CR2011: Drumheller and Delia

After leaving the Royal Tyrrell, we stopped at the visitor center in Drumheller to check for any information we hadn't seen before, and to climb inside the world's largest dinosaur.

That fake tree isn't a fig leaf, it's a support, as shown in the side view.

 Here Joan stands in the jaws of doom.

In this view from the dinosaur's mouth you can see a smaller dinosaur next to the fountain.

After dinner, again at the Athens Restaurant, we returned to take more photos in the evening light.

 Depending on the angle of the shot, the photographer can create a wide range of dino scenarios, such as the chase,

and stalking.

The next day was our final day sampling the sights of Alberta. We started with a cool morning walk on the River Park trail system.

The portions close to the center of town are well paved.

As we continued to the east, we had a choice of following the sidewalk or taking the popular but unpaved trail, which stayed much closer to the river. We stuck with the river.

Sometimes the fluff from cottonwood trees would float through the air, until it eventually would settle into the waters.

The best of the trees needed protection from beavers, by wrapping the trunks in wire mesh.

This fine caterpillar caught our eye.

Drumheller also has streetside or shopfront dinosaurs, in the style of Chicago's Cows on Parade or Cincinnati's Big Pig Gig. The construction was rougher than in Chicago or Cincinnati, but the thought was the same. We passed this one on our walk; there was also one in front of our motel.

After returning to the town center, we perused a shop or two, and then drove east from Drumheller, to the Hand Hills, the second highest point between the Rockies and Labrador, reaching an elevation of about 1070 m (3536ft) above sea level. Driving northerly through the hills, we reached the small town of Delia and the Mother Mountain Tea House. 

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This restaurant, country store, and guest cottage is a welcome oasis in the open plains; it even was the host restaurant for the 1999 Western Premiers' Conference (prime ministers of the western provinces). Joan and I had a relaxing luncheon and a personable chat with one of the owners.

We returned to Drumheller to investigate the Homestead Pioneer Museum, one of the classic type where the contents have been donated by the residents of the area. (You can use Google to seek either the "Homestead Pioneer Museum" or the "Homestead Antique Museum," and you'll end up at the same web site. Perhaps the name changed some years ago?)

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As you can see in the above view, there is a circular building holding the smaller memorabilia, while a long hall houses larger artifacts, such as antique vehicles and tractors. The items on display run the gamut from the settling of the Red Deer River valley to modern times.

This next photograph is a panorama of three images showing the interior of the circular portion. (Interior panoramas are difficult to overlap properly, because objects are so close the camera; I apologize for the visible seams!) The black rectangles in the center aren't overlap artifacts, but rather the backs of display boards or cases. The entrance to the long hall is on the right.

This informal museum was well worth visiting. 

Ultimately it was time to turn our rental car towards Calgary. We stayed at the airport Delta Hotel, a strategy which allowed us to drop off our rental car earlier than otherwise, and to walk across to the terminal the next morning for our extremely early check-in. Our dinner at the hotel restaurant was good, despite the fact that an airport hotel often has a "captive audience." 

Our 2011 trip to the Canadian Rockies was over.