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Rocky Mountain Ramblers Association

Trip Report
Trip Date:
18-Jun-2018
Activity:
Road bike
Trip name:
Drumheller Bike and Camp
Coordinator:
Chip
Report:

Participants: Christine,Manfred,Chip,Damian

I guess this wasn't the typical Ramblers trip, by activity or location. Be that as it may, Damian, Manfred, Chris and I had 4 fantastic days cycling in the Drumheller area. Here's a quick summary, while I still have the energy to type.

Day 1 - We arrived at Pinters Campground in Rosedale, just 5 min east of Drumheller. They get "two thumbs up"! It's a great campground, with shaded tenting sites by the river, clean bathrooms (no showers) and, at least during the week in June, no one around. After setting up camp, we biked to the 11 Bridges Road to Wayne, made a stop at the Last Chance Saloon and returned. Feeling that we needed a bit more than the 12 km of exercise, we then biked into Drum and found a very pleasant bike path that followed the river's north side, all the way to the Tyrrell Museum. By the time the day was done, we had put in about 56 km, a bit more than the "warm-up", I'd expected.

Day 2 - Starting at 9, after a good night's sleep we went to Dorothy and a bit beyond, stopping along the way at East Coulee to see the School Museum, on to the Atlas Coal Mine and then lunch at the Community Centre in Dorothy, with quick looks at a few historic buildings in this pleasant little roadside attraction. We then biked up the hill east, Chris and Chip turning around soon after, while Manfred and Damian continued on. At day's end, the "lazy" group got in about 75 km while those on a mission, managed to get a "century day".

Day 3 - Starting at 8:30, we biked along the north side of the Red Deer River to the Bleriot Ferry, crossed and then climbed the BIG HILL before a northward detour to Orkney, which doesn't even deserve to be called a Ghost Town. We did, however find shade at the Community Centre for lunch and completed the loop on the south side of the river, getting great views of the valley on our return. The winds, however, were blowing at least 40 km/h in our faces, so the trip back was a bit of a struggle. In addition, Chip got a pretty bad back-leg sunburn, despite the sunblock. Again, the distance was about 85 km, but Damian continued after to get another "century" under his belt.

Day 4 - Packed up and in Drumheller at 8:30, we drove to Rosebud. From there, we biked south and then west before going to Rockyford, where we grabbed a snack and sat in the shade. It was hot! Nearly 30 C! No wind for at least an hour. But we powered on and got back to our cars about 1:30. Distance travelled was about 75 km.

By my calculations, we managed around 300 km in just over 3 clock days (but 4 riding days). We had no rain, beautiful sleeping, pleasant and sometimes dramatic scenery and, at the end of the day, sitting around camp, we couldn't imagine a better place to be.

Oh! The birds were singing, too. Although it wasn't a birding trip, we got about 50 species, including wonderful looks at Baltimore orioles, Grey catbirds, Brown thasher, Rock wren, Say's phoebe, both resident kingbirds and others.

Pictures will be posted soon. If anyone wants gps tracks, Christine or I have them.




Drum Bike and Camp - Unusual species found




Drum Bike and Camp - East Coulee School Museum




Drum Bike and Camp - Atlas Coal Mine




Drum Bike and Camp - Chris G's Last Chance




Drum Bike and Camp - Cactus in Flower




Drum Bike and Camp - Yes, there are hills!




Drum Bike and Camp - Hoodoos




Drum Bike and Camp - Chip, Manfred and Chris at Dorothy




Drum Bike and Camp - Chip proves the sun is STRONG!




Drum Bike and Camp - Damian, Manfred and Chris G. at the Bleriot Ferry




Drum Bike and Camp - Chris at Rosedale Suspension Bridge




Drum Bike and Camp - Chris G, Damian and Manfred at Orkney Overlook




Drum Bike and Camp - The pavement ends near Wayne




Drum Bike and Camp - Dorothy adornment




Drum Bike and Camp - You can climb into this bad boy's mouth!




Drum Bike and Camp - B&B? Really?




Drum Bike and Camp - Pinters Campground view




Drum Bike and Camp - Richardson's ground squirrel