Ghost Towns and Badlands - July 19 - 21, 2019 - Canadian Camera Conference 2019

Ghost Towns and Badlands
                         July 19 - 21, 2019
                                 (Rain or shine)

                  Field Trip Leaders:              Allan Brooker

                                              Cost: $825

Number of Participants: 8
Included:
Transportation between SAIT and the Drumheller area.
Accomodation for two nights (double occupancy).
Admission to the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
Dinosaur Provincial Park tour.

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Canadian Camera Conference 2019

Old fossil and new
                                       life in Dinosaur
                                       ­P rovincial Park

The Badlands
               Heading west from Calgary to the
               ­beautiful Rockies is a ­photographic
                bucket list destination. But just to
                the east of Calgary is a landscape so
                ­diverse and unique that it can’t be found
                 ­anywhere else in Canada.
               Over 75 million years in the making,
               Alberta evolved from lush, subtropical
               forests and rivers teeming with plants
               and small mammals and where ­dinosaurs
               ruled the earth. The changing earth
               and sedimentary deposits created the
               ­otherworldly landscape that dominates
                the Drumheller region and resulted in
                vast oil and coal resources which helped

Landscapes and details

Otherworldly landscape of the Alberta Badlands.

    fuel Alberta’s prosperity. The Badlands
    seem to come from nowhere. Gently
    ­rolling, fertile grasslands abruptly give
     way to deep craggy crevices and g­ eological
     formations which give a snapshot into
     the earth’s history. Layers of sediment
     from a variety of sources over millions
     of years are clearly seen in the landscape.
     This perfect storm of organic matter and
     ­geological change helped create beds of
      coal that sparked an industry with small
      towns springing up almost overnight.

Rowley.

The train station at Rowley.

Ghost Towns
Your trip departs SAIT at 5:30 a.m. as you make
your way towards Drumheller and the town of
Rowley. At the height of the coal boom, there
were over 139 mines operating in the region.
Many small prairie towns like Rowley prospered
especially with the railroad passing through town
bringing homesteaders and a healthy ­economy.
However, as the mines closed down and ­railroad
service decreased, many of the towns were
­abandoned. Rowley managed to avoid ghost town
 status as it rebranded itself as a heritage town. The
 sentinels of the prairie, the grain elevators, are still

Dinosaur detail.

standing as is the train station. The old saloon is opened
up once a month to host a huge pizza party that is
known for miles around. And yes, there are ­abandoned
buildings which make for fantastic photographic
­opportunities.
A short drive will take you to Dry Island Buffalo Jump
to enjoy the changing prairie landscape to the start of
the Badlands and to have a picnic lunch. You’ll head
for your hotel in Drumheller to get checked in and
­freshen up before going to the world-famous Royal
 Tyrrell ­Museum to explore this stunning one-of-a-kind
 ­museum.
Never in his wildest dreams would Joseph ­Tyrrell
imagine his name would become synonymous with
­paleontology after his search for coal in 1884 ­resulted

Gorgosaurus libratus.

The Real Dinosaur Hunter
           in the first dinosaur fossil to be found in the
           ­region. The Royal Tyrrell Museum opened in
            1985 and has become the preeminent ­destination
            for ­dinosaur-loving kids, geology buffs and
            ­research scientists. The museum chronicles the
             ­history of the dinosaurs as well as the natural
              landscape and how it has evolved. It is a working
              ­laboratory and research centre as fossils are found
               every year which need to be carefully ­excavated
               and ­catalogued. But what really draws the
               crowds are the dinosaurs including an ­assembled
               ­Tyrannosaurus Rex ­looming over you in the

Even the deer love the view.

e­ xhibit hall. A unique exhibit that shouldn’t
 be missed is the Cretaceous ­Garden filled
 with lush plants much like those which
 blanketed the earth during the era of the
 Dinosaur.
You’ll return to your hotel where you can
get some dinner (not provided) and join up
with your group for some evening shooting
or to just relax and get ready for the next
day.
You’re off to an early start again, leaving the
hotel after breakfast at 6 a.m. to head south
towards the UNESCO World Heritage Site

Dinosaur Provincial Park.

of Dinosaur Provincial Park. This ­leisurely drive
allows for a few impromptu photo stops if desired
before reaching the park for a guided tour. There is
a restaurant at the park where you can have lunch
before heading back out to explore. You’ll leave
the park around 4 pm for a leisurely drive back to
the hotel for dinner and the chance to go through
the breathtaking images you took at Dinosaur
­Provincial Park.
Dinosaur Provincial Park is bit of a secret to
many tourists. Many bypass it in order to stay
in the Drumheller region or choose to head to
the mountains believing that only prairies and
farms lie to the east. They couldn’t be more wrong.

Bluebirds and fossils in the Badlands.

­ inosaur Provincial Park appears as if the earth
D
decided to crack open just enough for us to take a
look inside. One moment, you are driving next to
farm fields and then, suddenly, you descend into a
landscape dominated by deep crevices mixed with
multi-hued hills and desert-like vegetation. This is
the land of stark beauty that time forgot; the land
of the dinosaurs.
The park offers one of the best records of the
­Cretaceous period in the world. Over 50 dinosaur
 species have been found here, many intact, and are
 currently exhibited in museums across the globe.
 Despite its barren appearance, Dinosaur ­Provincial
 Park is home to many plant species including
 cacti as well as over 160 species of birds. The

Church at Dorothy.

­ ndulating rock forms and layers are the perfect
u
subjects for extra wide angle images. Photographic
­opportunities are limitless.
An early start again this morning as you head
towards the ghost town of Dorothy after ­breakfast
and checking out of the hotel. This leisurely drive
allows you to enjoy the Drumheller region and
to reflect on how the area was once filled with
­families and workers in the coal mining industry.
Dorothy, Alberta never had many more than 100
residents. It was a vibrant little town having, at
one time, a post office, three grain ­elevators, two
churches, a meat shop and a school. As with many
small towns, Dorothy benefitted from ­having
the railroad nearby and enjoyed ­prosperity into

The grain elevator at Dorothy.

the 1950s. Photographically, it was best
known for its sole remaining ­elevator and
the two churches. For many years, the
churches ­languished and were in ­danger
of being home more to pigeons than
­parishioners. However, both churches have
 been ­restored beautifully and are a joy to
 photograph both inside and on the outside
 with the ­distinctive Badlands landscape as a
 ­backdrop.
A leisurely drive back through Big ­Valley
and the Red Deer Valley allows for a few
last shots if the opportunities present
­themselves before arriving back at SAIT
 around 3:30 p.m.