Drumheller

Quick update from my trip to Drumheller. The dinosaur museum was awesome. It must be THE most impressive collection on this planet. As it turns out, Alberta is one big dinosaur graveyard. If you study paleontology, get your ass over here and start digging! Chances are you won't even have to dig, the stuff is everywhere! Much of the material in museums around the world (London, New York, ...) comes from here. This must be the first time ever that I've taken more than a few pictures in a museum.

Pictures 1 and 2 are T-Rex-alike species, 3 and 4 is Mister T-Rex himself:

We also drove around in the area, which is mostly badlands, but with great views from the top of the hills (see pictures). The rough skies were a great match for the landscape. We also saw pump jacks (which pump for oil). Click on the third picture to see gas being "flared off" (burning). 


From the road we could smell (deadly) sour gas (H2S) from the oil wells. While this is not unusual, the concentration was high enough for both of us to get 'car sick' (nausea, slight headache). The cause was definitely not the car. First thing I did when I got home? Reach for my course book and check the H2S symptoms table. Apparently our symptoms indicated a borderline (un)safe H2S concentration. One step higher in concentration causes "loss of breathing, death within hours" - seems like we missed that! Hello Albertians?! Poison gas is blowing around your public roads!