Dinosaur bones, jelly mud, hoodoos, rills and popcorn rock – the words themselves stir a childlike curiosity. In Dinosaur Provincial Park, they're natural features that have the power to make one feel like a kid again.
A flat country road leads to the park entrance on the eastern plains of the Canadian province of Alberta. Both the provincial and national flags fly in the breeze. Dinosaur Provincial Park also raises the United Nations flag in honor of its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It received this prestigious title in 1979, the same year as the Grand Canyon, the Palace of Versailles and the Great Pyramid.
Past the entrance, the prairie road drops into an eerie landscape – the badlands. Barren ridges and cone-shaped hills rise from the vast valley floor. Dusty hues of purple, rust-brown and black draw horizontal stripes on the beige slopes. In brilliant contrast, lush green cottonwood groves border the banks of Red Deer River.
Fossils, Fossils Everywhere
Buried in this remarkable place is a treasure trove of fossils. More than 39 species of dinosaurs have been found, including 300 complete skeletons. The search continues. With wind and rain shifting the terrain, fossils of scales, teeth and bones regularly become exposed, adding to the fun of exploring the park.
For an overview, I take an excursion into the nature preserve, which encompasses about 70 percent of the park and is accessible only on guided tours. The mini-bus fills with visitors from Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Australia, the United States and Canada. Our naturalist guide, Duncan Whittick, promises that by the end of the tour we'll know the three features that together resulted in Dinosaur Provincial Park becoming a World Heritage Site.
As the bus rumbles past the metal gate, he explains that the nature preserve has been set aside for paleontological work. Its restricted access also protects flora, fauna and fossils. "And humans," he adds. "The temperature can get up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, causing heat stroke and exhaustion."
When a passenger inquires about air conditioning, our guide holds up the bus's version – a squirt bottle filled with water, which we're welcome to use. Luckily, a cool spell has kept temperatures from rising to their average July high of 95 degrees.
Birds Thrive in Endangered Habitat
One of the three reasons for Dinosaur Provincial Park's designation as a World Heritage Site is its endangered riparian (riverside) habitat along the Red Deer River. Trails lace the area, located outside the nature preserve and easily accessible from the visitor center. Eastern kingbirds, yellow warblers and cedar waxwings count among the 165 species of birds that thrive in extensive groves of plains cottonwood trees.
Bare branches don't mean a dead tree, the guide explains. "The cottonwoods can shut off nutrients to branches if the year is too dry and then reopen the flow of water to them in better years." To view the habitat's wildlife, he recommends hiking there early morning or evening.
The One-Finger Oath
Before the excursion's first stop, Duncan stresses the importance of not disturbing natural resources. To emphasize his point, he has us take the "one finger" oath. With our index fingers pointing upward, we repeat after him that we will use only one finger to touch rocks and fossils and that we will not move, break, harm or collect any natural resource. "And," he adds, "I will not join my one finger with a friend's finger to move or collect any natural resource." My finger begins to itch with anticipation.
The bus pulls onto a flat expanse amid the badlands' barren hills and ridges. This distinctive landscape is the second reason for the park's World Heritage Site status. Networks of rills – small channels caused by rainstorm runoff – make the slopes look as wrinkled as elephant hide.
An ironstone cap crowns a hoodoo, a column of rock sculpted by erosion. "That's Lonesome Hoodoo," the guide says. "The capstone will fall when the column of softer sandstone and mudstone collapses. Then we'll call the feature a New Doo." We groan in unison.
From Swamp to Badlands
As we stand on the parched terrain, our leader describes how in the time of dinosaurs 75 million years ago the park was in the middle of a lush, swampy coastal plain. Agreeing to play along, we close our eyes and let our imaginations be guided by his story. We become giant crocodiles swimming upstream past massive trees and ferns. Rain falls on our backs. Squeals erupt when actual water hits our faces – squirted on us by a boy Duncan recruited from our ranks.
We close our eyes again. Off in the distance, a fierce Albertasaurus roars (the boy roars), followed by a Hadrosaurus's warning hoots (hoot, hoot). By now, caught up in the fun of it all, we join in the sound effects. Herds of Centrosauruses stomp through the foliage (stomp, stomp), then stop to munch on ferns (munch, munch). Then we open our eyes to the phenomenal change from lush swamp to arid badlands.
Identifying Fossils
Knowing we're eager to get our hands on some fossils, Duncan brings out a box of rock samples – mudstone, ironstone, sandstone and pieces of vertebrae – that we can handle without adhering to the one finger rule. Licking his finger, he touches a rock. "If it feels tacky, there's a good chance it's a fossil," he advises. Before he continues, I touch a rock and beam over its stickiness.
"Next check its color," he adds. "A fossil is lighter in color than modern-day bone." To my disappointment, my rock is dark. It's mudstone, whose stickiness fools many an amateur sleuth. After a few more tries, I proudly identify a fossil sample.
