The landscape around Drumheller is vastly different from western Alberta (mountains) and even the plains around Calgary. These are Alberta's Badlands. I'm guessing the title comes from the fact that travelling in the area would be difficult due to the sudden changes in relief and the fact that it's arid here and agriculture is quite a challenge. If you don't know, Drumheller and the surrounding badlands include the world's most plentiful dinosaur bone beds. Fossils are their claim to fame here. I decide to drive around the little town a bit before heading to the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology on the outskirts. There are dinosaurs everywhere - most with gaudy paint jobs or cheesy designs (pics included). Turns out that they used to be part of a dinosaur theme park east of town that also included a Christ of the Andes-like sculpture of Jesus high on a ridge above the park. The ridge was high, not Jesus. This is not BC. Honk if you find the association of Jesus with a bunch of dinosaurs a little weird. I make my way to the city information center which is easy to find because it sits at the feet of the World's Largest Dinosaur - a T-Rex that's 80+ feet tall - pic included. An amazing bit of kitsch that should be on everyone's bucket list. You can climb up through the dinosaur's pancreas, then his gizzard and end up in his mouth where there's a viewing area. You can see a looong way. Now to the Royal Tyrrell. Few pics of the museum exterior and some beautiful dinosaur sculptures at the entrance included as an intro. No kitsch here. The RT is one classy joint. The exhibits are amazing, and it's the museum's 25th anniversary so they've included their 25 most prestigious "finds" in a special showing. The special exhibits are presented in a type of setting usually reserved for fine art at New York's MMA and such museums. Beautiful ornate frames for some (pics) and other complete fossils presented on lofty pedestals (pics). The really subdued room lighting and up-lighting around the exhibits made photography a challenge for me. Last fossil pic is of the smallest T-Rex ever unearthed - almost completely intact. Note the black color. It's referred to as the Black Beauty because manganese was prevalent in the area where the fossil was found and it colored the bones as they fossilized. How cool is that? I spent hours in the museum and then quite a while at the outdoor viewing area that affords a look at the type of local terrain (geologic strats) that yields fossils (pic). Back into town for leisurely lunch then booked a late afternoon tour with Wild West Badlands Tours (pic) as recommended by Frommers Alberta guidebook. If you come to Drumheller you have got to do this. The guide, Pat Mulgrew (pic), was as amazing as the guidebook said, and I had a blast. There was a guy from BC with his two sons, a Russian student down from Edmonton, a retired farm couple from Saskatchewan, and me in Pat's capable hands and by tour's end we were all good friends. Pat puts you at ease, learns a little about you, and uses that info to make the tour more personal and meaningful to you. He toured us through the area around town explaining how Drumheller came to be - coal mining rather than dinosaurs as it turns out - and noted that in 1930, Drumheller and Calgary had roughly the same population. How bout that? Coal fell out of favor and dinosaurs (or their fossils) rescued the town. Drumheller appears largely sustained by tourism; however, from the production equipment visible around the countryside, it looks like natural gas may be a sizable part of the economy as well. Pat drove us to the natural amphitheater where the Badlands Passion Play is performed each summer (pics). I would like to have seen this but it's really famous and was completely sold out for the night I was there that coincided with a performance(only 6 permormances this season, I think) . There are 225 performers, including the choir and these are not locals. Actors come from all over the world to be included in this production. On to the Bleriot Ferry over the Red Deer River, one of the last sailing ferries in Canada. Pat notes that the ferry really just remains for the benefit of tourism. It's a fun scenic little ride (pics). Then Horse Thief Canyon (pic) where the legend goes that a rancher left horses in the canyon over winter and in spring they emerged with different brands. I believe this was blamed on Yankee thieves. BTW, in Canada, like much of the world, everyone in the US is referred to as a Yankee. I repeatedly tried to set things straight on that, but eventually I just gave up and went with it. Next pic is the little church that seats 1,000, six at a time. He he. Then we went to the Star Mine Suspension Bridge over the Red Deer, remnant of the coal mining years, and walked over and back (pic). On to the Hoodoos. Awesome rock features that consist of soft sandstone bases (stalks) with harder rock capstones. The sandstone erodes at an advanced rate in comparison to the capstones yielding mushroom like featurs (pics). This small conglomeration of hoodoos just outside Drumheller is wonderful and easily accessible (to the detriment of the formations) but there are lots more throughout the badlands. Pat capped off the tour with a side trip to the ghost town (almost) of Wayne where a single saloon (Last Chance Saloon - formerly known as the Bucket of Blood Saloon) and a hotel (Rosedeer Hotel - not in use) survive. Pat took our pics in front of the saloon and then we all went in for a beer. The interior walls were covered with black & white mine photos and mining memorabilia, really rustic and interesting. But there was also video poker to keep us in the 21st century. BTW, Pat played music by local or Canadian artists at appropriate moments, and now I've got to get Paul Brandt's Albereta Bound onto the pod. I can't recommend Pat's tour enough. A bargain at twice the price It's appropriate for all ages and you'll be thoroughly educated and entertained.
