Monday, July 15, 2013

Dinosaur Provincial Park

There had been places in Canada that I wanted to go and Dinosaur Park was one of them until yesterday that I eventually went. Dinosaur Park is an interesting place to see but it could be a bit tiring if you make it a one day trip like we did. There is a camping place but I'm not a big fan of it with people coming and going and making noise and insects sticking to you all the time! Not to mention the luxury of bathrooms! In my view for someone to make the best of this trip is staying overnight in Brooks which is the closest town. We also saw a B&B at the corner of Highway 36 and Road 544 which could be a better place because you do not have to travel long.
Anyways Dinosaur Park is at a road which is dead-end! All around that area is cattle farms and miles and miles of grain fields. If you have a G. P. S. that would definitely help. If you don't make sure you write down everything from a map or you take one because there are not many signs until you really get close to the park. The park is a unique place to see that are not many similar to it in the world. I do not think there are many similar to it in Canada. On your way to Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, you will see a similar land, Horseshoe Canyon,  but for an unknown reason it has not been turned to a park. It of course is not as big as the park and no river goes through it.
Speaking of river I wanted to know if there was a way to cross the river, Red Deer River, and see the other side but I was told in the information center that there was no bridge. We could get to the river's bank by going through Cottonwood Flats Trial but we backed off because of the numerous number of mosquitoes! The insects were actually everywhere but the windy areas and I got bitten a few times and my hands and feet are swollen and very itchy although I had pants and long sleeved jacket on! We were lucky that it was not very hot. Food and beverages are available there but we had our own food. Insects replant and sun screen is recommended and of course you need a cam-corder and good camera with tripod. I'm a photo-guy so I enjoyed as much as I could. The only dark part was the damn trail that I mentioned earlier and no-one I saw going there probably because there were there for the hills and rocks not for the river but that trail is good for bid and wildlife watching. I know we might not go there again but if I go again in a few years I will make sure that I go to the river's bank and I will have a Canoe to cross, of course after notifying the authorities. One thing that I forgot to mention is guided tours that we missed. We were late for registration and it could add something to our fun but we didn't miss big. 
(Photo: The rocks in the park consist of 3% iron. That is because when they formed millions of years ago, the lower layers were rich in Iron and then they were transferred to the top. That is why you see this red-brownish colour on the rocks)

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