Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Banff, Day 7: Drumheller

On the last day of my trip, D and I woke up early to go to Drumheller, Alberta, before she drove me to the airport in Calgary. Drumheller is an hour east of Calgary, but about a 2-1/2 drive from Banff. Drumheller is known for its badlands, where dinosaurs used to roam. We first checked out the Royal Tyrrell Museum, had lunch and then drove on the Hoodoo Trail.

Hitting the road early.


Arriving in Drumheller, the scenery drastically changed. It felt like we were stepping into prehistoric times.



Fake dinosaurs are everywhere around the town of Drumheller. Very FROMAGE-y!

The Museum was very interesting with its many different fossils. I find the mounted dinosaur skeletons the most impressive. We were obviously not in Drumheller during the peak tourist season since the museum was pretty empty. When we finally went to see the hoodoos, D and I were the only ones there which made for an interesting and better experience.

Mammoth Skeleton.

The badlands near the Museum.


More arid badlands. Can you believe this is in Canada? D wondered how it would be to grow up in this area, thinking that this is a normal scenery.


These hoodoos were more impressive than the ones in Banff.


Hoodoos look like giant mushrooms.

We had the area all to ourselves!

This concluded an awesome trip to Western Canada. Banff was absolutely beautiful. The whole time I was there, I kept saying beautiful, pretty, nice. Not very original. Summer is the peak season for this region but going off season has its advantages: prices are lower and attractions are not as crowded. However, some trails may be tricky to hike because they become slippery. During the peak season or not, it is definitely worth going. And I didn't even do any skiing!

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