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In today's post I will be sharing a rather cool place that I had the chance to visit years ago. I'll also be sharing a little into the "folklore" of what the hoodoos represent. This is not going to be a super in depth post today but it will offer a look into this really cool town.
Drumhellar
One place that is unique to Canada are the Badlands of Alberta. This region is famous for its rich deposits of dinosaur fossils and diverse topography. Drumheller is the main town in this region and is the epicenter of the ‘Dinosaur Valley’. There are so many things to do and see in this town. I am going to highlight a few of them below.
Royal Tyrrell Museum
This amazing museum is Canada’s only museum solely dedicated to the science of paleontology. There is a series of chronological galleries celebrating 3.9 billion years of life. You will be able to see one of the world’s largest displays of dinosaurs with a collection of more than 130, 000 fossils! There are interactive displays, creative educational programs and even a Preparation Lab where you can watch museum technicians prepare fossils found right in the region. No matter if you are young or old; this museum will make you feel like you’ve been transported back to a time to when dinosaurs ruled the earth.
Take a stroll through Midland Provincial Park
Just outside of the Royal Tyrrell Museum is the 700 acre Midland Provincial Park. A few hundred feet east of the museum is a marked trail that recounts the glacial forces that sculpted the Badlands. Also, just a few miles away is another path where you can take a self-guided tour of the remains of the once thriving Midland Coal Mining Company. The topography is so unique that these walks are definitely worthwhile!
Check out the world’s largest dinosaur
Just as you enter the town of Drumheller you will be greeted by the world’s largest dinosaur. This massive T-Rex stands a whopping 86 feet in height and is 151 feet long. For a charge you can climb 106 stairs to the top of the dinosaur and check out the views from its wide open mouth.
These are just a few of the things that you can do in Drumhellar. If your more into nature there are lots of outdoor activities that you can do. Not much of an outdoor person, there is lots to see in the surrounding area of Drumhellar as well. There is something for everyone.
Hoodoos
In the Badlands of Alberta, Canada, one may come across oddly shaped rock-formations which stand up to 20 feet tall. Blackfoot and Cree traditions hold that these rocks are petrified giants who come alive at night to protect the land around them by hurling stones at intruders. Today we know the rocks were created by erosion - perhaps as amazing a force as giant-petrification. Naturally shaped by wind and water, these hoodoos (also known as fairy chimneys) have been carved over millions of years into pillar-like shapes.
Made of soft sandstone, the hoodoos are generally topped with a harder rock “cap,” slowing the process of complete disintegration. Climbing is not permitted, for the sandstone structures are quite fragile. Eventually these hoodoos will be eroded so thin that they will break, and the harder top rock will come crashing down.
