Welcome to Drumheller

June 4, 2009
Drumheller, AB

The drive to Drumheller from the western suburbs of Calgary was quite nice. We were able to dry camp at the local Wal-Mart (they allow parking for 72 hours) by mid-afternoon, and were able to explore the town for a day and a half.

On Wednesday afternoon, we visited a couple of local tourist spots: the suspension bridge, the "hoodoos", and the remains of a coal mine. This country was heavily mined for coal in the early-to-mid 20th Century, and the suspension bridge was used to transport miners across the Red Deer River, the hoodoos show the geology of the area and the veins of coal, and the Atlas Mine was, well, a coal mine. It was a nice, sunny, warm afternoon, even on the warm side with temperatures right around 80F. Then we watched a movie on loan from Bob, Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood - excellent film.

Today, we had a full day to explore. We started at the "world's largest dinosaur" - not a real one but the people who do these "world's largest" don't really care. For C$3, you can go to the top and take pictures like from the Statue of Liberty. Uh, no. From there, we headed for the Tyrell Museum, one of the best repositories for fossils in Canada. We finished up the morning touring the exhibits, stopped in town for a slice of pizza and some grocery shopping, and were able to walk the pups before heading out in the afternoon. Then, we drove the winding road to the small town of Wayne (across 11 one-lane bridges - supposedly a Guinness record for a short road) and the Last Chance Saloon. I had a beer (you can't go to a saloon without getting one) and we poked around their junk collection for a bit. Then, we drove to the other end of town and took in the view from Horseshow Canyon. Nice, but perhaps they shouldn't close up the Grand Canyon just yet. Actually, it looked a bit like a links course, with sand traps, greens, and lots of rough.

We got back to the coaches and walked the pups before "Happy Hour at the Reas". After cheese and crackers, nuts, and other snacks, we really didn't feel like making the fajitas we'd planned. I spent the evening reviewing, culling, and reformatting pictures. Sorry about not incorporating pictures, but Blogger isn't cooperating with the satellite connection right now.

Click here for some pictures...