Geoff and his family flew to Calgary at the end of May. Elijah and Miles had just finished school but Alberta kids had another month to go. This meant most places offered pre-season discounts. They spent the night with us before heading south (same route as we took with Lynda) to Wateron National Park. There they met Melissa's mom and her husband and enjoyed family time in the mountains. Before going to Edmonton to visit family and friends, they stopped in Calgary. We had a fun supper (low country boil) with Meg and Mike, then the next day, Glen and I joined them on a trip east to Drumheller.
In the 1880s, geologist Joseph Burr Tyrrell came to the Badlands looking for coal and found an Albertasaurus (at that time an unknown dinosaur) skull near the Red Deer River. So began Drumheller's relationship with dinosaurs and as you drive through the town, they appear on every street corner.
Our grandson, Miles is fascinated with fossils and the visit to the Royal Tyrrell Museum was on his to-do list. The badlands have been drawing people like him for years: first dinosaur hunters during the Great Dinosaur Rush of 1910-17, then modern day tourists who visit the museum or volunteer on digs in Dinosaur Provincial Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site).
Tyrrell did find coal which lured people to the area. Samuel Drumheller bought the land in the valley from Thomas Greentree and they tossed a coin on whose name the Canadian National Railway would use for the town. Between 1911 and 1979, over 56 millions tons of coal was shipped across Canada. Glen's PhD supervisor, Bill Paranchych's father was one of the miners from the Ukraine who came to dig the coal.
Destined to die after the collapse of the coal industry, Drumheller asked the provincial government for help. With incredible foresight, it proposed moving the existing paleontological program from the Royal Alberta Museum (in Edmonton) to a new facility in Drumheller. The Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology opened in 1985. Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the title "Royal" in 1990. Over 400,000 people visit the exhibits every year and they are constantly changing as new fossils are found.
The museum is huge (4,440 sq. metres of exhibit space) but the path through the exhibits is easy to follow so we went our separate ways discovering displays or enjoying people-watching. Glen basically hobbled from bench to bench until we came to the Preparation Lab where he watched technicians cleaning the fossils for study and eventual display. Elijah and Geoff read as many plaques as they could (something Glen used to do). Miles and Melissa led the way through the exhibits until Melissa discovered the Cretaceous Garden. This is Canada's largest collection of prehistoric plant relatives where creatures like fire-bellied toads and salamanders control pests. She spent time photographing the flowers and animals.
Tradition is we have lunch in the on-site cafeteria. The last time we did this Glen's folks, Jim and Bessie, were with us as was Aunty Pearl. He and I reminisced about our visit to the Tyrrell with them while the kids ignored us and enjoyed their lunch. Afterwards they headed to the gift shop with the 'Canadian' money Aunty Meg had given them while Glen and I went to a bench outside. I got bored watching a ground squirrel eat food off a chef's sneakers so hiked up the stairs to the lookout. It offered great views of the museum and surrounding badlands. If you have the time, there are also many hiking trails to explore.
Fossils are often unearthed after storms so you may see them lying on the surface. Do NOT touch the ones on the trails near the museum. Take a photo and write down its location then contact museum staff. Surface collecting is legal on Crown land or if a landowner allows it. You can keep the fossil if you live in Alberta but you can't sell or alter it.
After some family photos, we parted with the gang heading to Edmonton and Glen and I returning to Calgary. Such a short visit but so worth it!
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