We’re off to see the dinosaurs, wonderful dinosaurs of … Alberta?
The dogs are very excited about our next destination: bones lying around in the dirt, just waiting to be dug up!
But they will have to be patient as it will take a few days to get from Lake Louise to the Badlands (where the Dinosaurs roam, or at least where they used to roam, not much roaming these days).
The dogs are running low on kibble, so we need to find a Costco along the way. The closest location is in Calgary, so we are going to spend a couple of days at nearby Sibbald Lake Provincial Park.
The campground is heavily wooded and the sites are nicely private.
The website for the campground indicated that water was available at faucets located in various locations, and so it is, but… non potable only.
You would think that maybe the lack of drinkable water might be mentioned, but nooo.
However, in an effort to stop their visitors from expiring due to dehydration the park graciously sells water in 2 litre jugs… at $5 a pop and only after 4pm.
The dogs don’t seem too concerned about the lack of water or electricity (which we knew – generators and solar panels are great), as long as the hammocks are up they are good. That and the fact that we resupplied the kibble from the Calgary Costco, so they are happy campers.
The International Union of Geological Sciences named Badlands Provincial Park as the “world’s most abundant and diverse dinosaur locality”. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Fifty-eight different dinosaur species have been found here, and over 500 specimens are currently on display around the world. It is now illegal for anyone to remove items from the park, but up to the early 1900’s many bones were dug up and sold to museums and collectors around the world.
The Alberta Badlands aren’t so bad. When compared to the Badlands in South Dakota USA, the are more like Naughtylands, than Badlands.
A river runs through the Alberta Badlands.
And there are stands of Cottonwood trees, which soften the landscape. Nowhere near as austere as the South Dakota Badlands.
One thing we did notice is that there is not a lot of hard caprock here, so the hilltops are rounded from erosion, creating a quite different look from the Dakota Badlands.
The campground is nice, with some easy trails nearby. Lump won’t climb anything steep, so we mostly stick to the trails winding around the bottom of the hills.
Great views from our campsite.
The campground has modern facilities, including a restaurant that sells ice cream!
To see the areas of active investigation you have to take a guided tour. The paleontologist takes you to an area called the Boneyards, where fossilized bones are everywhere.
A group of paleontologists and their helpers are working on extracting a full skeleton from the hillside. The exposed bones are covered in plaster to protect them as excavation continues.
The main museum, The Royal Tyrell Museum, is located in Drumheller, Alberta about a 2 hour drive away. There are no significant dinosaur finds in Drumheller, so why have a museum there? Politics. Better lobbyists in Drumheller, so they got the museum.
There is a small visitor centre at Dinosaur Provincial Park (where the bones are actually found) which has a few displays of bones and a complete skeleton.
Trip Summary:
Depart: Lake Louise Campground (hard-sided), Alberta 11:30 am June 16; Odometer: 229186 km
Arrive: Sibbald Lake Provincial Park, Alberta 2:15 pm June 16; Odometer: 229326 km
Depart: Sibbald Lake Provincial Park, Alberta 11:15 am June 18; Odometer: 229476 km
Arrive: Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta 2:30 pm June 16; Odometer: 229766 km
Gas Summary:
Canmore, Alberta (Jun 16): 80 L @$1.47/L ($118.29), ODO 229268
Siksika, Alberta (Jun 18): 47.7 L @$1.45/L ($69.08), ODO 229640
Brooks, Alberta (Jun 21): 48.6 L @$1.47/L ($71.39), ODO 229640