Now, before you read the rest of this post, I want you to picture Canadian Scenery. What first comes to your mind? Mountains, trees, lakes, rivers, large wildlife? Well, keep that in your mind as we start to leave Canmore.
There is a hour between Canmore and Calgary and the scenery already changes quite quickly. The mountains are just jagged outlines in the distance, and the sweet boutique shops have been super sized and are pumped full of sales. We did go to a shop called 'Bass Pro Shop'. This shop is indescribable. It has any type of camping, hiking, hunting (not that I like hunting one bit), fishing, etc that you could ever want. It has recreated nature scenes all around, that are so realistic that you get a fright when you turn to be face to face with a wolf. Definitely a place to visit and being a chain store I'm sure you can find them across all of Canada.
The city Calgary doesn't have much in it, apart from the Winter Olympic grounds. The Winter Olympics of 1988 held two big stories: The Jamaican Bobsled Team and Eddie the Eagle from the UK. Outside the info centre is the Bobsled that was used in the Movie 'Cool Runnings', and you can jump in and pretend to the be team, just like we did!
From Calgary, we had a two hour drive across the Prairies. Say goodbye to mountains, say goodbye to civilisation, say goodbye to anything except flatland and an abundance of sky. We drove straight out of beautiful landscape to a whole bunch of nothing. At certain points there were oil rigs nodding in victory with each dip. At nearly two hours of driving, we reached the lovely town of Bassano. It holds a Dam and a petrol station, the petrol station has a great selection of ice creams and a whole aisle of jerky. Obviously we had to take a photo by the puny sign and then get out of there as soon as possible.
Now, the GPS told us that we only had six minutes left till we reached our destination. With the surroundings being so flat, we thought that we would be able to see the campground, yet nothing was in sight. Then, when the GPS hit two minutes till destination we drove down a sudden decline into what looked like Mars/My perception of what Mars looks like, I haven't been there yet! The Park is called Dinosaur Provincial Park, and the area is called the Badlands. There are camping spots for Campers and Tents, or you could also enjoy what they call 'Comfort Camping'.
Layers upon layers of different coloured sediment that tell the story of this Park's history. The home of many Dinosaur excavations, and to many hidden bones that are yet to be found. When we checked in, we were given a pamphlet about the surrounding areas and the wildlife. I hadn't thought much about the wildlife in this area of Canada, I was just glad that I wouldn't be pounced by a bear on my walk to the loo. In the Badlands, I had to be weary of: Black Widow Spiders (bites are deadly), Rattle Snakes (bites are also deadly), Scorpions (again, deadly bites) and wolves who howl throughout the night and you cannot tell where they are coming from because the howls echo in the canyon...
As the sun was setting, we went for a walk up to the top of the canyon. The sky was a rose colour, and the air was hazy with all the dust. Our surroundings were different layers in a coffee and cream cake. There had been no rain in quite some time, so the footprints from coyotes and wolves have stayed as a memento in the dust, stuck there from the last time the canyon was muddy. I stepped gingerly around every dark crevice, pleading that the rattling I was hearing was made up in my mind. A precious deer family was bounding through the dry plants down by the campsite. It felt so serene and peaceful at that point, taking in this brand new view. I was not as calm when it went dark and we were toasting marshmallows. It was very exciting that this area of Alberta did not have a fire ban, but seeing as our fire was the only thing emitting light, I was convinced that if I put my foot down, there would be a deadly bite waiting for me. I stayed curled up in my camp chair.
Lars walked me to the bathroom block that night, he was holding the torch and I was desperately trying to see where I was going. With perfect timing, he said to just stop and look up. Just as he turned off the torch, a stream of light went shooting across the sky. The Meteoroid went across our whole view of the darkness. If a shooting star means one wish, did this mean we had ten each?
When we turned the torch back on, the family of deer were looking at us very curiously. They were only a metre away before they scattered.
The next morning, we woke up early to watch the sunrise over the park. No photo could do justice of the hot pink orb that came floating up from behind the horizon. Making the clouds change from orange to fuchia. There are not many better ways to start your day, especially because we had a tea to drink!
After breakfast, we went on the fossils walk. Here we could see some fossils and excavations that have been preserved and kept in great condition for people to see. The walk also leads you on a trail through all the hoodoos that are standing around. There are photos showing what erosion has done over the last hundred years. It was easy to imagine what it would have been like to be the first people who discovered dinosaur bones. The man who first found them in this park was walking through the area, not knowing anything about dinosaurs or their remains, and turned a corner to come face to face with an Albertosaurus face - just sticking out of one of the rocks. Imagine how terrified you would be, you would be wondering what type of animals are living in this area and how fast could you get away.
We learnt more about the area from the little info centre/museum that they have at the park. Only $6 and well worth it! With the all the new knowledge in our heads, we were ready to tackle our next dinosaur adventure that is two hours away - Drumheller!
Labels: Canada 2017
