Day 40 Drumheller

Today we had to say goodbye to the mountains, for now. We loved Alberta when we were here last time. This time we are exploring completely different areas (and I do mean completely different) and we are enjoying it just as much. The route today was a north-east course across a warren of backcountry roads. Leaving the mountains we drove through a terrain much flatter than anything we experienced on the road through Saskatchewan. We passed the largest solar farm we had ever seen. It rivaled the canola fields in size! We passed massive wind farms, and of course cattle ranches and fields of horses. We drove through few towns, but some, like the hamlet of Rosebud, looked like something created for a movie set! It was the prettiest little town! I regret not stopping for pictures, but we had places to be today! As we approached Drumheller by mid-afternoon the landscape, once again, changed dramatically. The flat fields gave way to rolling hills and very quickly we were enveloped in a land of hills, coulees, rills and hoodoos! This area of Alberta is approximately 300km away from Grasslands (as the crow flies). In the last two weeks we have travelled around that 300km distance (approximately) and are gob-smacked at the incredible range of topography! We have travelled through open plains and grasslands teaming with bison, prairie dogs and burrowing owls; to lodgepole pine forest with moose and deer; to the Rocky Mountains, with their bears and Bighorn sheep grazing beside alpine lakes; to this land of dinosaur bones and hoodoos, that looks more like the surface of another planet! I have often commented on the diversity of the Canadian landscape, but all of this within 300km is mind-blowing!

Our final view of the mountains

Massive wind farms

Single lane wooden bridges are frequent routes across rivers

The town of Drumheller itself appears to be the Clifton Hill of the badlands! Anyone who has been to Niagara Falls will likely know what I mean. They have capitalized on being the dinosaur capital of the world (literally) and the whole place is in on the action. From the town light standards with stylized dinosaurs and neanderthals affixed, to the colourful dinosaurs guarding the town intersections, to the visitors centre, easily found by the giant parking lot T-Rex, to the local services – Bedrock Play School, Dino Liquor Store, Jurassic Ink, PHO Dinosaurs Vietnamese Restaurant, Tech-Rex Canada, Tyrannosaurus Rest… well you get the picture, we have a dinosaur theme going here!

Our campground in on the other side of town on the Red Deer River. Out here we are away from the commercial and left with the raw beauty of the area. We had a bit of a moment when we arrived to check-in. Jonathan checked-in and was on his way. We went in, for the first time on this trip (thank goodness), to discover there was no reservation for us! Thankfully the campground could accommodate us for our two nights here and we got ourselves settled!

The Red Deer River runs behind our trailer

After set-up and supper Jonathan had discovered that the Royal Tyrrell Museum was open until 9:00 PM. Since the rain had been threatening on and off, we decided now might be a good time to check it out. To be honest, if it hadn’t been for Jonathan, I might not have bothered. I do appreciate natural wonders more than orchestrated displays, and with only two nights here, there is more nature than we could possibly explore. That said, I would have been terribly wrong. The museum was phenomenal, and I might have missed it!

Tyrrell was a geologist and explorer. While working for the Geological Survey of Canada, and mapping western Canada railway routes in 1884, he discovered the skull of the massive dinosaur that began to establish Alberta as the dinosaur capital of the world. The museum here was named after Tyrrell in honour of his contributions. Queen Elizbeth II offered the “royal” designation in recognition of the significance of this bank of research to the history of the world. I can absolutely attest to the “world-class nature” of this museum and body of work. The educational value, the organization, the ability to make information accessible (to someone who can’t even pronounce the names of most dinosaurs!), and the major coolness-factor is incredible. There were smart-tables that allowed us to examine dinosaur bones, read information cards, and take notes, to try our hand at understanding what the presented information tells us about dinosaurs (for the record – we did well!). There were well designed displays that gave us a glimpse into what life might have been like in the land-before-time. My very favourite though was the Journey Through Time display that led us through a series of tunnels that allowed us to discover the 3.9 billion-year-history of the earth! It was such a cool way to keep us organized and understand the chronology of the earth’s history. For example, I never realized that we were quite far into things before there were predators and hunted! Mouths had to evolve before critters could actually eat one another!! A visit to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, like a hike in the mountains or a trip to the ocean, reminds you of your infinitesimally small blip in the great scheme of things, another profoundly humbling experience. 

The opening scene was constructed, complete with sound effects. I wondered if the museum would be a less-tacky version of displays across town, but oh, no. They were just setting the stage.

Many fossils were displayed as they were found, complete with sandy river bed attached. These beautifully preserved bones are very rare because most often there is decay and influence of other organisms. Here though, these dinosaurs are captured in the way they died. They sunk to the river bottom and were very quickly covered in sand. This prevented damage to the skeleton.

They also displayed a nest of dinosaur eggs, that were discovered with embryos inside the eggs. This little guy was complete, except for ribs that have been cast and added by paleontologists. 

Our tunnels back to a pre-historic world

A turtle dinosaur!

This guy with his little pin head! The end of his tail is bigger than his head.

They had a pre-historic garden of plants as they might have appeared during dinosaur days.

This one was called, A Mammoth Attack - clever!

After our time in the museum, we had enough daylight left to explore the trail around the grounds. A self-guided stroll helped explain the geography of the area and its significance in fossil preservation and discovery. It was also a very awesome walk.

Hoodoos

Black bands of coal are evident

This looks like rock but is actually a fossilized tree stump from a giant redwood.

More hoodoos

In Grasslands we had learned about Eyelash Grass. it was supposed to be prevalent there. We looked but could never find any. First thing we spotted here - Eyelash Grass!

Interesting, there is sage here, but we can't even smell it. The scent was so obvious in the Grasslands. Here it is completely overpowered by the intoxicating smell of White Sweet Clover.

Before settling back in for the night, a trip to Drumheller helped us properly celebrate National Ice Cream Day. Look it up – it’s a thing! Jenna overheard some convincing child, explain to his dad, why they should participate. We couldn’t agree more. There is no photographic evidence. Our enthusiastic partaking drove all thought of pictures and blogs from my mind until long after the last lick. Trust me. It happened!