Canada Day 6 - A Bit More Drumheller

Horseshoe Canyon

Our final full day started with another wonderful breakfast made by our host Shawn.  German pancakes with saskatoon berries, which are common in Canada. They are a bit like a blueberry but more tart. Sorry we forgot to take photos. We then headed off for our last couple of Drumheller sites.

First stop was an area filled with Hoodoos. The mushroom shaped structures are created when erosion carves away part of a hill but a large stone protects the soil directly beneath it. The name is actually African and a variant of voodoo, since some people think the hoodoos were created by magic.

Hoodoos

We then made a short stop at the Star Mine Suspension Bridge and walked across it. The bridge was used in early 20th century to take miners and coal over the Red Deer River. The mines were shuttered in about 1957, and the bridge is now just a fun way for tourists to cross the river.




Our last stop of the day before heading back to Calgary was Horseshoe Canyon. Not surprisingly, it’s a horseshoe shaped canyon popular with hikers. We did a 2 mile loop through the canyon where we got up close views of the various rock strata. We exited the canyon via a coulee. 



A bunch of Hoodoos being created. 

This is the coulee we walked through.
They are like a lumpy ravine that starts
 up high and goes down into the canyons.

Trying to show how the Badlands areas are
well hidden among the plains. It’s fascinating.
This is the edge of Horseshoe Canyon. 

Upon arriving in Calgary and checking in to a hotel near the airport we learned our flight back to Chicago early tomorrow morning was cancelled. Apparently between Hurricane Erin on the east coast and storms in the Midwest, flights were being canceled all over. After more than 2 hours on hold we got booked on a flight out of Great Falls, Montana, only to learn we can’t take a rental car across the border unless it originated there. So tomorrow we need to see what other options we have, and try to enjoy having our trip extended a day or two…hopefully not more. 










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