Explore-Experience-Expeditions Drumheller, Alberta, Canada
DAY ONE
Why did I go to Drumheller at such a random time? Well, whenever I feel out of place, or feel like I am not being myself, I usually need to get away. To some people that translates as “you’re running away.” Honestly, I’ve made my peace with that. Now I just agree. “You’re right. I am running away.” Now I’m able to say that with a smile on my face and 0.1% guilt in my heart. That half a percent is when I am initially called out.
I’m constantly on a journey of self discovery, and the reason I bring this up is because I had taken a week and a half of in depth career coaching. I learned that I had an orange career personality. The description of the personality mentioned that I would run away, whether I’m stressed or making tough decisions. Through that discovery I was able to come to terms with my habit. I am someone who runs away. However, I only run away until I feel better. I will return to my responsibilities, family, relationships, fights and most importantly, to myself.
The first time I went to Drumheller was with my Father and my siblings. We chose to go camping for our summer vacation and Drumheller was one of our destinations. As a child I didn’t know what to expect out of the badlands of Alberta, I had only heard of what it might look like. When we arrived at the campground, I fell in love with the small trees. Mostly because they looked like they were from Disney’s; The Lion King.
This trip took place fifteen years later. Something in my body was telling me to go. It was like an itch that you can’t scratch. However, it's in the mind and spirit. What I mean to say is, there is no way to scratch that itch except to listen to what it’s telling you to do (as long as it’s legal). I continued to think about how long it had been since I had seen Drumheller, the little memories I had about it started to feel as if they were fading away. I feel grateful that I listened to that little itch telling me, "Amber, it's time to be spontaneous. Let's go on an adventure."
I grabbed my supplies, food for two days, got in my car and ran away.
The drive beyond Calgary Alberta felt like it was endless. However, That was due to me not remembering what to expect when I was getting near the badlands. I kept looking for signs that I was getting closer, but all I could see was kilometers of prairielands. After I got an hour and twenty minutes out from Calgary, the road took a dip, and I was caught between two eroded buttes. The further I descended the wider the valley became. Then I found The Golden Dinosaur that said “Welcome To Drumheller”.
The first thing I did was drive to the information center. I wanted to grab some brochures to decide which campground I was going to stay in. There was a shadow cast over the building, courtesy of the most famous attractions in Drumheller; The Largest Dinosaur In The World. Seeing the height of it was nearly intriguing enough for me to abandon my plans and climb the inside stairwell that day. However, the first thing I needed to do was explore the town.
The campground I chose to stay at had elm trees scattered around it. They were grown in such a way that it gave privacy to almost all of the guests. The campground had a nice enclosed park for children to play at, and a little train trolley attraction of its own. After I picked my lot at their front desk, (one with shade) I went and set up my tent.
I hadn’t set up a tent by myself since I was twelve. In a way, I gave myself an opportunity to prove that I could still pitch a tent on my own. That I could go camping alone, and be in the badlands alone. I found the most flat ground in my lot and pinned down my tarp. After that I built the poles for my tent, and snapped them into their support system, criss-crossing over each other. I slid the roof cover over the mesh ceiling of the tent, nailed down the guy lines, and the pole attachment points with the tent pegs. I’ve learned that when I go camping it’s best to have extra tent pegs on hand. Afterwards, I took inventory of the things I packed including my supplies, food, and clothing.
I was slightly alarmed to see that the ice in my reusable bag cooler had melted. That’s one thing for the list. I had two duvet blankets for sleeping in the tent and forgot that I needed a sleeping pad. That’s what I get for not going camping in a tent for fifteen years. I’ve otherwise used air mattresses. That was another thing to add to the list. I reapplied my sunscreen and bug spray then headed out. Drumheller is a small town, so I didn’t need to take my car.
On my way out of the campground I witnessed millions of dandelion seeds gently blowing around the edges of the dirt road. It felt peaceful watching them tumble around in slow sequences. I refocused and walked up to the main bridge. I found out that to get to their beautiful water fountain, I had to find the entrance to the pedestrian bridge. I found it, it was underneath the traffic bridge. There was a sign explaining how they wanted to prevent collisions there. The bridge goes over the Red Deer River. In that location, looking from the bridge the river was wide, but also was more shallow at the banks. I could see glinting-sparkly rocks just under a thin layer of clear river water. I am a rock collector, and the internal battle I had was harsh, but luckily I was able to stay on task. Another time maybe...
I reached the water fountain. There, guests and residents are allowed to soak their feet! I love lakes and water features that anyone can swim in or use. I have cold plunged, and have soaked my feet in glacier water. Come to think of it, hot water hurts the nerves in my feet more than glacier water. (Maybe that's the science behind ice baths). Anyway, I felt relief flood my body while I sat in the sun with my feet in the glowing-golden water fountain. After about twenty minutes I dried my feet off and continued my walk through Drumheller.
