Day 2 - Fantastic Fossils!!

We had the girls up early and after a great breakfast at the hotel, we were on the road by 8:30. It was warm and cloudy and we drove through bits of rain. The radio and movies for the girls, helped pass the time. 


(Over to Tinsley)

 After a stop for a picture at the Alberta sign, we rearranged seating with Me (Tinsley) in the "shotgun seat" (:D) and Glen trying the back. We drove endless km not seeing a thing - no people, animals, signs or buildings and very few cars. We passed a heard of cattle and Mom said "aw... look at the cute calf... Oh wait, that was a wolf!" That ruined the picture plus the appetite. "Circle of life" :s. 

We arrived in Brooks around 3pm, checked into the hotel and had a lunch around the little table in our room. The lobby is very cute with cookies, lemonade and an old fashioned popcorn cart. We debated what to do and where to go and decided to head off to Dinosaur National Park - the Badlands of Canada.


(Tinsley)

it looks like this in every direction.

(Back to Jenn) - The Badlands were amazing! Everywhere we looked there was so much to see - from different colored rocks and formations to signs describing the wonders around us to deer and rabbits to bushes that sounded like rattle snakes when you brushed by them! 
Glen actually saw a rattlesnake coiled up under a large bolder; found by some more adventurous Americans.  He tried to get a shot of it with the camera, but unfortunately it was too dark in the hole - and he only wanted to get "so close".  


We stopped in the Interpretative Centre and booked a tour for tomorrow and then found the Badlands hike to do on our own.

fossilized bone, we think.

We wandered around taking photos every which way and also kept our eyes open for fossils. I'm quite certain I found a fossil of some kind!! We had no idea what it was and although the fledgling paleontologist in me really wanted to pocket it and take it home, I respected the fact that this beautiful UNESCO site had signs everywhere asking people to "not remove anything" from the park" leave things where they were. Oh well - we did take pictures :).

A different view

Dig Sight Display Enclosure

We drove on through the park and found the two "houses" where they had excavated dinosaurs and then built structures around them so we could see them but they were protected. We saw a headless hydrasauris and a partial centosauris. There was so much info available and they are finding across fossils all the time.
It really was a magical place. It was so quiet and peaceful and yet you could feel and see the history all around us. We all said we can't wait to go back tomorrow and experience more of this great place!

Mairin for scale

We came back to the hotel before 7 to freshen up and then walked across the parking lot to O'Sheas - an Irish restaurant - for dinner. Everything was very good and we had lots of laughs. Chloe also tried to explain to us France's complicated school marking system. The 4 girls went back to the hotel and Glen and I went to find a grocery store. 

Jenn and Tinsley 

The girls went to the pool and Chloe and Mairin swam while Chloe and T waited for the hot tub to have less people. There were apparently had lots of hysterical laughs trying to understand everything people were saying and had sore stomachs afterwards from the delicious dinner and hysterics. Everyone seems tired and we have to get up early for our tour tomorrow so there were showers and then off to bed.
Jenn




P.S.  More pictures below.  There's just so much to see !

So excited !

Glen & Carling

Tinsley

T, Chloe, Mairin and Carling