Day 4 (September 27, 2026): Drumheller and Rosebud

We had planned to be out the door at 8:30AM to start our Sunday trip to Drumheller, and we were just a few minutes off that mark. Brrr, what a crisp morning it was! The windshields were white with thick frost, as was the prairie grass.

The drive from Calgary's Northeast to Drumheller was stunning. Very different from the mountains we took in enroute to Banff on Friday, but the landscapes were equally as beautiful. Earl and Shelly got to experience the flat and endless prairie for the first time. We enjoyed snapping pics of fields, farms, pump-jacks, and endless skies all the way to Drumheller.

It was just before10:30AM when the flat prairie gave way to the desert cliffs of Drumheller, as we descended into the river valley that nature carved out a long time ago. This is dinosaur territory. Apart from the kitschy brightly-painted dinosaurs all over town, the Royal Tyrrell Museum is the destination here. Even though the museum only opened at 10AM, by 10:30AM the parking lot was almost packed. After Friday's 'sticker shock' for everything in Banff National Park, we couldn't believe our luck when the admissions desk at the Royal Tyrrell Museum told us the $100 (for four) admission fee was waived, due to Alberta Culture Days! We have no idea what that means, but we were all heeee-hawwww about the free admission!

After being immersed in dinosaur bones and facts for 1½ hours, we set off to take in a very unique Alberta experience: a ferry ride north of Drumheller! Yes, an actual ferry ride on the prairie. More on that in the photos below. Next up: amazing viewpoints at Orkney and Horse Thief Canyon. We headed back to Drumheller for lunch, and then took in the Star Mine Suspension Bridge and the Willow Creek Hoo Doos - the latter being Drumheller's most iconic sight.

We left the hoo doos at 3:30PM and drove into Rosebud less than 45 minutes later. Rosebud is the tiniest and cutest of prairie towns. After a quick exploration, we headed back to Calgary, arriving at the hotel at 5:30PM. Our last dinner in Alberta was at The Olive Garden, where the breadsticks are world famous!

Banff, Calgary, and Drumheller - the three make up an incredible sightseeing experience. It has been another wonderful day. Tomorrow, we are Halifax-bound already.

A thick frost this morning!

We like to call them jelly rolls.

While the majority of fields have already been harvested, some -- like this wheat field - have yet to be.

A harvested wheat field.

Natural gas outlets, like this, appear in fields all over the place.

A pump-jack lifts crude oil to the surface. Farmers can sell their surface rights to oil companies and still own and farm the land.

The flat prairie suddenly gives way to the river valley, as one enters Drumheller.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum is dinosaur-central!

The Royal Tyrrell Museum is internationally acclaimed as a top-notch paleontology centre.

Dinosaur embryo.

Mastodon skeleton.

Shelly, getting a lesson on the teeth sizes of a T-Rex!

The lab at the Royal Tyrrell.

Bleriot Ferry is one of nine ferries in Alberta. Who knew! This cable ferry provides a free and quick crossing of the Red Deer River.

This German Shepherd is the captain's first mate, on the Bleriot Ferry.

The view from Orkney Viewpoint.

Orkney Viewpoint and the Red Deer River.

Sign in the outhouse at the Orkney Viewpoint. I get the top symbol and, to help someone who grew up with Asian toilets, I get the middle symbol. But the bottom symbol?? What is with that?!