As Time Goes By / Jimmy Durante

The Royal Tyrrell Museum

The Royal Tyrrell Museum is not really an inspiring piece of Architecture.
It appears academic and clinical. That's because it's a World Class research center for Paleontology
- housing several labs and research facilities
- apart from it's function as an amazing museum. 

There's a few things to see outside though before you go in:
Albertosaurus - An enthusiastic Greeter

Covid interrogation.
Didn't used to be part of a Tour.
On normal (pre-Covid) days there will be a dozen tour buses out front.
People come from all over the world and the museum would usually be packed.
Sadly, much of the time right now the Museum is closed.
PachyrhinosaurusAnd child.

No riders.
Enthusiastic tourists have occasionally damaged the models.

So they must be protected. Incredibly for the first several years Admission was FREE! 
Then they went to a donation box.
Finally they realized that people would pay anything to get in here.
But it's worth it.

See you inside ...

 

 

Virtual Tour: The Royal Tyrrell Museum

This virtual tour can be a bit awkward to navigate,
but if you click on that box in the bottom left hand corner
it will beam you to places around the museum and area. 

Click Here To View Royal Tyrel 360' View

What you'll see: 

Just inside the entrance:

T Rex - Always the Star:

Triceratops:

Big Fish:

Once an Ocean:

Sometimes a jungle:

Movie Time:

In the Lab:Get a T Rex T Shirt:

Exhibits are continuously being added and expanded.

Adult (18 – 64) $21.00
Senior (65+) $14.00
Youth (7 – 17) $10.00
Children (6 and under, ticket required) Free
Family (2 adults and their children 7 – 17, max. group size 8) $50.00
Members Free
Experience Alberta's History Pass Holders Free

Effective December 13, 2020, the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology is temporarily closed

Despite the popularity of Dinosaurs, some people feared that nobody would come all the way out to Drumheller to see this. Since it's opening in 1985 more than 13 million visitors have come from over 150 countries. They were wrong. 

There's a lot of excellent vids on You Tube of the Alberta Badlands.
As I said earlier, when I used to explore here as young Teen I felt I was in going into areas that had never before been seen by any human being but me. 
This really fueled my wonder about all things of exploration and Paleontology.
Have a boo of this short, but entertaining video.

Come see this beautiful country for yourself some day. 

Found this in my files.
Liked it.
Showing it.

Our trip to Chichen Itza was a true highlight of this lifetime.
If you get the chance to see any of this stuff for real ...

Go for it.

"Tomb Raider Theme" ('Tomb Raider I' soundtrack) by Nathan McCree [1996]

Sky above, sand below, peace within.
- anonymous
It's incredible how a single event can change the course of your life.As a young lad I dreamed of becoming an Archaeologist (Ancient History) or Paleontologist (Dinosaurs).Then one day somebody told me this would mean 8 years of University study.
I believed this meant studying 8 years in a classroom.
Such an idea was intolerable to me.
I didn't know that much of such study takes place (outside the classroom) in the field.
His single statement crushed my dream.

Yet ...
today, when I see Archaeologists or Paleontologists sitting in the dirt
digging around with trowels and brushes,
this doesn't fit my once glamorous vision of discovery and exploration in exotic places.
So ...
Did he do me a favor?
Was I saved from a lifetime of scratching in the dirt?
Or did he destroy my dream?

I really don't know.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum

Have my high dreams and wonder of ancient things diminished then?
Not a bit.
Without our dreams and wonders we are nothing.
Just mundane muggles.
Don't let that happen to you.

 

Yeah I know it's not a Crystal Ball ... but it's not bad. 

 

Many years ago my niece Sarah made a small figurine for me. I called him Wizard. Wizard accompanied me on my many trips and moves - quietly gracing my desktop. But in my journeys, he also took a heck of a beating.
I lost his Crystal Ball (shameful!) and broke his Magic Staff (doh!).
These are two really bad things for a Wizard.
A Wizard without his Crystal Ball and Magic Staff is like a soldier without a rifle. Almost useless.
Something had to be done! Wizard needed to be fixed.
I sent out the call to Sarah:
Please fix Wizard! 