While I walked towards the entrance of the town, I spotted different dinosaurs on the tops of the buildings. They were scattered throughout banks, retail stores and restaurants. There were also dinosaur benches every second block. Eventually, I found the thrift store. I bought a two dollar yoga mat that was going to act as my sleeping pad. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any unique treasures this time. Although, I did find a beautiful indigenous store that had fascinating items. They were related to dinosaurs and indigenous culture. I ended up learning the different meanings of individual pocket spirits and totem animals in that shop. Thus, I didn’t find archeology worthy discoveries, but I did find other exciting information. My last stop was to pick up two bags of ice to add to my cooler, which I purchased from a gas station.
While I was on my way back to the camp ground, I found a dinosaur garden. There, the dinosaurs were created using a thick white wire. It was a small hoop to walk around, with beautiful floral and shrubbery. I thought it was well done.
When I got back the sun had set, I had hotdogs, and got comfy in my tent. While I tried to sleep I could hear owls, and the loudest cricket. He was outside, at the head of my tent, which means he was directly above my head, singing. After he went on for another twenty minutes I pushed the side of my tent. He stopped singing for a moment, moved slightly and started singing loudly again. I pushed the tent again but a bit more aggressively. He stopped. Eventually he croaked slowly, and then he jumped away from me.
DAY TWO
I woke up the next morning to messages from my partner, telling me he was going to meet me at my campsite. I was glad to hear he was on his way. My plan was to go to the Royal Tyrrell Museum that day, and I was hoping he would be able to accompany me. I’m okay with others around me while I pursue my journey, as long as I'm able to complete my processes.
My partner arrived just before noon, and we got ready to go to the museum. When we arrived the parking lot gave the illusion of busyness, and when we got inside the museum felt abandoned. I'd lost my memory in regards to the size of the museum. It felt callosal, but a fun bonus was that the displays were visual and interactive. The museum was like a labyrinth, if there wasn’t a trail system for guests, I'm positive that we'd all be lost. For a dinosaur museum it’s what I would expect, but it was fun to see things I wasn’t expecting. For example; they added art to the displays and historic periods. There was glass art hanging from the ceiling when we descended a staircase after going through the ocean dinosaur display. They also had a station where we witnessed paleontologists making castings of dinosaur bones. That was pretty cool.
After getting through the museum we found the gift shop. I found an item that I liked, however, I remember the gift shop being more special as a kid. There were stones that were cut into the shapes of dinosaur eggs and fossils that could be purchased. This time the shop was more focused on plastic toys. That felt a bit disappointing.
My partner and I then found a spot for lunch in the museum. I was surprised that the cafeteria there made some tasty treats. Afterwards, we exited the museum and found a wooden staircase that ascended to a lookout, where we could see the different types of handsome landscapes attached to the badlands. From there, we went for a drive to a mini golf course where ice cream is served. Then to a cliff side, which was the top of the ravine that followed the river. We continued our drive through the badlands, searching for the ferry that gets you across a more tranquil part of the river. Once we boarded the ferry and shoved off, I noticed a black cat picking up his pace. The cat stayed on shore and thankfully didn’t try to jump, in an attempt to catch us. Once we crossed, we drove back up the ravine and found two deer and two ducks on the road. We accelerated to the speed limit quickly and I screamed, both times I thought we were going to hit the animals. I feel thankful that no animals were hurt during this trip, besides a few bugs hitting our windshields.
When we got back to the camp ground I noticed some glowing eyes in the elm trees. I stayed quiet and walked towards them. My partner was asking me what I could see, and I eventually told him I could see eyes in the trees. When I got close enough I found the owls. There was a flock living in the campground. I tried to take pictures, but they had revealed themselves at twilight, and most cameras have a hard time working in that kind of lighting. The last time I saw an owl was in a cemetery in Lethbridge Alberta. In some spiritualities owls are a symbol of eternal wisdom. In that moment I felt a connection between myself and the animal world, I felt happy, and at peace with that feeling. I know it sounds silly but I almost felt more significant. We went back to our tent and… The cricket came back. This time however, he stopped singing after one minute.
DAY THREE
I woke up, stepped outside into the cool morning air and found an owl feather outside my tent. I still have that owl feather, another silly feeling is that it felt like it was a gift from the flock.
