Rowley
Ghost Towns of the Canadian Badlands
In the mid-1970s, Rowley, which once boasted a population of
about 500 in the 1920s, was a beat-up dying community, with rows of
empty houses and businesses, and inhabited by only a few dozen
prairie hardened souls. The brazen men then got talking about
sprucing up the pioneer community to make it a heritage stop for
tourists. For the next quarter century, locals restored old homes
and businesses and soon visitors were attracted from all parts of
Alberta, Canada and the U.S. The highlight of the community’s
new fame came in 1988 when a cinema production team used Rowley as
the set for the hit Canadian movie, “Bye, Bye Blues”.
Since that time, Rowley has affectionately been nicknamed
Rowleywood! Part of Rowley’s charm is that while locals have
spent thousands of dollars fixing up many of the old
community’s homes and buildings to reflect the town’s
pioneer days, there are still many others left abandoned, and offer
ghost towners wonderful photo opportunities. But 1999 also saw the
regional train service through Rowley end and locals are worried
about the community’s future, as many as 900 train tourists a
week would get off at the Rowley station. However, the town, which
now has an official population of 12, is still hoping word-of-mouth
will keep tourists coming. On the last saturday of every month, the
town hosts a Pizza Night at Sam's Bar as a fundraiser for the
restoration of the town. The ghost town mentioned in this cache may
not have been located at this location.
This cache is part of the Legacy Trail produced by the Canadian
Badlands Geocaching Association for the Best of the Bad Mega
Event.
The Legacy Trail
The Legacy Trail is a collection of geocaches that circles its
way over 100 miles on country roads traversing some of the most
scenic and spectacular landscape in this part of the Canadian
Badlands. A large number of caches in a variety of types, sizes and
difficulty are placed on the Trail. Every town, village and hamlet
in the Canadian Badlands has its own cache. Some caches were named
after local historic events and people, as well as celebrities who
grew up in this area. Some caches were sponsored by geocachers who
attended the Best of the Bad Mega Event. The Legacy Trail was
produced by the Canadian Badlands Geocaching Association for the
Best of the Bad Mega Event.
The Canadian Badlands
The Canadian Badlands in Alberta are like no other place on
earth, home to the world's most extensive dinosaur bonebeds,
badlands and hoodoos, and a world-class museum that shelters a 75
million-year-old legacy. The region is rich in culturally and
historically significant sites that tell the story of the First
Nations people and early settlers, and of a complex and diverse
modern society that is still deeply rooted in the spirit of the
frontier.
