Shoulder Season @ Dino Provincial Park

There’s a most extraordinary place, a hidden gem really, set below the boundless Alberta plains in a scenic valley, near the town of Brooks. We’re speaking of Dinosaur Provincial Park (A Unesco* World Heritage Site – it’s that amazing), down by the mighty Red Deer River. It’s here in the “Badlands” where you can camp, get out and explore, spend time with dinosaurs, or just go to relax. It’s up to you.

Given all that it has to offer, it’s understandably a busy place come summer, even if it sort of flies under the radar (compared to the Drumheller Badlands to the west, it’s downright quiet). Those who know and love the park make it theirs and keep quiet. But there’s a way you can get in without having to book early or fight for a space. Come visit in the “Shoulder Season”, either earlier in the spring or later into the fall when things are less hectic and with RV spaces and “Comfort Camping” Tents readily available. We visited late May and the temperature we about perfect.

The Team gets an invite to come explore Dino Park in our own special way. No convincing needed, we’re in! We immerse ourselves in the experience and share it here with you. Come tag along and when finished book your own adventure and take it all in for yourself. A visit to the park is something you’ll never forget.

Day one…

1) We arrive at Dino Park but there’s no time to doddle. We’re booked to do a little “fossil prospecting” (a “Canadian Signature Experience”). First there’s a briefing…we meet our interpreter, he discuses the history of the park, what’s types of fossils have been found, where we’ll be going and what we can expect once we’re out in the field. Our group is eager bunch and is chomping at the bit to go. Pile into the van. Awesome, they provide a yummy lunch!

1) Visiting Dinosaur Park and soon to be “fossil prospecting”.

2) On the edge, we drop down into a “special” valley, an area not open to the general public and a real hot spot for fossils. Now this is a full on hiking adventure taking at minimum half a day and you need the proper clothes, sturdy hikers (mandatory), lots of water, sunscreen and stuff to keep the bugs at bay. And most critical don’t forget your camera. It’ll get lots of use. This outing is for adults.

3) We’re told to just wander about…and to look down…there’s fossils underfoot. Lots of them. And sure enough, almost immediately and without even having to work for it, a find. And wait, there’s another…and another…and…they’re everywhere, big pieces and small, some fragments, some near complete bones. Fossilized wood abounds too. We’ll be doing a full article on this adventure soon. This is just a tease.

Here it is: Fossil Prospecting @ Dino Provincial Park.

4) Here’s a specimen. Smaller pieces can be picked up and photographed like this, then put back, where as larger fossils should be left undisturbed. There is no collecting.

5) Connie takes in the expanse of Badlands and can hear the fossils calling. Our interpreter, a most amazing and knowledgeable fellow, tells us they’re out there. And he’s right! Yellow is our team colours.

6) At times there was so many down there, we’d literally be tripping over them. Here’s a good-sized chunk of bone. We found a good number like this.

7) They call it “Comfort Camping”. We call it amazing. Here’s our base for the weekend. It’s a thick-walled canvas tent, under a wood canopy. Nice and snug. There’s a fine bed with linens, tables, chairs, everything you need. Turn on the AC when things get a little hot and the heater should the mercury drop. And there’s a fridge and BBQ. We’re set. Biffies and sinks are a short distance away.

8) Our first day winding down, ahhhh, time to sit back, put the feet up, and relax. Here’s a postcard view. No bugs, cool and refreshing spring weather, it’s a slice of heaven.

9) Hear the sizzle, breath in deep through your nose – that aroma – dinner’s on. I don’t think there’s a dog within a click or two that wasn’t salivating on smelling what we were cooking. Welcome to bliss.

10) The sunsets, we wander down by the river – it’s not far away – and take in the show. Lower and lower in the sky, all those yellows and oranges, reflections on the still waters. The dead silence. We stand in awe, mesmerized by what Mother Natures offers up this evening. Countdown…3…2…1…our heads explode. This most amazing spectacle would be repeated the following night.

11) Time for bed. Exhausted from all the adventures, we’re still grinning from ear to ear thinking of what a wonderful day it was. And we soon fall asleep.

Day two…

12) There’s a number of Dino-related displays at the Visitor’s Centre. Now that’s one big bone.

13) On far end of the scale, this tiny jaw fragment, so small that a magnifying lens is needed to see it clearly. How did anyone find something so minuscule?

2) Dropping down into the “Badlands”.

14) They’ve been doing archaeological work in area for much of the last hundred years. The fossil hunting here is that good…it’s world renowned. Here’s a representation of a old-school fossil dig camp.

15) Next up, the “Explorers Bus Tour”. Here, they take you around the park, stopping at various points to take in interpretive displays or points of geological interest. Bring some sturdy shoes and water. This one’s kid friendly and takes a couple hours to complete.

16) Knowledgeable staff are quick with a smile. They keep both adults and kids entertained, answer any questions, and seems boundless with energy.

