At four, my son, like many kids his age, was obsessed with dinosaurs. The long Latin and Greek names of these prehistoric creatures rolled off his tongue so easily that I was convinced he was a paleontologist in another life. (It’s a Pachycephalosaurus, Mom!) Five years later, the plastic dinosaurs have long been packed away, and Star Wars and space have crowded out thoughts of T-Rexes. But a trip to Dinosaur Valley in the Canadian Badlands rekindles his forgotten passion.
Drive an hour and half northeast of Calgary (138km) and the landscape changes. The flat farmland transforms into a desert-like environment with canyons, strangely shaped rock pillars and sandstone hillsides in a region known as the Canadian Badlands.
The same geological features that created this remarkable scenery also reveal the secrets of 75 million years of history. Hard to believe today, but the region once supported lush coastal forest and swamps—ideal dinosaur habitat.
Our first stop on our dinosaur adventure is Drumheller, a former coal-mining town that has embraced its dinosaur claim to fame whole-heartedly. Replicas of these prehistoric creatures, dubbed ‘cement-asauruses’ by the locals, are on every street corner, and the kids point at every one of them.
The town’s ‘piece de resistance’ is the world’s largest T-Rex. At 26 metres, it is four times the size of the real thing and impossible to miss as it towers above Drumheller, guarding it with its fierce teeth. Visitors can climb up the stairs into the giant lizard’s jaws to get a dinosaur-eyed view of this Badland town. For the kids, the massive mascot is the coolest play structure ever, and they have a blast not only climbing into its mouth, but also sliding down its toe.
The Royal Tyrrell Museum just outside Drumheller is Canada’s largest one dedicated entirely to paleontology and is our next stop. Named after geologist Joseph Burr Tyrrell, who in 1884, stumbled upon the skull of a 70-million-year-old dinosaur, the museum is the perfect place to learn more about the real dinosaurs rather than the man-made versions in town.
The most impressive displays are the skeletons of the large, fierce carnivores, including the Albertosaurus, which though smaller than the T-Rex, was every bit as vicious, hunting down the duck-billed dinosaurs on which they gorged. The ten galleries display over 130,000 specimens and exhibits, giving visitors a captivating window of earth’s history before our time.
For the kids though, the best part of the museum visit is outside. The Dinosite Tour has us prospecting for actual prehistoric fossil specimens. Jacklyn Eaton, our guide, explains that bones, unlike rocks, “have a bubble-like texture that looks like an Aero chocolate bar.” Armed with that knowledge and a laminated fossil guide, we set out into the hills. The adults are just as excited as the kids as we hand Jacklyn our finds to interpret. Though we have a few false alarms with ironstone rock and petrified wood, we end up with quite an impressive collection – a toe bone, a vertebra, turtle shell and a bone fragment, which Jacklyn declares could have “come from an Albertosaurus.”
Our final dinosaur stop turns out to be the best. Dinosaur Provincial Park is 100 km away from other attractions near Drumheller, but it’s well worth the extra drive. In this UNESCO World Heritage Site, forty dinosaur species have been discovered and more than 500 skeletons have been removed and exhibited in museums around the world.
We take the Dinosaur Safari tour, which like the Dinosite at the Tyrell, has us prospecting for fossils. Unlike the Dinosite, however, we don’t have to search very hard. “You literally can’t step without stepping on a bone,” our guide Erika says. We pass a huge bone that looks as if it should be displayed in a museum instead of casually sticking out of the arid ground.
After learning what to look for, we begin to search the ground on our bright yellow kneeling pads. Kids start coming up to Erika almost immediately. She’s very patient. “Yes, it’s a dinosaur bone,” she says countless times. “Keep your eye out for micro fossils. Look here’s some crocodile scute – bony plates under the skin.” The highlight is finding an actual dinosaur tooth.
After the safari has finished, we explore other areas of the park and find ourselves staring at one of the most spectacular sights of our trip so far. Just off the entrance of the park, from the edge of the canyon, we looked down at the Badlands and take in their rugged and dramatic glory.
“Look, there’s an Albertosaurus!” my son jokes. Prehistoric history has come alive again.
For more information:
Alberta– www.travelalberta.com
The Canadian Badlands – www.canadianbadlands.com
Drumheller – www.traveldrumheller.com
The Royal Tyrrell Museum – 1500 North Dinosaur Trail, Midland Provincial Park www.tyrrellmuseum.com
Dinosaur Provincial Park –Newell County No. 4 near Patricia www.tpr.alberta.ca/parks/dinosaur/
Accommodation:
Make your stay in the Badlands a memorable one with a stay at one or both of these superb Bed and Breakfast establishments.
McDougall Lane B&B – 71 McDougall Lane, Drumheller 1-866-855-LANE – www.mcdougalllane.com