Sarah immediately responded, expressing astonishment that I still had Wizard at all!! after all these years!
She then determined to go beyond merely repairing Wizard and would create a whole new Wizard for me!
I didn't expect such a generous offer! But happily accepted. 

A week and a half later Wizard 2 arrived in the mail:

Look how Wondrous he is!!!
Amazing!!!

Thank You Sarah!

Wiz 2 is substantially bigger than Wiz 1!
And I discovered something magical about Wiz 2:
When I went into my office the next - and before I turned on the light ...
This is what I saw! : 

Wiz 2's Crystal Ball shines in the dark!!!

I don't how Sarah pulled that off, but it's really cool.

I'm not about to abandon Wiz 1 though.
I now realize I can fix him myself.
All I need to do is to find a Magic Staff and a new Crystal Ball. 
Hmmm ...

Something like this:
I wonder if I can find a Crystal Ball that shines in the dark also??
We'll see. 
The Staff might take some searching
But I'm optimistic. 

I'll keep you posted.

 

• 

On the way to the Royal Tyrell Museum you will spot The Little Church.
And, as Costner said in Field of Dreams, "I can use all the Karma I can get."

"1968"??? I visited The Little Church in the early 60's when we lived here.

Amen.

Did you know that early in is career Val Kilmer played Billy the Kid?
Betcha didn't.
That was in 1989 when Kilmer was 30 years old.
It was a made for TV movie by Gore Vidal?!

Wikipedia: "Vidal said in his memoirs that he had written the original teleplay for The Left Handed Gun, (1958) starring Paul Newman as Billy the Kid, decades earlier, and always felt the studio had butchered the material when his television play was used as the basis for a theatrical movie, so he wanted to return to the story for a more accurate rendition. At the time of his original teleplay with Newman, it was thought that the real Billy was left handed. This was based on a photo of Billy that had been inadvertently flipped when printed. Years later, the error was discovered—Billy was right handed."
MFW: Tintype photos are often reversed and need to be flipped horizontally for an honest image.

Wikipedia:
While receiving little general attention, the television movie was acclaimed by fans of the Western genre due to its comparative historical fidelity. [citation needed] Kilmer was praised [according to whom?] for his portrayal based on his extensive work to not only physically resemble William Bonney as much as possible, [citation needed] but also to capture his personality as related in historical accounts.[citation needed] This contributed to the film being widely recognized as one of the most historically accurate "Billy the Kid" films ever made."
MFW: "[citation needed]", "[according to whom?]", "[citation needed]", "[citation needed]"... hmmm ...
Typical of anything (and everything) regarding The Kid,
it's all cloaked in mystery.

Kilmer has had an Up and Down career (to say the least.)
But along the way he's been in some notable Western style Movies.

Back a ways someone got the idea that he would colorize old photos.
So he did.
The results were quite spectacular.

It brought the photos to life.
Pretty soon a few other folks joined in.
And now we have a nice collection of colorized images.
Some photos from the Old West are particularly impressive.
Like Billy the Kid.

Interpretations vary.
But they're all good.
I've tried my hand at it, but not that easy.

• 

More coming.

• 

Rose and I have stayed in a few B&B's over the years. Most have been excellent.
But it's not a cheap way to go.

So Rose found a B&B in North Drum(heller) in what I used call the "the poor side of town".
Some rough kids came out of there.
But us refined 'rich kids' (*sniff*) lived in the New Subdivision in East Drumheller.
I called us the "Subdivisionals".

Palace of the Subdivisionals!

Rose didn't know all of this important information when she booked us in at
McDougall Lane Bed & Breakfast.
Which caused me a bit of apprehension.
Would we get beset upon by vicious hooligans whilst eating crumpets in a crumbling shack!!!??
Hmmmm ...
We venture forth ...

