Dinosaur Provincial Park

We have procrastinated coming to this incredible park for some time...

Mostly because it is about three hours drive from Calgary.  But is well worth the effort to come here.

Our first glance over the edge from the top at the entrance to the park was breath taking.

We were blessed with a sunny day and a sky decorated with fluffy clouds.



If I could stitch these first five photos together it would be a 270 degree panorama.

A smal creek flows thru the bottom land.

At first I wondered how much of this park we would be allowed to explore.

This sign at the entrance to the park explained that we could take several self guided walking tours.  The majority of the park is not open to visitors... as this is an important historical archaeological site. But there is more to see and explore than most of us can endure.

I could see that I would not have any problem getting in my 10,000 steps today... if I went on all of these different trails.

It looked like we would get to see some actual fossils right in the ground.

There were more trails and opportunities to explore than either Shirley we would have the energy to do.

I won't bore you with all the plaques along the Prairie Interpretative Trail... but they explained how the Badlands were born... how erosion over millions of years exposed the fossils.

Most of the Dinosaur Park follows the Red Deer River for 27 km... and covers 84 square kilometres.

Much of the land surrounding the park is still the original native prairie grass.

But occasionally prickly pear cactus can be found.  I suspect that this one was transplanted here... along with the dandelions.

Like little kids both Shirley and laid down on the ground to shoot the sky and clouds thru the grass.

Frequently we were reminded to not leave the main path.

But occasionally we had to go over the edge to get a photo.

No end of photo opportunities.

There is a small visitor centre with gift shop...

To see a grand display of these creatures one must go the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller.

We next took our second trail hike... the Coulee Viewpoint Trail.  This was my favourite of the trails we did.

This looks like a sizeable rock... until a magpie landed on the top and helped to bring things into perspective.

In several places some posts and chains helped to keep people on the trail.

Looks like this should be called Pyramid Rock.

There are endless rills, caused mostly by heavy rain.

As the erosion in the hills occur the sediment accumulates in the valley... the valley floor raises.

These hoodoos I'm sure have been the subject of many paintings by professional and amateur artists.

Here is a painting done by Doris McCarthy... an inspiration to us to see what we can do once we get home.

After a little rest sitting down we were ready for the third trail... the Badlands Trail, which took us about an hour.

Getting up close to a couple of Hoodoos.

On this trail we saw lots of popcorn rock... like on the lower right.

They tell us when it rains the minerals swell up to 10 times their dry volume... becoming slimy and slippery.

This is popcorn rock up close.

With Shirley in the picture you get a better feeling of the scale of formations.

There is obviously horizontal layers at different levels... and then with the vertical rills it gives an interesting effect.

The walking trails and stairs make getting around in Dinosaur Park pretty easy.  But after doing three of these hikes, Shirley and I looked at each other and agreed we had seen enough.  The mind cannot absorb more than the legs can endure... and we were both dragging our tail feathers.

A little bit of colour in these badlands is most welcome.

It has been a few years since we have seen ant Buffalo Beans.

What a delightful day... but one must be in reasonable shape to do the hikes thru the badlands.

Knowledge Network is my favourite source videos on the Great Canadian Parks... and if you go to this link https://www.knowledge.ca/program/great-canadian-parks

You can scan thru some of the best videos.  There are 65 programs on the parks in Canada... and there is one on the Dinosaur Provincial Park now showing.

It is my goal to view all of these videos.  I tape one very day since they come on at 4:30 every morning.  I have become an ambassador for Knowledge Network... my favourite cable TV source.

Some other of my favourites are Canada's Rivers and Canada Over the Edge.  Check it out.

The Natural Bridge

No, that is not snow on the ground here... only snow on the mountains behind.

We first visited the Natural Bridge about 40 years ago... and it is every bit as impressive today.  This site is only a minute off the Trans Canada Highway about a mile or two west of Field, BC...

and Emerald Lake is another "must see" that is on the same road a few miles further.

Back then one could actually walk right out onto the rocks with the water rushing thru underneath you. It was more than a little scary... but not any more.

Now they have built an engineered bridge just for viewing the Natural Bridge. Much better. There were two tour buses of people there when we arrived... hence it was a little crowded.

But what an excellent view point to take photos from!  Shirley is at the end of the bridge just clicking away with no fear of falling in.

This is the water above the bridge...

The water below the bridge.

The Kicking Horse River was named in 1858, when James Hector, a member of the Palliser Expedition was kicked by his pack horse while exploring the river.   Hector survived and named the river and the associated Kicking Horse Pass as a result of the incident.

