Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Canada Day 2014 recap!

Crouched in the heart of the Canadian Badlands is the town of Drumheller, less than two hours NE of Calgary.  The swirl of canyons, coulees and wind-scraped hoodoos that surround it was once a lush tropical paradise where dinosaurs roamed.  This region has been a fossil hotbed since the 19th century.  Some of the most important dinosaur discoveries in the world were unearthed right here.

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John, Don, Art, Sandy K, Patrick, Norma, and Dick at Orkney Viewpoint, our first stop of the morning yesterday, overlooking a beautiful river valley. 

We next drove to Bleriot Ferry and loaded all four vehicles to cross over the Red Deer River.  The ferry is wenched over to the other side by a diesel motor…easy peasy…and free:

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Horsethief Canyon was our next stop, but we did not spy any thieves…nor horses…just a mini-Grand Canyon:

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The Little Church down the road reputes to “seat 1,000 people, six at a time”!  Jim agreed that the six pews only seated ONE adult each:

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The highlight of the day was a visit to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Canada’s only unnamed (5)museum dedicated exclusively to the science of paleontology. In addition to housing one of the world’s largest displays of dinosaurs, the P1220161Museum offers a wide variety of creative, fun, and educational programs that bring the prehistoric past to life.  More than 35 dinosaur skeletons and fascinating galleries recreate life in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

Back to the coaches for a brief rest, social time, and a cookout in celebration of Canada Day, complete with fireworks.

Life is NOT dull north of the border.  Today will hold more adventures for us.  Seriously!

4 comments:

  1. You guys are having waaay too much fun. Great job on the blog Sandy, thank you.

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  2. That is one tiny church smack in the middle of dinosaur land. Beautiful area.

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  3. How fun and I love that church. So tiny.

    Have a blast honey. Big hugs to you and tons of scritches to the babies. ♥♥♥

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  4. Love sharing this vicariously!!! Brings back memories of doing this trip many years ago. Keep up the good work and fun!!!! See you at Coos Bay from Joann Bush

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