Up early packed and car partly loaded. Waited on for breakfast for the last time (omelette today) meet a lovely retired Scottish couple from Calgary who's daughter lives in Sydney and they toured the east coast of Australia with for four months. He loves Australia and wouldn't stop talking even when he had a mouthful of omelette I had to be a meanie and give him the wind up or we would still be sitting at the table for ever and a day. At long last we finished packing the car and then another American lady booking out held us up but when she saw me standing right near her she let me finalise our account. These people that don't have enough Canadian dollars or want to use certain cards are a pain.

Finally we are on the road after our goodbyes to Owners and other people at Lady MacDonald Country Inn went to different petrol station filled up $122.9 and hit Hwy 1 for Drumheller. Glad we weren't coming from Calgary to Banff as the traffic was held up for miles due to repair work on the highway. What a sight. The view to Calgary was pretty much the same all the way through virtually flat plains of wheat, maze, lupin, corn, cattle grazing or horses. Each farm has their own grain silos and each town the main grain silos.

Hwy 1 is nearly a straight double lane road each way so you wouldn't have a head on collision like in WA with only one way highways. No trees on the side of the road to collide into and kill one self. The highway is always being resurfaced in section we see this all the way to Brooks and it is mainly at the entry to the main towns which slows everyone down. The speed is 110kms which is great just put on cruise control and steer no need to put your foot on the accelerator.

When you enter Drumheller you enter the start of the Badlands. The valley is a unique scenic valley created by millions of years of erosion by wind and water. Drumheller boomed as a coal mining town between 1911 and 1965 with a staggering 60 million tons of coal shipped from 139 registered mines in the valley. The Leduc oil strike od 1947 was the beginning of the end of the coal boom. Canadians soon chose cleaner natural gas to heat their homes and the last of the mines closed in 1984.

Our stomachs were thinking our throats were cut and we had lunch near the Ramada Hotel and while no one was there I borrowed a map of Drumheller to see where the Dinosaurs were. Keyed in the directions for Jill and we were off to the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology got in for seniors price $16.00 all day for two. About 65 millions years ago dinosaurs roamed the hot tropical swamps and forest that covered this area. Today the fossilized remains of the dinosaurs can be seem in museums all over the world and the lush vegetation exists as coal seams throughout the area. The museum was really fascinating walking through the different ages of the dinosaur period on earth. As it was very hot we decided not to fully walk the Dinosaur Trail we had fun getting out of the car park to the Information Centre over the bridge near the river to get some brochures on the area. There are more dinosaurs very way you turn including shops. The town relies on agriculture, government services, oil and gas and of course tourism for its economic prosperity.

Time is marching on and we want to get to Brooks before 4pm. Jill directed us to Hwy 56 a small quiet road which took us back to Hwy 1.   The scenery was virtually the same as Hwy 1. Arrived at the Plains Motel in Brooks at about 4 - 4.30pm this motel reminds me of the movies or CSI on TV where they go in and find the dead bodies or have shot outs. At least it had a kitchen but the water tasted horrible but at least the bed was comfortable. Drove across the road to Walmart bought a new tee shirt for Richard, cups for our coffee stops and extra plastic sleeves for our expenses then went to IGA Richard is craving for a pizza plus water for our coffee. Something we eat once in a blue moon and regret later because it doesn't agree with our tummies.

Heated the oven cooked the pizza, early shower went online and booked the Executive Royal Hotel in Regina our next stop some 550kms away. Richard has finally given in and let me share the driving. Long live the King.