Drumheller to Hyder

Our next few days were spent traveling from Drumheller, Alberta, to Hyder, Alaska.  Our overall route was Trans-Canada Highway 1 west from Calgary, Highway 97 north to Prince George, Highway 16 west to Highway 37 and 37A to Stewart, British Columbia and Hyder, Alaska.   Below are pictures from a couple of the RV parks we stopped in along the way.

White Swan Park Campground

This is a free campground in Fraser Lake, British Columbia, with seven long and level pull-thru sites and a few smaller back-in sites.  It is dry camping with a fantastic view.

One neat thing is that the park has special outdoor adult exercise equipment along the edge of the lake.

A couple of days later we spent a night in Shady Rest RV Park near Houston, British Columbia.

This is a nice park that was recently taken over by a young couple.  The previous owner had kept hanging pots of the same begonias for over 20 years.  The new owners were proud that they had learned to keep them going to 26 years this summer.

We weren't sure whether to classify this rig as a "tiny house" or a custom built trailer.

On the way into Stewart, Highway 37A passes by picturesque Bear Glacier.

Drumheller and Badlands

While visiting Drumheller, Alberta, we spent a day driving through the surrounding landscape.  Drumheller sits beside the Red Deer River whose drainage has exposed a badlands terrain famous for containing dinosaur fossils.

Horsethief Canyon

The Red Deer River valley

The province of Alberta is a major producer of flax.

Alberta is also a major producer of Canola.

A part of our loop drive was crossing the Red Deer River on a small ferry.

The town of Drumheller claims to have the world's largest dinosaur.

People can climb up through the statue and look out from within its mouth.

Another popular location is a collection of hoodoos.

The area is a wonderland for kids.

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology

Our next destination was Drumheller, Alberta, to visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology.  This is a world class museum with a major focus on dinosaurs, so it is a wonderful place for children of all ages.

 

The museum has a nice collection of hypothetical reproductions.

They also have an amazing number of fully articulated skeletons on display.

A well armored dinosaur with fossilized skin impressions

 

A newborn dinosaur

A huge fish with sharp bone plates extending into its mouth instead of teeth

A large fossilized turtle

Stegosaurus

Triceratops

Tyrannosaurus

Getting much closer to us in geologic time we have Mastodons ...

... and Mammoths  ...

.. and Sabre-toothed Cats.

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

After Glacier National Park, we headed to a campground in the little town of Granum in southern Alberta, Canada.  From here we visited the World Heritage historical site of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.  Here the native Blackfoot people killed buffalo by stampeding them over a cliff and then harvested them as their main resource.  They were also having a demonstration of native Blackfoot dancers in native regalia.

The accumulation of bones and natural erosion have reduced the height of the buffalo jump cliff to about half of the original height.

Four native drummers with two audience volunteers

Dancers