Drumheller to Brooks

61 Comments
Last Chance Saloon, Wayne

All good things come to an end, and it was time to set off for the last stop of our trip: the small town of Brooks. However, we took in a few more sights around the Drumheller area before we left.

The Hoodoos

These weird, mushroom-like rocks have been naturally eroded over thousands of years. They are beautiful, but we felt the local tourist maps over-hyped them – it’s a very small site and, well, we’ve been to Bryce Canyon.

Hoodoos near Drumheller
Hoodoos near Drumheller
Hoodoos near Drumheller

Atlas Mine

This whole area was once a prosperous coal-mining community, and one mine, Atlas, has been preserved as a National Historic Site. I found this much more interesting than I expected and we spent a couple of hours wandering around and riding the coal train.

Atlas Coal Mine
Miner’s cabin
Miner’s cabin
Linda the coal train
John drives the trolley
Atlas Coal Mine
Atlas Coal Mine
Drumheller Brilliant Coal
Century Coals

Star Mine Suspension Bridge

I’m letting the picture above do the explanations for me! Here’s proof that we crossed the bridge:

Star Mine Suspension Bridge
Star Mine Suspension Bridge

Last Chance Saloon

For lunch, we headed up a side road to Wayne, home of the Last Chance Saloon. A short stretch of road (6km) had 11 bridges as it crossed and re-crossed the winding Rosebud River. You can see the saloon exterior at the top of the post and below is the interior, packed with quirky memorabilia. I can’t remember what we ate: I think it was basic pub food such as burgers and wraps, but we were too busy looking at our surroundings to take much notice.

Last Chance Saloon, Wayne
Last Chance Saloon, Wayne

Brooks

From Wayne, a gravel road took us onto Highway 56 and then to Brooks. There’s not much to it as a place, although we were thrilled to find an Indian restaurant near our hotel – curry is something we always miss when away from home, and we seek it out whenever we can. Our evening stroll also brought us to some attractive murals.

Mural in Brooks, AB
Mural in Brooks, AB
Mural in Brooks, AB
Mural in Brooks, AB

So why did we stay in Brooks? It was close to somewhere I was very keen to visit – Dinosaur Provincial Park, where many of the fossils we had seen in Drumheller were found. Coming up soon!

Alberta, Canada , ,

61 Comments »

  1. Pingback: April Squares: Canadian Badlands – The Glasgow Gallivanter

  2. I find it intriguing;g how people lived in such a small room but, when one thinks about it, we don’t need much. Those mushroom style rock formations are pretty cool actually.

    Like

  5. Wonderful photos, Anabel, and the weather was lovely. I can see why you were not impressed by those hoodoos. Bryce Canyon was quite something else! Hoping to post a blog about it this Saturday. The Last Chance Saloon seemed popular with the bikers. It looks intriguing!

    Like

    • There is that! We went to this one both nights we were so keen. Greeted the server with big smiles the second time and she appeared never to have seen us before, despite the restaurant being quiet on both occasions. So warm, friendly service wasn’t a strong point but the food was good.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. This is the 2nd time this morning I’ve read a reference to the Hoodoos. Judging by the photo with the parking lot in the background, they are huge. I’m assuming they are all fenced off and you can’t walk around them?

    Like

    • Some of them are huge and the central area is fenced off but there is an open, less spectacular, area that people were walking on (and kids were loving). Although impressive individually it’s quite a small area overall though, we didn’t spend long there.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. There are quite a few mine sites in California. You might have already been to them, but up Highway 49 to Nevada City and Grass Valley, CA are a couple of fun ones to visit. As usual, your travels are wonderous!

    Like

  11. Okay, I have to admit to just a teensy bit of envy that you’ve been to the Drumheller area and I haven’t yet. Your words and photos have me moving it up the bucket list.

    I’ve heard of the murals at Brooks. I love it when communities use art to enhance their surroundings.

    Like

  12. I hope you enjoy Dinosaur Park as my brother and I did when he flew out to help me drive cross-country in my move from the West Coast to the East Coast. We found it fascinating.

    Like

  13. Hi Anabel – I’d love to see the mine and the bridges … what a great area to visit – and obviously not too many visitors around – always an advantage to me !! Fun … cheers Hilary

    Like

  15. Can’t beat a good mural in a town or village. Always interesting wandering round old mines and post industrial landscapes.

    Like

  17. Always wanted to have a drink in a Last Chance Saloon, to slide the bottle of whisky up the table and lean across the bar. Just dreaming really, I’m too short normally to climb up on a bar stool (and if I get up I can’t get down again), and I don’t like whisky, like the white spirits only. Still, the romance lives on. Glad you got there and that you had such a lovely time on this holiday.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. I agree. You need to return to Brooks to visit the aqueduct (and then swing by Vancouver Island before returning home). 🙂

    Like

    • Some day, some day! I agree, we should have spent longer in this area but there was so much to pack in, and guidebooks don’t tend to give it much space, so we didn’t know how interesting it was going to be.

      Like

    • We certainly expected more and didn’t spend a lot of time there. However, there were quite a few families with small children who seemed really impressed, so for a first experience it was probably great.

      Like