"Are you ready to see some dinosaur bones?" he teases as we pile back on the bus.
The next stop showcases the spine and ribs of a hadrosaur or duck-billed dinosaur found 12 years ago. Because its head is missing, paleontologists can't identify its species so they left it in situ for educational purposes.
T-Rex's Ancestor
Duncan shows pictures of T-Rex's great great grandfather – the Albertasaurus – and other dinosaurs found here. Then he passes around various fossils for us to examine, including teeth, armor scales and pieces of turtle shell. Like those found on trees, growth rings mark an ancient crocodile tooth. The tooth of a meat-eating dinosaur is knife-sharp while that of a herbivore is flat and wide.
Back on the dirt road, he tells us about the Centrosaurus bone bed. As large as a football field, it overflows with bones of more than 300 of these plant-eating, horned dinosaurs. The third reason for the park's World Heritage Site designation, he adds, is its abundance and diversity of fossils. In fact, those found in Dinosaur Provincial Park represent 10 percent of the world's known fossil resources.
The site of the extraordinary discovery of a Corythosaurus, or helmet lizard, is the climax of the tour. The bus stops alongside a towering ridge rising from the lunar-like landscape. Here, the park's first superintendent, Roy Fowler, spotted a dinosaur bone poking out of the side of the ridge. Paleontologists painstakingly exposed an entire dinosaur skeleton, including its head. A small building nearby houses the intact specimen, lying in the classic death pose, with head curled back and tail curled under.
"Paleontologists think it was buried by mud within 48 hours," Duncan notes as he points out such rare finds as fossilized backbone tendons and skin impressions. My spine tingles as I imagine the thrill of discovering this exquisite specimen.
During the rest of the stop, we're free to search the grounds for fossils.
Watch Your Step
"Watch out for jelly mud," the guide warns as a boy is about to step into a shallow puddle. Moistened by last night's rain, patches of dirt have turned into a slick, gooey substance capable of sucking one's shoes off.
The boy jumps with joy when he finds a small tooth fossil.
I'm as enchanted by the landscape. Small mounds of rock look like they're covered with little balls. "That's popcorn rock," the guide tells me. When the rock's bentonite clay minerals become wet from rain, they expand 10 times their volume. Later, the surface dries into rock-hard pieces of "popcorn."
On the return, we ride through the Valley of the Castles, whose hoodoos resemble Gothic towers. Like a mirage, a camel-shaped hoodoo stands in front of a pyramid-shaped rock. My imagination whirs as I create names for the badlands' fanciful formations.
Dinosaur fossils and badlands – they truly bring out the kid in you.
IF YOU GO TO DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK:
Location: Dinosaur Provincial Park is located in the Canadian province of Alberta, 125 miles east (2-hour drive) of the city of Calgary and Calgary International Airport. The nearest town, Brooks, is 30 miles southwest of the park.
Maps:
Lodging and dining: The park campground has 126 sites, about half with power hookups. Reservations are accepted 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) daily, starting May 9, 2005, VISA/MasterCard required, at (403) 378-3700 or toll free (Alberta only) 310-0000. Food services, showers and laundry facilities are also available onsite. The town of Brooks offers a variety of dining options and accommodations, including franchise and locally operated motels, a B&B and campgrounds
Bus Tours and Hikes: Access into the nature preserve is restricted to bus tours and guided hikes, May 9 through September 2, 2005. These tours are highly popular and have limited capacity (17 to 36 people) so, if possible, schedule yours before you leave home. Reservations for 2005 bus tours and guided hikes will start at 9:00 a.m. sharp (Mountain Daylight Time) on Monday, May 9, 2005. Call (403) 378-4344, 9:00 a.m. to 12 Noon, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10:00 a.m. - 12 Noon, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Reservations must be made at least one day in advance. VISA/MasterCard required. For descriptions of the tours, visit its website.
Currency: For US and many European travelers, the exchange rate is favorable. Calculate your current exchange rate. In addition, the Canadian government reimburses GST (good and services taxes) on certain expenses incurred by foreign travelers. Obtain a form from the Canadian departure airport.
For more information:For brochures, travel guides and other assistance contact Dinosaur Provincial Park at PO Box 60, Patricia, Alberta, Canada T0J 2K0, (403) 378-4342 (310-0000 toll free in Alberta only) or visit the Dinosaur Provincial Park website.
For province-wide information, call Travel Alberta at 800.ALBERTA (800.252.3782), which is toll free in Canada and the United States, (780) 427-4321 if calling from elsewhere or visit the Travel Alberta website.
For UNESCO World Heritage Site information: Visit Dinosaur Provincial Park on the World Heritage List.
For a children's story: Visit The World Heritage Pointer, a fun, educational website for kids.
