Day 4 – “And so the trip begins” Calgary, AB – Wayne, AB
Gas Bought: 5.95L @ $1.219 = $7.25
Km’s traveled: 179.3km
Overall average: 25.4km/hr
moving average: 43.9km/hr
Max speed: 62.5km/hr
Total time: 7hr 4min
Moving time: 4hr 5min
Stopped: 3hr
I left Calgary around noon headed towards Drumheller. I took Center st north (turns into range road 13) all the way up to highway 567 into the north-end of Airdrie. From here I turned left onto the 791 until I got up to highway 575 and continued until I came to a exit for a little village called Carbon. Deciding to take a break and grab a bite to eat, I headed into this little town of around 600 people.
Carbon, Alberta (coordinates: 51°29’19.7”N 113°09’14.0”W) located in Kneehill County, 41km’s west of Drumheller and 120km’s northeast of Calgary. Built at the beginning of the 20th century in the Kneehill Creek Valley, Carbon is a picturesque village with paved, quiet streets lined with trees and old shops.
After lunch and back out to highway 575, I continued on till I reached Drumheller.
Drumheller, Alberta (coordinates: 51°27’49”N 112°43’10”W) formerly a city is now a town within the Red Deer River valley in the badlands of east-central Alberta. It is located 110km northeast of Calgary. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley is often referred to as ‘The Dinosaur Valley’ with an approximate width of 2km and approximate length of 28km. The town is named after Colonel Samuel Drumheller, who bought land in 1910 and started coal mining operations here in 1911. Drumheller became a railway station in 1912, a village in 1913, a town in 1916 and a city in 1930 until 1998. Drumheller has been the filming location for more then 50 commercials, television and cinematic productions including Running Brave, MythQuest, Unforgiven, ABC’s miniseries Dreamkeeper and TNT’s miniseries Into the West.
By this time, if was starting to get late into the afternoon and I knew I wouldn’t be able to see the Hoodoos or Dinosaur museum today, That would have to be tomorrow. While looking for a cheap campground and exploring the area a bit, I came across ‘The Star Mine Suspension Bridge’. Which is a 117 meter long pedestrian suspension bridge across the Red Deer River in Drumheller, Alberta. Built in 1931, it was built for the coal workers of the Star Mine. In 1958, a year after the mine closed. The Alberta provincial government rebuilt and currently maintains the bridge to “commemorate part of the colorful mining history of the Drumheller Valley.”
The Star Mine Suspension Bridge History
1912: Coalminers working the Star mine crossed the Red Deer river in rowboats.
1919: An aerial cable car system was built. Which transported both men & coal from the mine to tipple on the south side.
The C.N.R. Carried the coal from the valley.
1930: The C.P.R. Built a bridge (1.6km up river) and a tipple was built at the mine site.
1931: The original swinging bridge was constructed, and. Although winds and floods made crossing hazardous at times. It was used by the mines until 1957.
1958: In order to commemorate part of the colorful mining history of the Drumheller valley. The Alberta government rebuilt and continues to maintain the suspension bridge for public use.
From Drumheller I took the 10x highway 14km’s to Wayne, Alberta. Once a thriving coal-mining town of more then 3000. But now, Wayne’s population has dwindled to about 27 diehard souls. Still to be found tho, is the famous last chance saloon & Rosedeer hotel which was opened in 1913. And the place I would spend the next two nights and learn a new game with new friends. Tonight I camped outback of the Rosedeer hotel for a whopping $15. Took it easy the rest of the night, had a few drinks in the saloon, cooked rice for supper.