Atlas Coal Mine: Goin' Up Up Up

I wouldn't say the Badlands are beautiful but they are unique, interesting and striking. A stark contrast to the prairies. The Badlands cover a large portion of the SE corner of Alberta and are full of dramatic landscapes, coulees and amazing rock formations. A trip through this area is always captivating.

Hoodoos

It was a scorching hot July day (this area is known for high summer temperatures) when we decided to head out to visit to the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller. It's about a 2 hours drive SE of where we live. I have been here many times in my life (my childhood dream to be palaeontologist did not pan out) and my son has a couple trips under his belt already. Once we toured the museum and fought our way through the gift shop (conveniently located between the end of the museum and the exit), we wondered what else we could do. So, to see something different, we headed SE of Drumheller to the East Coulee area and the Atlas Coal Mine (if you keep going down the highway you'll get to Dorothy, see last my last post).

This region was home to 27 different coal operations by 1921. This one is the Atlas No. 3 Coal Mine. What's left today is a mostly complete operation that contains the last wooden coal tipple in Canada. It is an Alberta Provincial Historic Resource as well as a National Historic Site of Canada. There are several different tour options, we chose the Tunnel Tour which took us on a long climb through the inclined conveyor tunnel, through the hillside (it was delightfully chilly in there) and back outside
to the mine entrance. Our guide was a salty old miner who was great! He had excellent stories and made the tour even more riveting. Hearing tales from a real coal miner definitely adds to the experience. If we'd had the time I would have like to explore more and take the other tours. I will have to plan better next time, because you know what they say....if you fail to plan, plan to fail. Ah well, it's worked so far.

It's hot out

Minor miner

The tipple and conveyor tunnel that we climbed up

View from the blacksmith shop after climbing the conveyor.  See the tipple bottom left. 

Dis-carted 

To take a page from my friend BWBandy, here is a fitting Friday Night Music Post:

Happy Friday everyone.

Dorothy: A Good Day in the Badlands

Seems like everyone and their dog (Toto?) has been to the hamlet (almost ghost town) of Dorothy, AB. It's secluded location, tucked into a valley in the Badlands, is breathtaking. It's lone grain elevator, old churches and assortment of abandoned buildings make for an interesting destination. I made this particular trip with an old friend and we got to Dorothy via some weird route that took us off paved roads and brought us down a winding gravel road into the valley where Dorothy sits,  it gave a us a fantastic viewpoint, so it all worked out OK.

Dorothy United Church 

Dorothy never got much bigger than 100 people and has less than a dozen today. We didn't see another soul while there. Like many towns it grew with the railroad and became a social hub for the surrounding area. It had 3 elevators at one point , 2 churches, a general store, butcher, post office, community centre, and school..the usual! I have to admit when I was there I was totally captivated with the grain elevator. I missed the general store and the little old house across the highway and the community centre. I saw them but didn't take photos.  D'oh.

Dorothy Catholic Church (formerly a school)

Dorothy has 2 churches, a United and a Catholic Church.  They sit almost next to each other. If the design of the Catholic Church looks familiar, you are right, it used to be a schoolhouse. Both churches have been restored recently. Of the 3 grain elevators that used to be here, only the Alberta Pacific Grain elevator remains. The other 2 where Alberta Wheat Pool and the United Grain Growers. I am hoping the grain elevator is next to be restored, it has lost it's roof within the last few years and has a bit of a lean. I have heard rumors that this is the plan but funding this huge project is an issue.

United View

Catholic View

So this is an amusing sight...someone with a sense of humor changes the mannequins, as I have seen photos of it with a girl before or just empty. Also note the Fisher Price kids phone. LOL!

If you are ever in this part of Alberta there is lots to see, not far is Drumheller and the famous Royal Tyrell Museum of Palaeontology. http://tyrrellmuseum.com/.

Also close is the historic Atlas Coal Mine, which has the last wooden tipple in Canada.  My son and I took the tour and loved it.  You get to climb the tipple! That will be a post soon!  Check it out here: http://www.atlascoalmine.ab.ca/

Silent Sentinel

A mean easterly lean

Last Chance

Another neat place to check is the hamlet of Wayne, AB.  It's a winding road that takes you over 11 different bridges.  Finally, have a drink at the Last Chance Saloon, and I will see you on the back roads.