That day, my partner and I then chose to climb The Largest Dinosaur In The World, and go for a hike. It was too hot to do more than one hike. Something that is of major importance when you go to places like Drumheller or British Columbia is water. Always have water. I had two full jugs of water in my car that I stored in my cooler. That cooler was stored in my car. The reason I stored my cooler in my car was so I didn’t attract animals to my campsite. Drumheller is not a town where many bears are sighted, but it’s best to continue practicing those habits even when you aren’t in bear country. There are also other animals to be aware of such as rattlesnakes, coyotes, and rodents. I learned most of those skills in girl guides thirteen years ago.
Climbing The Largest Dinosaur In The World felt like it was the first time I ascended the stairwell. My siblings, father and I had gone up it together, but I couldn’t recall that memory. I believe the dinosaur had undergone some new renovations. On the inside there were bones poking out of its sides, and what looked like cave paintings of shrubbery and other dinosaurs. When we reached the second to the top tier there was a speaker being used as the dinosaur's voice box. I'm not sure if it was senor induced, but when my partner and I walked by, the T-rex roar was so loud it shook us around. My partner and I then took a series of photos where we were standing in the jaws of The Largest Dinosaur In The World. When we stood in the jaw it wobbled, that was a bit scary but it was still a fun experience.
Next we went for our hike. I can’t remember the name of the trail but I remember most of its details. When we began the hike there was an old wooden staircase leading us down the ravine. That turned into a gravel staircase, then a steep gravel decline. Slowly, the gravel leveled out and turned into a cracked desert floor. We found species of cacti, long straw like grass patches, some fascinating rocks, buttes and hoodoos. Most places in the area are off limits to climb, other places you can see trails leading towards. Those seemed to be safe places to explore further. While I was exploring the area, I of course was listening for rattlers (rattle snakes) and keeping my distance from the eroded rock edges. The rocks that look like they have little caves usually house rattlesnakes. Especially when it’s too hot for them to be out in the sun. Luckily for us we didn’t run into any on this adventure. After we explored the base of the ravine, we trudged back up the incline and went to the lookouts. At the edge, we were able to get a remarkable photo of the sun setting on the badlands. This scene happened to be at my favorite time of day. The golden hour. (At least what it is for Canada).
After the hike we returned to the campsite and deconstructed my tent. My partner helped me roll up the tent and get it back into its package along with the cover, tent pegs and tarp. The reason I had the tarp was to prevent moisture from the ground getting into the tent, either from the heat of the day or in case there was a slight amount of rain. One of the Girl Guides and Scouts mottos is to always be prepared. Be prepared for any kind of situation, especially when camping.
I would say that the adventure to Drumheller was successful. I got the space that I needed from real life, and was able to go back to my responsibilities feeling lighter. It’s one of the trips I look back on and feel the most positively about. It almost felt like a honeymoon, I'm not married yet, but it felt special.
I look forward to 'running away' to Drumheller again.
PACKING LIST FOR TWO NIGHTS:
Hiking bag contents:
- Journal and pen
- Orange hiking tape
- Bear bell
- Bugspray
- Sunscreen
- Water bottle
- Granola bars
- Compass
- Whistle
- Flashlights
- Gatorade
- Glowsticks
- Poncho
- Tick removal kit
- Small quick drying towel/facecloth
- First aid
First Aid Contents:
- Polysporin
- Bandaids (various sizes package)
- Disinfecting wipes
- Tweezers
- Tensor bandage
- Gauze
- Sports tape
- Antibiotic eye drops
- Rash cream (helps reduce irritation from bug bites)
Duffle Bag Contents:
- Two sweaters
- Two pants
- Two shorts
- Two shirts
- Two tank tops
- Four underwear
- Four pairs of socks
- Two bras
- Two pairs of PJ’s
- Hat (if not already wearing it)
Bathroom Bag Contents:
- Collapsible toothbrush
- Travel size toothpaste
- Travel size, unscented shampoo and conditioner
- Travel size, unscented body wash
- Travel size, unscented lotion
- Hair ties and bobby pins
- Menstruation Pads
- Medications (prescribed and regular pain killers ex. Tylenol)
Cooler Contents:
- Ice
- Water
- Water
- Water
- Food (up to your discretion)
Tent Bag Contents:
- Keep your camping chair with your tent.
- Body of tent
- Poles
- Pegs
- Cover
- Tarp
- Blankets
- Sleeping pad
- Sleeping bag
- Pillow
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the very first Ex-Ex-Ex addition to my travel journal. Feel free to share. If you would like to see more pictures of the adventure, they can be found on the Amber Fierce YouTube channel in a music video format. I hope you're all able to hop over and take a look.
If you aren't already subscribed, I hope you stick around! There are two different tiers to chose from, I will put the link for sign up below!
Have a great day everyone!
