From Horseshoe Canyon to the Drumheller Dinosaurs

It hardly seems possible that a whole week has gone by since we arrived in the Calgary area. Obviously, a week wasn't nearly enough time. With only one day remaining, Jack decided we should take a trip to the Drumheller area so we took off in the morning. We passed golden fields of wheat. It is a shorter variety than what I have seen before. Lack of rain was really hard on the farmers in the area this year.

Our first stop was Horseshoe Canyon....an important part of the Canadian Badlands. Who knew that Canada had Badlands too? They start east of Calgary and run west to just past Medicine Hat and stretch from the U.S. border to quite far north,

The canyon is actually a horseshoe shape with about a 60 meter descent into the canyon itself. There are little trails running all over; however, getting over the edge to the trails looked like a bit of a scramble.

The scenery is beautiful with green and brown running into the canyon.

See the many trails? It is a popular place to hike being quite different from the nearby mountains.

There were some interesting rocks in the parking area.

They also have helicopter tours available.

I understand that this little fossil store has been around for about 30 years. This is a big area for fossils.

It's a long way down.

Can you see the little rock statues down at the bottom in the center of the photo? They are called Inukshuks which are unworked stones shaped in the form of a human originally used by the Inuits as direction markers or memorials. Close up of Inukshuk.

After an interesting time at Horseshoe Canyon, we were off to Drumheller.

Drumheller is a small town of about 8000 and there are lots of interesting things to see there.

You have to look closer at the downtown area.

See the purple dinosaur?

Well, you are going to see dinosaurs everywhere you look and there is a real abundance of museums.

Like my ride?

There are dinosaurs on every corner and each one is different.

Want to stay at the Waldorf?

The big mama of the dinosaurs is at the park.

This is a big area for fossils.

I told you this one is really big.

There were a lot of kids taking advantage of the spray park near the dinosaur.

After lunch at Tim Horton's......yes, they serve food in addition to great coffee, we were back on the road,

Lots of pretty flowers around,

Our destination was the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum is Canada's only museum dedicated exclusively to the science of palaeontology. The museum houses one of the world's largest displays of dinosaurs and offers a wide variety of creative, fun, and educational programs that bring the prehistoric past to life.

The landscaping is amazing. My grandkids would be thrilled with a visit to this place.

We toured the outside exhibits and visited the Visitor's store inside but alas, we did not have time to tour the museum itself. You would need to allow at least three hours to see the exhibits inside.

This unique wall sculpture was located right inside the entrance.

It's called "The Story of Life". It was the final work created by renowned Canadian artist, Lorraine Malach.

This is a close-up of one of the panels.

Next stop, Rosebud.

So what will you find in Rosebud? There are no gas stations or ATMs but there are cafes, several gift shops and galleries. There is a golf course, campground, and the Rosebud Centennial Museum which was once the local Chinese laundry for hundreds of miners in the valley in the 1920's.

You'll also find some bed and breakfasts.

What Rosebud is really famous for is the Rosebud Theatre....Alberta's only rural professional theatre. My cousin Shirley has been to the theatre which is stage at the Opera House and Studio Stage by an acting company made up of resident ensemble members student apprentices from the Rosebud School of the Arts and guest artists from around the world. Guests are also treated to a delicious buffet and live music in the historic Mercantile Dining Room. Unfortunately, we were not there for a performance. Maybe next time.

 

 

It was an enjoyable day but it was time to head back to Strathmore. We managed to fit a lot of sightseeing in with two great family gatherings and all in one week. Calgary is still on my bucket list as there is so much more to see and tomorrow is the day we have to leave. I couldn't have had better tour guides so thanks again to my Canadian cousins.