Bones, Bears, Bathing
July 2, 2005 – 11:50 am | by nerd's eye viewK. told us to go to Drumheller and because it would Not Stop Raining, we did. It turns out that Drumheller, just the week before, had suffered from terrible flooding, the kind where all the news is about the flooding. We know this not because anyone told us, but because we were sick and tired of the rain, which is why we went to Drumheller where we got a hotel room and found ourselves watching the local news. It turns out we’d been traveling in perfect synchronization with a massive weather front that was blanketing the Rockies and parts of Alberta with rainfall the likes of which had not been recorded. Ever.
But no matter, it was worth the trip to Drumheller anyway because, like K. said, the museum is freakin’ amazing. Drumheller is dinosaur central - it’s a boneyard out there. At the museum you get to see some of those bones, including the named for Alberta “Albertasaurus” and a whopping great T-Rex. At the musuem they don’t just put the bones on display. They’ve provided context for everything so in addition to this traveling back in time thing that you do as you walk through, they’ve recreated the environment in which the dinosaurs live. The coolest of these is where they’ve made this 3-d underwater fish tank kind of thing where you see the tiny creatures of the Burgess Shale (a fossil boneyard in Yoho) recreated a jillion times bigger than they were in reality. Cable news, a private shower, an amazing museum, and a good night’s sleep in a real bed. What a deluxe diversion.
After another stopover in Banff and a quick flyby for lunch at Lake Louise, we drove through Yoho where we saw the second bear of the trip. This one, a handsome youngster, was grazing right along the road out from the lodge on that little island in the lake - you know the one, right? His coat was so full and attractive, his demeanor so passive and appealling, it’s easy to see why people get lulled in to tangling with them. I thought I’d be terrified, but I’m pretty sure we could outrun him as we were in the car with the motor running. I was excited but not too worked up. J. snapped a few photos of him before we continued on our way, leaving his shagginess to his berry picking.
Today we’ve left the Rockies behind but it wasn’t easy to do. In spite of the bad weather, loud chewing, and dangerous animals, it’s gorgeous up there. Our last day in the mountains was spent dawdling in the giant pool at Radium Hot Springs. It was Canada Day yesterday and the pool was packed, but it’s a testament to the size of the place that we didn’t feel crowded out. To celebrate the holiday, we ate pizza on a balcony overlooking the town of Radium and the Purcell Range.
Right now, we’re in the Kimberly - a silly little faux Bavarian town - for a coffee and email fix, we’re heading south in search of sunshine and the next hot spring spot.
