Drumheller and dinosaurs

Spent the whole day, from about 6:45 a.m.. (to those of you who know me well, yes, A.M.!) till early evening, on a Christmas Bird Count east of the city, in the Drumheller area. I hadn't been out this way for maybe 12 years, so I REALLY appreciated the chance to be driven out there today! Not a bad day weather-wise, though it was very cold. Dropped down to -21C, but had soared to a balmy -4C when we got back to Calgary.

"Rolling fields suddenly give way to steep, dry coulees ridged with the strata of hundreds of years of erosion by time, wind and water. Through it all, the tranquil Red Deer River gently makes its way through parkland and myriad of recreational opportunities." From www.dinosaurvalley.com. The excavation of many dinosaur remains here and in the Dinosaur Provincial Park is known of world-wide. I had never seen this area covered in a light dusting of snow before. I posted a couple of photos ages ago, showing the eroded Hoodoo formations.

"Drumheller is a town (formerly a city) on the Red Deer River in the Badlands of east-central Alberta, Canada. It is located 110 kilometres (68 mi) northeast of Calgary.

Drumheller has been the filming location for more than 50 commercials, music videos and cinematic productions including Shanghai Noon, Unforgiven, Knockaround Guys and Rat Race.

South of the traffic bridge on Highway 9 north and south one can find the World's Largest Dinosaur, a 26.2 metres (86 ft) high Tyrannosaurus rex that can be entered for a view of the Badlands, including the adjacent 23 metre (75 ft) water fountain, again one of the largest in Canada.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is a museum that hosts Canada's largest collection of dinosaur fossils. It boasts 350,000 visitors a year, the largest of all provincial museum attractions. The Royal Tyrrell Museum is located in the northwest quadrant of the Town of Drumheller, in Midland Provincial Park." From Wikipedia. Actually, I dashed into the Museum and bought my grandson a black T-shirt with a Glow-in-the-dark dinosaur skeleton design on it in white : ).