that?” Roxy shook her head in disapproval. “Lucky for us, the Liberal prime minister in Ottawa wasn’t keen on the idea. Otherwise, Albertans today might be called Buffalonians!
“Once Alberta became a province,” Roxy continued, “the first legislative assembly meeting took place at the Edmonton Thistle Curling Arena on March 6, 1906, in front of thousands. It was subsequently moved to the third floor of the McKay Avenue School, until the magnificent Alberta Legislature building was completed in 1913.”
After Roxy’s brief history lesson, Uncle Bob took out a stopwatch and gave it to Ray. “Don’t forget,” he told the twins, “you absolutely must start the watch the minute you arrive in 1905.”
If they did not return to the hotel room within two hours, they would be lost in 190
5 forever! Bob handed Roxy the reinforced bag containing the magical, razor-sharp dinosaur tooth and translated note. He warned them that it was only to be used in an absolute emergency because, if used improperly, it could be fatally dangerous!
After breakfast, the group returned to their room and changed into their heritage clothes.
When everyone was ready, Uncle Bob placed the time machine on the round coffee table. He carefully unwrapped the large magical egg and placed it on the down-filled pillow beside the table.
At that point, Bob voiced some second thoughts, wondering whether he should join them on their big adventure. They assured him that they’d be fine. But just to be safe, they agreed that Jasper would accompany them. He was, after all, a veteran time traveller.
Uncle Bob went over the plan one more time. When the twins were gone, he would pack up and drive to Calgary the next day. He would register in the Fairmont Palliser Hotel, which was built in 1914 by Canadian Pacific. That meant the twins could return to the present day just as they left it, in the privacy of a hotel room.
Family Day Roxy and Ray both put on their small knapsacks. Roxy’s bag contained her basketball shoes, comfortable black track suit, pajamas, and a pair of jeans, as well as her new western shirt and skirt. Ray brought jeans, pajamas, cowboy boots, a camera, and a pair of small binoculars.
Uncle Bob carefully crushed the egg, mixed in the fine sand in the required four-to-one ratio, and had Roxy attach Jasper’s leash to the machine once more. He then told Ray and Roxy that, when he gave the word, they were to grab the buffalo bones and hold on as tightly as they could for eight seconds. This was no problem for Family Day Ray: eight seconds was how long he needed to stay on a bull in a rodeo!
Everyone was ready and held their breath in anticipation. Uncle Bob took a deep breath and shouted, “On your mark, get set, hold on tight.”