The day started wet, which was hardly ideal for my planned day of hiking around Drumheller.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9-Xc2kf7gbWBm5n6HTmp-IyPzAffeM9nnl11_kNrFZQcrkZIMeYAsa1ASr2YuYIw2kNB8Uj7QU6o05nWcebKcoxKf-rvmmENp_EAs9y4us3-2zpWAhppf5qCWyMtyxko7f2qlA/s640/IMG_2138.JPG)
The drive from Red Deer to Drumheller was pleasant though, especially with my detour to Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park and a brief but enjoyable drive into and out of the Red Deer River valley.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiht3RWq0EoIg-hCMOSEFf_enPeMYuD4-Vf-crGZDzJlcBw1nCau8rygnO5z3oBuAHTKNIK2uoSOyBcdAFsvHysLLaBM7DkhPJ7gbVsVbr6eewVHTwnbgl1247l81mMvch_VOdZ-A/s640/IMG_2139.JPG)
And then I got to Drumheller which - if you don't already know (for some strange reason) - is famous for dinosaurs.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrh363JtpRlhTuyc1NtdkiFg1D-2rtbx_WmpPyuLC5JMTejGHhChExgbFR_XNDtgxARxkuK7xHQB3gCCTGChiVDb8legWConSgXhZB8ITY6bjRGQGPydUgrhYX51A_31-I5MAW7w/s640/IMG_2141.JPG)
I wasn't planning on going to the Royal Tyrrell Museum. I'd been there before. I wanted to go hiking, but the soaked bentonite (clay) made everything so slippery and sloppy that my hikes were mostly restricted to the gravel-covered trails.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtXQPTAxt195wycM454cdJusUoSSqBUH1xXLtBcUXTa8bdPxJSs_xbhyphenhyphen9Qeo5jeNWiMf1zv9wqJDS-FbPPMpeRCmVGnTkomS8ZPtFhR6tSD0uLHFVFy9UiBc8m1ytTfXsGEWdHQ/s640/IMG_2143.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKM2NTen3958voqCOBr0d1KAm_QdWtqKUqUEp1NZusTe7Tl_kXopYjIe3xGOpSXUz-Q9rHeWyFfbWpCQc498uMIlbjcaB8iYlc8xeAjeGKFgD_c-N3pkj4Od7SwNZOfaWWzrH4w/s512/IMG_2146.JPG)
In the end, I decided to go into the museum where I spent a few hours learning some amazing things about plants and creatures of old.
After the museum, I went exploring and came to the interpretive signage for Horsethief Canyon. The canyon got its name because - according to the interpretive signage - horses would wander in, only to come out a week later bearing a new brand. According to the traveldrumheller website, however, the canyon got its name for American horse thieves who used the canyon en route to horse buyers in Alberta.
Oh, how I wanted to hike down into the valley. Even though the sun had come out, the ground was still so slippery that walking was a precarious venture.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMxHtqEq_7ltqnax0aKRoYwWltDFIYiv-Pk9XR0p_UIXKpWL6Jv9T7geNaHV5n2htLUJlIJIcPKbe_NbtNgpVK70y5VVMcJFFSdUmwPwuFvm5NdppOKnH-wlAkWBx-ycMsLS5Cg/s640/IMG_2150.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RL68zNgovGGXKE9ylj9dii3YXBTblPuY4BSxKkIOrmI7VCfqyetSc7ix7FUDQ8UsUti3GAn7bwCagRfEw-CUNX2XLygaI0HsUcvffRZX07ZcxYqbNtpU_9WU4m3llyizAOXccQ/s640/IMG_2151.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmzu6S_CeOro1W2bHnBJUgusble12_AUx8dC005_LR7GHic5nvItICXAyT-yjzEpHTU18oyII4G0ond8HO_bkS2Tu8CERNxkcdlRhAXxAoBrWIl9ZkLtYvQatD1QccfNvV226SA/s640/IMG_2152.JPG)
After my failed attempt to hike down into Horsethief Canyon I made my way back to Drumheller. I couldn't help but notice some bright red rock just off the side of the road. I pulled into a parking lot for an interpreted trail for an old coal mine. Walking the trail, I learned that the red rock is created by underground coal fires.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJi4gOPio8rpBST1hRm6LEOM6JmjTUhPh6VbjWnpm7TM0eYbGvPLkxzkTdgyLXpsgiOiyU2yvjmTGqo7ehCW9MWg1_FeqShgtdWkQZA6MkKpcuPbS0qE_kbEo5cuTmkGyVScBTQw/s640/IMG_2154.JPG)
I took a different route back to Drumheller by way of the Bleriot Ferry.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkT5gQEo-jSqAEMbAJcThdLv3O4EjA-5PioyBoP90XEJ6V_elpG_5JNzonHDlSZEo7PhGcaP6Ty161N17BbMmrnO13zbywPnlthLtZjce6eE01I3n0SoXlz26dluHE9aOx-cQ3PQ/s640/IMG_2155.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZUaGcFxsap5GXzz5fVbJE6Y_ykEM8pIjJK5-_LK7IsI2gddMi94lbNHyVrLf_4kyxGp5XlvDItnQPTUMkvKlmBUSBergO_R9zkRLWMes_Sux30LZ7BVdRcfnX9KDHz4GX9brsw/s640/IMG_2158.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9RpdVCbXhnpOFv64POIl2xhRlupHYQdU8XFQ9xuQfZBnRFr0aenfS9ywYsx60g2D5HBX1de69hd2fGbW3GL8fCjTl9VAsOnxbeNgJpoZmQmBNyAmoooZPq46tYQ0Rfe-nIrMTFw/s640/IMG_2159.JPG)
The drive from Red Deer to Drumheller was pleasant though, especially with my detour to Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park and a brief but enjoyable drive into and out of the Red Deer River valley.
And then I got to Drumheller which - if you don't already know (for some strange reason) - is famous for dinosaurs.
I wasn't planning on going to the Royal Tyrrell Museum. I'd been there before. I wanted to go hiking, but the soaked bentonite (clay) made everything so slippery and sloppy that my hikes were mostly restricted to the gravel-covered trails.
In the end, I decided to go into the museum where I spent a few hours learning some amazing things about plants and creatures of old.
After the museum, I went exploring and came to the interpretive signage for Horsethief Canyon. The canyon got its name because - according to the interpretive signage - horses would wander in, only to come out a week later bearing a new brand. According to the traveldrumheller website, however, the canyon got its name for American horse thieves who used the canyon en route to horse buyers in Alberta.
Oh, how I wanted to hike down into the valley. Even though the sun had come out, the ground was still so slippery that walking was a precarious venture.
After my failed attempt to hike down into Horsethief Canyon I made my way back to Drumheller. I couldn't help but notice some bright red rock just off the side of the road. I pulled into a parking lot for an interpreted trail for an old coal mine. Walking the trail, I learned that the red rock is created by underground coal fires.
I took a different route back to Drumheller by way of the Bleriot Ferry.
I drove back to Red Deer in the glow of the evening sun. The overcast cloud had long been replaced by large tunderheads and scattered showers. I'd crammed as much sight-seeing as I could in one day - and it was a day well spent.
2 comments:
We lived in Edmonton twice for 8 years total. Drumheller was one of our favourite places. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
You can have a different kind of adventure in Drumheller. I also consider it as one of my favorite places, but I didn't know that it has a history of coal mining.
mining equipment
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