There are times in the spring when the water over flows the rock... and when we were here before it was certainly a lot less than now.

You may have heard the old proverb for persistence,

"The continual running of the water wears away."

The concept is also in scripture... "As water wears away stone..." -Job 14:19

Over time this Natural Bridge may be washed away and be become a deep gorge.

It is certainly possible.

Those who subscribe to the theory of this earth evolving over millions of years believe that Niagara Falls may not always be... but none of us will ever live to see that theory proved one way or the other.

Our Grateful Long Weekend May 23-26

It has been so long since I have blogged, I'm not sure I can remember how. Since getting a different cel phone, it has been quite a learning curve to figure out how to get the photos downloaded to my computer. But I am grateful for the new phone... and I'm grateful to finally be getting used to it.

We are always grateful to spend time with family. Shelby, Kim, Maizy and Lucy came for the long weekend... now a week ago.  We went down to the light house at Georgina Point to check out the starfish.

Shirley heard that the starfish on the west coast had some kind of plight... so we wanted to check them out.  We usually see more than a couple starfish... so maybe she was right.  Only two left!

It was fun walking around on the rocks.  Most of us kept dry... but the dogs loved getting into the water.

Beatrice and Dante also love chasing the tennis ball and bringing it back to Shelby. Beatrice usually wins the catch.

Some of the rocks on the beach reminded me of some sculptures we often see in art museums. This is sculpture evolving in nature.

I love taking photos and then looking at them to try to figure out what they might be.  Can you see a face with two eyes, a turned up nose with a moustache on one side? ...and the hair swirl back around the ear?  Isn't that fun?

There were lots of creatures clinging on for dear life to the side of the crack between two rocks.

And there was lots of driftwood randomly left on the beach. Storms have a way of leaving the logs in a hap hazard design. I was reading in the book, "The Golden Spruce," that huge waves pounding against the rocks on the coast of the Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) would send driftwood logs a top of cliffs a hundred feet high.  Pretty wild stuff!

Lucy posed for me under the edge of this storm worn rock.  She could be a model... or an actor?

I also asked Maizy to let me take her photo by the rock.  Rocks always look better with people.  This grand daughter has surpassed her grandmother by almost an inch already... and I don't think that she is done growing yet!

A candid shot of Shirley with Maizy, Lucy, Kim and Shelby.  Lucy saw me taking photos so stood up to give me a few more creative poses.

I am grateful for spring flowers. Walking to the car to leave the lighthouse park this iris bagged me to take her photo.

Lucy was having some fun with her food at supper that evening.  There is more than one way to get a golden cap on your tooth.

We are grateful to have our first guests use the loft.  The day the kids arrived I finished the carpet and helped Shirley put some beds up for the girls.  They so loved being able to finally sleep in the loft!

Shelby and Kim went to Victoria Sabbath afternoon after our visit to the lighthouse park to enjoy some time at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel... and we got to enjoy Lucy and Maizy. Shirley found some bird houses that the girls could paint. Fun, fin, fun... serious fun.

When Shelby and Kim returned on Sunday afternoon Shelb and I played some meadow golf.  We set up a golf course using rounds of firewood as the target to hit.  Shirley pointed out how similar father and son walk.  The fruit doesn't fall very far from the tree.

Our tenant Chris joined us at the fire pit for some hot dogs and potato salad... the kids always enjoy roasting marshmallows and making smokes.  (-Photo credits to Shirley for the last four photos.)

On Monday after the kids left to go home, we went to Victoria to run some errands and to celebrate Mother's Day at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. Our kids got us the most gorgeous jackets for Mother's and Father's day.  We both wore them to town.

I don't know what Shirley was taking a picture of... but let's say it was this sea gull.

An Asian girl saw Shirley and I taking a selfie so came and asked if she could take a photo of us... What could we say?

The next morning I got this early morning sunrise shot of Mt. Baker from our hotel room. This photos has not been altered... this is the colour that morning. Shirley was still sawing logs. Later after a wonderful breakfast in the dining room, Shirley had a pedicure at the Spa... and I had a massage. It was one of our best Mother/Father's Days I can remember.  Where is it written that you can only celebrate special occasions only on designated days?

"All the I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." 
-Abraham Lincoln

Shelby told us that we cannot always trust quotes on the internet... and to prove it he shared his favourite quote.

"The problem with internet quotes is that you can't always depend on their accuracy" -Abraham Lincoln, 1864