Alberta......

Drumheller, Alberta to Calgary, Alberta (sightseeing)

August 26- August 28, 2016

Although the famous Stampede was long over we went on to Calgary, a city that stretches outward for miles and miles (oops - I mean kilometers and kilometers).  If you've been reading all the blog posts you know that we met Laura's cousin from the Netherlands a few weeks ago in Radium Hot Springs.  Her brother Pieter lives in Calgary and we wanted to meet one another.  He is a very charming and funny guy and we had a fun afternoon and evening talking with him.  He even treated us to dinner!  He emigrated to the Canada over 40 years ago and worked as an oil geologist for the Province.

Pieter

As for the sites of Calgary - we had our sights set on visiting another Telus site (Telus Spark) and Calgary's Heritage Park Historical Village.  Although we don't have any pictures, the Telus site was first rate.  Many interesting things for both adults and children.  There are 3 Telus sites in Western Canada (Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary) and we've now been to two of them.  They are worth seeing if you happen to be in one of those cities.

The Heritage Park Historical Village is a living history museum with representations of the 1860's fur trade era, a pre-railway settlement of the 1880's and a 1900-1914 village with business and residences which have been relocated to the site.  They have lots of people in period costumes which enhance the experience.  We spent virtually all day in the 1900-1914 village and saw a wide range of homes and businesses.  Some of the most interesting places are shown below.

Street scene

Street scene

Carpenters shop

Do you know what it is?  (Answer at end of this blog!)

Chinese Laundry.
Notice the iron's on the top of the stove.  Also the flat surfaces
around the belly of the stove.  Irons were also placed on these to heat them.
Never saw anything like this before!

Grain Elevator.  The team and wagon were driven in from the far end.
The wagon wheels rested on the two parallel tracks.  The team was unhitched
and the wagon was weighed.  The entire floor (with wagon full of grain) was then tilted
up and the grain fell into the hopper under the floor.



The grain fell through this hole into a holding bin under the floor. 

The grain was then lifted up (elevated) by means of a conveyor belt fitted with
 these small scoops and deposited into the appropriate silo or holding bin.
I always wanted to know how a grain elevator worked!  Now I know!

Various types of grain.  Did you know that flax seed it the only grain you can drown in?
If you fall into a silo of flax seed you immediately sink right to the bottom.

Mock trial of a man accused of robbing the bank!



Printers shop.

Getting the newspaper out.  Although I had heard the word linotype I never
realized that it's a method of setting type where an entire line of type is created,
 molded in not metal, cooled, then set in place as shown above.  After the printing
is completed the metal "lines" are melted and reused.  Slick!
(Wish we had gotten a picture of the linotype machine!)

The printing press.

Just a reminder that we shouldn't be too dependent on modern technology.

Old time tractor parade!



A comfortable log home - living room.

dining area

kitchen

The implement in the carpenters shop is an early kitchen mixer.  You pull the bow back and forth making the little fork like piece turn in a bowl mixing the ingredients.  Never saw one of these before.

Alberta....

Rocky Mountain House to Drumheller, Alberta (sightseeing)

August 23- August 25, 2016

Next, based on a tip from our ex-neighbors, we headed to Drumheller, Alberta, site of the Royal Tyrrell Museum, a dinosaur museum to end all dinosaur museums.  What a place!  I'll let a small sampling of pictures do the talking.  (Thank you Barry and Lisa for telling us about this museum!)

The entrance.

 

This fact really surprised us.

The museum also houses a working laboratory.

Tools used in the field.

Tools used in the laboratory.

T. Rex
Those teeth more than make up for those pathetic front legs.

T. Rex might be the only dinosaur I can name but I'm sure you'll appreciate the variety and number of specimens in this museum after seeing the pictures below.

Another T. Rex.  Those teeth and tiny front legs are a dead give-a-way.

This enormous specimen inhabited the watery regions of the planet.

Yea!  Another one I can name!!!!
Stegosaurus



A rare sample of fossilized dinosaur skin.
No - it's not fossilized dinosaur poop although they have samples of that as well!!

The museum is enormous.  It would have to be in order to hold all these huge skeletons.

Early turtle

What a fabulous place.  If you ever get to Alberta - make sure you see it.

Alberta..

Edmonton, Alberta to Rocky Mountain House, Alberta (sightseeing)

August 20- August 22, 2016

We choose Rocky Mountain House because it is the location of Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site.  It's an important area in the long history of fur trading in Canada.  The Hudson's Bay company (based in London, England) and the Northwest Company (based in Montreal) competed for fur trade in this area, setting up trading posts right next to one another along the Saskatchewan River.  Ranging from 1799 - 1875, the posts were used, abandoned, re-established, destroyed and rebuilt several times.  All that is left today are some rock chimney's and some markers showing the approximate location of original buildings.

A Metis camp.  The Metis' are a mixture of native people and European people.
The European men who worked at the fur trading posts were not allowed to bring
European (i.e. white) wives to the post.  As a result, they married native people.
Their children were called Metis.

This young Metis man was one of the interpreters at the Historic Site.
He made bannock (a native bread consisting of flour, salt and baking powder) for
visitors to try.  He also showed us how native's started a fire using a stone and a piece of striking steel.

Furs were the heart of the economy.

 

A red river cart used to transport materials. It consists entirely of wood strapped
together with leather.  It can easily be deconstructed and reconstructed as needed.
The wheels can be removed, lashed on the top or bottom then the entire cart can
be floated down or across a river.  The individual pieces can be easily constructed
by hand should the need arise.

The Saskatchewan River from the site of the forts.

Birch bark canoes were used by the Northwest Company to
move their furs back east.

Detail of the joints holding the pieces of bark together.

York boats were used by the Hudson's Bay Company to
move their furs back east.

Interior of a York Boat.
In the end, the York Boat proved to be the more efficient means of transportation back east.

 
Just two last notes about Rocky Mountain House. 
1) They have a wonderful museum in town which we thoroughly enjoyed.
2) Their town motto is "Where the adventure begins." It's on signs all over town which advertise local businesses.  For the most part this works quite well but occasionally (as shown below) it results in a laugh.

If you can't make it out the business is:
Rocky Funeral Home