Shortly I spot a sign craftily hidden in the bushes ...

• 

We're getting close.

Whoooo! This might be OK?!

Let's look around a bit.

I couldn't have imagined anything as amazing as this.

Let's look inside ...

Time for Breakfast.

You know what?
I do feel kinda rich.

TACKYSAURS!!?

How do get rid of a Tacksaur?
Tackysaurs are occasionally vandalized by graffiti, and need to be repainted.
But that doesn't get rid of them.
One sure method is to ram them with your car.Obviously effective, but unfortunately this also destroys your car.
Tackysaurs don't go down easy.
But to be fair though, not all Tackysaurs are ... well ... Tacky.
Some are pretty good. Clever and funny.
A Stegosaurus.
Pretty good eh!?They're everywhere!

Love this one.

Us fossils gotta stick together

That was a bit of fun and I'd say
Tackysaurs are generally looked upon with fond good humour.
Enjoy. 

Alley Oop by the Hollywood Argyles

They started to appear in Drumheller in the late 50's.
And seemed pretty harmless at first.
Even amusing.
Then ... slowly, surely, more and more came.
By the end of the 60's it was too late!
The whole town was infested!

(Inserting a Wilhelm Scream here.)

The Attack of the
TACKYSAURS!!

Strange, irregular beasts of every dimension and colour!
Blighting every corner, park and byway!!

Next: Attack of the Tackysaurs - Episode 2

Never My Love

The Flintstones Theme Song

Before heading to our B&B we drive over to 
the Drumheller Tourist Information Centre
where we see what is claimed to be
"World's Largest Dinosaur"!
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4669428,-112.709002,3a,48.9y,17.31h,105.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYOtY-CNbLSbSaOSwocW3Vw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
It is BIG.
So we take a bunch of pics.

Quite a few people here.

Look closely and you'll see two people in the Dinosaur's mouth!

There's a staircase and you can go up there.
We didn't because there was a lineup
and Covid restrictions were moving things slowly.
Some other time ... maybe.
But there is a good view up there.Approved by Gaius Flatulence III

Dinny - the former guardian of the bridge.

??
Looks like 4 Bobbies and 2 other guys trying to pull a dinosaur up a bank?
Unless it's hollow I doubt they succeeded. 

I Talk to the Trees / Clint Eastwood

---

Narrated by Christopher Plummer

Christopher Plummer
1929 - 2021

Working Man / Rita MacNeil

Leaving Horseshoe Canyon we head for Drumheller.
11 Miles ahead.

Back on the prairie.

Then ...
We see the valley!

Down the windy road we go ...
As in bygone days.
Below: Photo taken from about the same spot. 
Without the advantage of being on top of a hill. 
Image taken from the back window. (I hope)

But you can do it Virtually on Google Maps:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4321886,-112.7092628,3a,75y,25.93h,96.61t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8SYA2QTdE_uJ9PgCN-oNjA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Mandatory photo op at the Dinosaur Sign.
(Wearing my Indiana Dundee hat.)

Drumheller: A bit of History

Drumheller got it's name from a coin toss between Samuel Drumheller and Thomas Greentree.
Guess who won?
Alas, I think Greentree would have been a nicer name.

It was the Red Deer River that carved this valley and these Badlands
that run for hundreds of miles.

But wasn't dinosaur bones that created early Drumheller.

It was coal.
Between 1911 and 1979, 139 mines were registered in the valley and over 56 million tons of coal was shipped across Canada.

The Dinosaurs came later ... I mean earlier?
Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the town with thousands of people coming each year,
mainly to visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

A 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada
placed the Town of Drumheller's population at 7,982.

Upcoming: The Royal Tyrrell Museum

For our American Friends:

Still Champions of the Free World.

"Ask not what your country can do for you,
ask what you can do for your country."

John F. Kennedy's
Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

From deep hurt to profound hope.

Let's get to work.