Yesterday morning we went on our first short trip in Alberta. We went to Drumheller to see the Royal Tyrrell Museum. We had heard so much about it from friends and it looked really interesting. We planned on staying there for a number of hours and have the kids participate in some workshops. So much so we even booked a hotel for overnight because there was so much to do and see there as well as other sights around the town.
The drive there was a good example of what the prairies are: flat farmland. We saw many fields of bright yellow crops (not sure it they were canola or mustard seed). The roads were pretty good for the most part. unfortunately there was a bend that was rather gravelly and a big rig sprayed our car. We have some paint chopped, a couple of small windshield chips, and a medium sized ding in the windshield. It wasn’t the best start to the trip. Plus Ian kept asking when we’d be there.
Once there we made our way to the Museum. We got there a little after opening, so there were no crowds and lots of parking. After maybe two hours we were done! Ian was not interested and just wanted to go home. The rest of us could have stayed longer. We could’ve signed up Miranda for a few things, but it would’ve been a waste to do the same with Ian. Dinosaurs are not his thing. With the one event that was to take up most of our day shot to heck, we tried to see if we could cancel our hotel because there was no point in staying now. (We couldn’t.) We had some lunch and then went to The World’s Largest Dinosaur to get some travel info on what else we could do. We decided to go to the Atlas Coal Mine for a tour. Here are some Museum pics.
We got to the mine about 45 minutes before the next tour. We walked around and looked at some of the buildings the miners used to use then we went on our 1 1/4h walking tour up through the mine. We got to wear miner’s hats with lamps and battery packs as we walked up the gantry learning about life in the coal mine. It was refreshing underground compared to the heat outside. Drumheller can sure get hot. Despite all the walking there was very little complaining from Ian. He likes to walk. Here are some pics from the tour.
After the tour we made our way back to the hotel. (We were going to stop at the hoodoos, but there was only one spot with a few short hoodoos roped off for tourists AND you’re not allowed to sit on them any more. What a bummer!) I chose the Super 8 because it had an indoor pool with a water slide. This turned out to be a huge hit with Miranda and Ian. I even took a ride. (It was a very fast slide!) The three of us stayed i the pool for quite a while before getting out to have some supper. The rest of the evening was relaxing in the hotel. This morning after breakfast Simon took the kids into the pool again for a short time before we left.
It wasn’t the best trip we could’ve had, but we survived it. 😀
Geez my kids would love to see the dinosaurs! Just tell Ian to be patient ;)When we come to visit we’ll take Miranda and be paleontologists 🙂
In other news the strip mall in Sooke is up in flames…somebody must have been a little bored, they suspect an arsonist.
That mine thing looked pretty cool (both the pun and the literal).
Sounds like quite the adventure…:)
Steph: you guys are welcome to come and visit. We’d make it a day trip to Drumheller: it’s only 1.5 hours there.
I thought it was funny that Ian was asking if we were there yet; he was much better on the longer trip here. Maybe it was the rolling prairies he thought were boring. I think part of the problem was that we left part of his Lego Big Ben unbuilt on the kitchen table, and he wanted to get back to it.
You could always get them to count or find gopher holes! It sounded like an interesting field trip. He’ll get used to it. Too bad about the car. Maddening no doubt.
Maybe the fire in Sooke is why the sunset was soooooo orange tonight. It was brilliant!
I feel your pain about the window!! stupid rocks…
We went the museum when Sorcha was 3. If I recall she enjoyed it for the most part. We did go to the Hoodoos…she remembers those. I don’t think you could sit on them back then either.