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Red Deer River Journey
Filmed in Alberta, Saskatchewan and London, U.K. this hour-long feature documents a one man journey along the entire length of the scenic Red Deer River. The voyage was completed either on foot or by raft and canoe and highlights both the human and natural history of this region of Canada.
From its source in the backcountry of Banff National Park, to its confluence with the South Saskatchewan River, the Red Deer River passes through almost every eco-zone in the region. Emerging from the front ranges and foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the river briefly touches the southern tip of the boreal forest before it flows through the aspen parkland and onto the prairies. Mountains, glaciers, forests, and badlands all make up the incredible scenery, which is the backdrop to this adventure.
The Front Range area of Banff National Park is still one of the wildest places in North America. The badlands of the lower Red Deer River cut a ribbon of near wilderness through a sea of cultivation. The Red Deer River valley provides us with a glimpse of a time before the arrival of the first European settlers. The buffalo may be gone, but there still remains an amazing diversity of plants and animals, which may be a surprise to the increasingly urban society inhabiting the new west.
We cross the paths of many historic figures whose lives touched and were touched by the Red Deer River. We are introduced to Métis buffalo hunters, a group of gentleman explorers, an ex-slave who became one of the west’s greatest cowboys, a miner who won the right to name a town in a poker game and a smuggler from the Isle of Wight who became the first European to see the Rocky Mountains.
At the end of our voyage we reflect on the demands that we as humans place on our river systems and the philosophical and spiritual significance we associate with “The River”.
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