Kinnaird Ravine
By Dominic Lloyd
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
On May 25 2004, we walked through Kinnaird Ravine, starting from Sheriff Robertson Park at 111 Avenue (south of the ravine) and 82 Street. The choke cherries were blooming, and there was no shortage of mosquitoes.
Park Sign
Trail
The trail took us down to the river valley trail, where there is a lot of burdock growing.
Burdock
Burdock
Choke Cherry
Bentonite Clay
Horseradish
North Saskatchewan River
The root of the horseradish can be ground and used as a sesoning. A quarter to a half a leaf can be added to the salt and water brine when pickling cucumbers to keep them crisp.
Sarsaparilla
The Return Trail
The sarsaparilla is said to be the only plant with brown leaves in the spring.
The return trail took us up to Jasper Avenue and 81 Street, where we saw the Sheriff Robertson house.
Sheriff Robertson House
"Walter Scott Robertson was born in St. John, New Brunswick in 1841. He settled in Edmonton in 1882 and was soon appointed the first Sheriff of the Edmonton district. Robertson served in that capacity until retiring, shortly before his death in 1915.
Sheriff Robertson built this house in 1912 as his retirement home. It was designed by Alfred M. Calderon, an Edmonton architect who also designed the Le Marchand Mansion. Calderon was influenced by acclaimed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, whose "Prairie-Style" house is reflected here.
The house features an octagonal cupola, located over a two story rotunda containing a fieldstone fireplace. The "porte cochere" or covered drive-through at the front was built for horse drawn carriages." From the historical marker.
We finished our ramble with lunch at the Norwood Legion.