Dinasour Provincial Park is an amazing place that really seems like an entirely different world. We headed out bright and early and I have to say that the closer we got the more confused I got. I couldn't really see a lot of change in topography but then the world seemed to dissappear as suddenly there were large canyons and odd geological formations. The weather (as I've whined about before) on this trip wasn't the greatest leading up to the day of our trip which meant that we were unable to take the orginal tour that we'd booked; however, out guide was able to take us off the beaten path.
Our guide let us I know that each year there are new large finds in the park as winter rains and snows reveal more and more specimens. We were
fortunate enough to actually find a large bone still encased in the side of a hill. It was in an area where we were finding a lot of other bone fragments. For those of you who are wondering... NO I did not pocket a piece of bone
for display in my house. This area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site! It almost killed me not to
but I did take pictures instead!
The weather improved as the day moved on and it got quite warm as we walked through the park. The bonus of all the rain was that there were a lot of cacti in bloom - a beautiful yellow or peach colour were the most common. Overall - an amazing hike. I would recommend that anyone who visits the park take a guided hike as you do get to wander off the public trails. Our guide was quite knowledgeable and did a great job of involving people in the learning. I have learnt that I'm not all that into guided hiking (I like to take pics and move at my own pace...I also tend to become annoyed by stupid question...and yes there is such a thing!).
For those of you who are on adventures that involve camping the park does have lovely campground and even has a well stocked canteen and a small cafe. The Red Deer River also flows through the park and it looks like there are a number of put-ins and pull-outs so this could be a great way to view the park.
Just a quick word of caution... this park is NOT located near the Royal Terryl Museum in Drumheller. There are at least an hours drive apart - something that seemed a little odd when we were first heading to the park. I glad that Tija and Christine had figure this out in a past visit to Drumheller as that is where I would have headed on this trip! Oh well - apparently that too is a must do trip but it will have to wait until another road trip!