17) Click, click, click go the cameras! Posted to Instagram! My Facebook Friends will be so jealous. The whole park is so amazingly photogenic that it’s hard to take a bad picture here.

18) Smiles all around!

19) You’ll learn something along the way too. Here, we stop to take in a huge collection of bones still in the ground.

20) That scenery!

21) We just had to include one…we got a thing for Bolers (the understatement of the century) and the park didn’t disappoint. We spotted a half dozen of the little fibreglass eggs there, including this one all decorated up in a dinosaur theme. The kids got into the crayons…again!

22) Wandering the camping area of Dino Park. Our observations: there’s not a bad spot to be found.

23) Hoodoos – this is the Alberta Badlands after all – they’re everywhere, a most amazing backdrop. Imagine camping among them.

24) Mother Nature does not disappoint! The crowds gather to take it all in – interestingly, we had our vantage point pretty much to ourselves.

25) A close look, a photographer captures some memories. Given the light and setting, it’ll be a keeper.

26) From any campsite, the Badlands are but a short walk away. Here’s a family out for an evening stroll. Not a bad way to wind down.

27) You don’t need a big RV or even a Boler. You can tent it! Those sunsets! And in spring or fall, they come earlier.

28) Let’s get a fire going. The warm glow. The blue of evening. No mosquitoes! The stillness. As they’d say in that Alberta Tourism Commercial…”Just Breathe”. We so want this to never end. We can hear kids off the distance, we can see flickering fires at other campsites. The crickets are chirping. Ahhhh, we could get used to this.

29) Time to wander about after dark. Everyone’s at their respective campsites, so most of the time we’re by ourselves. Here’s a nasty looking Dino watching over us.

30) The Visitor’s Centre, the first thing you see on entering the park, all closed up and quiet.

3) It didn’t take much looking…

31) Here’s the restored John Ware (“Four Nines Ranch”) Cabin which has been in Dinosaur Park since the 1950s. John Ware was a well known rancher, originally in the Millarville area (not far from Calgary) in the late 1890s before packing up lock stock and barrel and moving to the area very near present day Dino Park. Her passed shortly after arriving. You can tour the cabin by appointment. Here in the still of night, we imagine ourselves taken back a hundred years or so. What was it like to be a pioneer? How did they make a go of it? How in the world did they survive? Meals came from what ever you shot, water from the nearest creek, entertainment was a book or the company of others. Nights were pitch-dark, winters a struggle, summers an oven and your nearest neighbour was that way over the horizon.

The cabin is nestled among some big cottonwoods, which I suspect come fall would look spectacular.

Day three…

32) Breakfast is made, then things packed away, time to go. Outside our front door, an endless parade of campers leaving. And we notice, everyone in those passing vehicles seems to be smiling. In this photo, we’re standing at the edge of the park, the lip of the valley overlooking its great expanse, and say our goodbyes. We don’t want to go. We really don’t. But it won’t be forever, I’m sure we’ll be back.

33) One last look. Wait, a Trillium! Not a Boler, but still a find. In the spotting game (we’ll post rules one day), it’s one point for rarity (it’s common), one point for spotting difficulty (it was no challenge) and a million bonus for setting! Dino Park is something else.

*United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Everything you’ll ever need to know about the place…
Dinosaur Provincial Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Fun filled days…
Riding the Rails in SW Saskatchewan – Part Two.
Riding the Rails in SW Saskatchewan – Part One.
Twilight Train.
The Clearwater (a working drive-in theatre).

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: May, 2018.
Location: Dinosaur Provincial Park, near Brooks Alberta.
Article references and thanks: Dino Park Staff, who were amazing, Alberta Parks.

4) Here’s an interesting specimen.

5) They’re out there.

6) There were so many we were literally tripping over them.

7) Our accommodations – now this is camping!

8) Sittin’ back, feet up, all the world’s problems melt away.

9) Hear the sizzle…

10) Down by the placid Red Deer – thanks Mother Nature!

11) It’s nighty-night time.

12) At the visitor’s centre.

13) A teenie-tiny jaw fragment.

14) How they lived out in the field back when.

15) Now it’s time for the “Explorer’s Bus Tour”.

16) Knowledgeable staff, always quick with a smile.

17) Break out the cameras!

18) And the kids will love it.

19) Leaning something along the way.

20) Our ride, way down there.

21) Dino-Boler! (We have this little, ahem, obsession.)

22) A little slice of heaven…

23) This is the Alberta Badlands.

24) A most amazing show.

25) A photographer being photographed.

26) A family out exploring in the soft light of evening.

27) Bring a fifth wheel, bring a motorhome, (bring a Boler) or bring a tent.

28) Bathed in the warm glow…

29) Wandering the park after dark.

30) It’s all quiet at the Visitor Centre.

31) John Ware’s “9999 Ranch” Cabin.

32) But we don’t want to go!

33) One last look back…already we’re planing a return.