After we arrived, we had only a short time to set up and then off to Atlas Coal Mine for a tour. Between 1911 and 1965, coal was king, and it seemed the area's boom would never end. The story began in 1911 when a coal company started shipping home heating coal via rail from Drumheller's first commercial mine, within a year, eight mines were operating in the area. When the first company opened up shop, Drumheller had 50 residents, by the late 1920s, the population was around 10,000. The way we understand, these mines were only operational during the winter months, the coal is very dry and when it hits the heat it dries to powder. We had taken a guided tour of what is said to be the last remaining wooden tipple ( coal screening plant) in Canada, we took a ride on a 1936 Mancha locomotive, saw a restored mine office, where we saw actual cashed checks. In the office they have a safe that they have never opened, someone had drilled out the lock, but they still can't get it open.
Tipple
Conveyor from mine to tipple
We then went to East Coulee School Museum, for dinner. The old school was turned into a museum to house artifacts from the area, old school room with desks and chalk board, telephone switch board, and a room with coal mining items. After dinner we had a couple that spoke about finding a dinosaur on their farm and the years that it took for someone to come and recover it. The dinosaur is now in the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
School room
Marion & Kent Knudsen from Huxley, property owners of found dinosaur
On Saturday, we had a behind the scenes tour of Royal Tyrrell Museum. Our tour guide was scientist, David Eberth, he has studied ancient environments of fossil-bearing rocks, and participates in projects that take him throughout the USA, Mexico, Argentina, Germany, China, Mongolia and Canada. He has written quite a few books and papers on different things that have happened throughout the history of the earth. His research not only sheds light on what the Earth's ancient environments were like, but more importantly, how they changed through time and, thus, what the future may hold for us. He took us into a room full of dinosaur parts that were put into plaster to preserve it while being extracted. Then over into another room where they gently drill and get the pieces out, to be able to possibly put it all together. Great insight to see what really happens with the bone fragments after they are found. We then got to tour the museum on our own, really great. If you are really into dinosaurs, this is the place to be.
Warehouse of dinosaur parts
Full Skelton
Skeleton heads
Working to get skeleton out
Dinosaur exhibit
How tall are the legs?
We had then driven to a suspension bridge in the area, and to see hoodoos.
Suspension bridge
Hoodoos, a rock on top and the sandstone just washes away over time to form hoodoos.
Sunday, July 14, we had a very relating morning, in the afternoon about half the group went back to the Royal Tyrrell Museum for a hike called Dinosite. We had hiked and prospected for fossils in the rugged Badlands. They had seeded the area where we had hiked with dinosaur bones, teeth, bone fragments, petrified wood, different stones and we had to hunt for them.
Our hike in the Badlands
Looking for fossils
We had then hiked over to an area where there was a dinosaur skeleton laying.
Dinosaur bones
Toward evening we all carpooled to a bison ranch, where we had dinner of bison burgers, chips and cookies. We split into two groups and took turns riding on a wagon out to the field to see the bison.
Wagon ride
Bison
We then had a drivers meeting before going back to the campground. We may not have Internet for the next five days.
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