Visitors share impressions of Drumheller valley

Pat Kolafa | © DrumhellerMail.com — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:49:25 +0000

   As the last of the sunny summer days dwindle, The Weekender awards the prize for its annual find-the-dinosaur contest, and once again, the response was tremendous.
    This year the contest garnered well over 100 entries from points all across Canada and beyond. This year’s winner was Jack Rookes of Strathroy, Ontario, and he selected a gift certificate from Boston Pizza.
    This year, Saskatchewan and Ontario, as well as British Columbia, were well represented in the entries. A couple from Ottawa who took the time to fill out the entry were on their honeymoon in Drumheller.
    “So fantastic! It’s Dino-riffic,” they said in their comments.
    One visitor from Rainy River, Ontario said it was their fourth visit, and they loved it.
    The Royal Tyrrell Museum and the World’s Largest Dinosaur were high on the list of favourites, as one entry from Kent, UK stated, "Drumheller has many fascinating places and has great dinosaur models and a great Museum (Tyrrell).”
     Many comments cited the terrain as a highlight, while others enjoyed the shopping and service provided by local businesses. Many said the valley offered an array of activities, and at a reasonable price. As one visitor from Saskatchewan commented, “I toured Drumheller the first time this year, and I can’t put into words how exciting Drumheller was. Hope to do it again.”

Fishing in the Badlands

According to long time anglers, there is a big difference between ‘fishing’ and ‘catching’. Fishing refers to the attempt to have one of our Piscean friends grab on to your bait; catching is the act of having said fish available for photo opportunities or as the evening entree.

    The area near Drumheller offers at least four distinct possibilities for those of you looking for great ‘fishing’ opportunities within a one hour drive. Two of those spots are located within Starland County and are operated and maintained by contracted employees.
    The McLaren Dam Recreational area offers users potable water, communal kitchens and well defined campsites.
Located approximately 80 kilometres north and east of Drumheller near the intersection of Secondary Highways 589 and 851, the McLaren Dam’s location is marked by signage leading to its exact location at Township Road 33-4 and Range Road 18-2.
    Stocked with trout since the mid-1970s, McLaren Dam has a reputation for some sizeable trout being taken (up to 16 inches by some reports) and has gained a strong following of local anglers.
    The second opportunity to catch the elusive ‘Badlands Trout’ is offered at the Michichi Recreational site located within Michichi’s corporate limits. Although the water’s surface area is smaller than the McLaren site, Michichi has benefited from the fish stocking program of the provincial government for well over 25 years....

Savary fishing derby casting off next weekend

Kyle Smylie | © DrumhellerMail.com — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:26:14 +0000

The 16th annual Ryan Savary Memorial Fishing Derby will be casting off at Michichi Reservoir next weekend.
On Saturday, September 11, anglers will meet as early as 6:00 a.m. to see who can snag the biggest bite, in honour of avid angler Ryan Savary.

    “Ryan would have liked to see people out, he and Greg (St. Laurent, friend) went every moment they had,” says Ryan’s sister Katrine Stone.
    Last year’s derby was dealt uncooperative weather, but organizers hope things will change for next Saturday’s event.
    In 2009, angler Adam McCann took the top spot with his catch of 3 pounds, 12.6 ounces. He claimed the $300 cash prize. In fact, this catch vaults him into the history books of the Ryan Savary Derby with the most catches of any participant.
    Bill Lapham placed second with a 1 pound, 14.6 ounce catch edging out third place Ron Jacobson by just 0.4 ounces. Blaine Zacharuk won fourth place and a Shimano graphite rod.
    Cash prizes are reaching the $650 mark, with many other fishing related prizes to be won.
    All proceeds will be donated to the Drumheller Salvation Army, with the cash prizes sponsored by Savary Consulting Ltd.
    Entrants will be accepted until 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 11, but the derby runs from...

Tyrrell to receive fossils retrieved from Edmonton sewage tunnel

Albertosaurus and Edmontosaurus discovered in province’s capital

A sharp eyed City of Edmonton worker halted the construction of a sewage tunnel earlier this week when he spotted what he thought might be a dinosaur bone.
The city contacted Jack Brink, Curator of Archaeology at the Royal Alberta Museum, who brought Mike Burns, a Ph.D. student in palaeontology from the University of Alberta, to investigate the find.

    Burns determined that the bones, located in west Edmonton, are a very well-preserved tooth of a tyrannosaurid (likely Albertosaurus) and large limb bone elements possibly from the hadrosaur Edmontosaurus.
    Venturing 30-metres underground to the source, Burns and Brink discovered more dinosaur bones, including a vertebra and a femur.
    The Royal Tyrrell Museum confirmed that the find is significant.
    “We will work with the U of A palaeontologists to ensure there is someone on site as the material is uncovered, so the fossils are preserved without causing any project delays for the city.” says Andrew Neuman, Executive Director of the Royal Tyrrell Museum. “The City of Edmonton should be commended for doing the right thing – this is a great example of how we can all work together to preserve Alberta’s heritage”.
    The bones will be excavated over the next few days and then will be transported to...

Tyrrell could see boost of Chinese travellers

Recent actions by the Chinese government may have benefits to the valley in attracting more visitors in the future.
The Chinese Government has given Canada an Approved Destination Status. This allows for the first time for Chinese citizens to travel to Canada with tourist Visas. Previously any visitation to Canada had to be done through special visas for business or student visas, for example. This week the first group of tourist from China arrived in Canada.

    The change also allows Canada to advertise as a tourism destination in China, and Travel Alberta has started a marketing campaign of promoting Calgary, Banff, Edmonton and Jasper as tourism destinations.
    Andrew Neuman, director of the Royal Tyrrell Museum said the changes have the potential of increasing visitation to the valley from China, a country that the Tyrrell has forged a strong relationship.
    “Over the last decade we have seen a major increase of visitation from China,” said Neuman. “When I first started working here our major visitors from Asia was from Japan, and while we still get pretty good Japanese visitation, both China and Korea has equalled or surpassed Japanese visitation. It is certainly a very interesting market for us, I am aware that there are lots of you Chinese travelling in North America.”
    The gift shop carries products that are in a Chinese language....

DrumhellerMail.com Tourism

Visitors share impressions of Drumheller valley

Fishing in the Badlands

Savary fishing derby casting off next weekend

Tyrrell to receive fossils retrieved from Edmonton sewage tunnel

Tyrrell could see boost of Chinese travellers