Drumheller 2022 part 3 - Dinosaur Provincial Park and the Badlands

 

The next day, following the Royal Tyrrell Museum, my Dad and I had planned to take a drive out and explore Dinosaur Provincial Park. After drive-thru McDonalds and getting turned around by our car's GPS, we set off.

To and from the park was lots more flat farmland, but the sunny weather made it much more enjoyable.

Throughout the trip, we were on the lookout for different kinds of wildlife. Beef cattle, magpies, and prairie dogs (which will be discussed later) were cool, but we wanted something a little more exotic. We got it on a long stretch of road, when my Dad looked out his window and saw pronghorn antelopes grazing just past the side of the road.

And later, while walking a trail in the park, I swear I heard a rattlesnake! At least, that's what I keep telling people.

 So, we arrive at Dinosaur Provincial Park, with lookout Number 2 of the trip.

I buy some more souvenirs at a visitor's centre, and we have a bit of lunch, a Raptor Wrap at the Cretaceous Café!, and we pick a short, relatively accessible trail to walk.

The Fossil Hunter's Trail was quick and bookended by two real fossil beds, covered to preserve them.

There were also tons of neat rock formations. Some had little holes carved or dug into them, and on this trail there was one that was so big it looked like an actual cave!

Kinda looks like a house!

Further along the trail, we walked by tons of cacti and sage brush, which I'd never seen up close before, and I heard that rattlesnake (still sticking to that story), until we reached the trail's end and a quarry with hoodoo formations.

We made our way back and drove back to Drumheller, stopping at the one lone gas station for some much needed snacks.

I mentioned prairie dogs earlier. They're my second-favourite animal, right behind pigs, and where we were was full of them! Our first day there, we went to an outlook (Number 3, for those keeping track) and the place was dotted with prairie dog holes, with the awesome little critters running around every which way!

There's at least four or five just in this photo

I tried to get a close up of one, and it challenged me to a duel.

I backed down first

I can't end this without sharing a couple random photos from a couple different lookouts, canyons and viewpoints. I'm not kidding when I say this is some of the most mind-blowing, jaw-dropping scenery I've ever laid my eyes on, and I'm not normally a "look at the view" kind of person. 

 First though, a face in a cliffside because it was random and cool-looking.

And now, those awe-inspiring shots.

All I could picture when looking out at these views, especially the first two there, was herds of some big animal like bison, mammoths, or even further back to dinosaurs themselves wandering around!

We went to a nice restaurant the next day for breakfast, got even more souvenirs, and stopped by a local brewing company for a drink (sugar-can root beer and coffee-flavoured beer, which was pretty tasty!), and drove to the airport.

Except for Christmas with my grandparents, I haven't been anywhere in over two years, so this Bucket List-worthy vacation was very much needed and well-deserved.

Cheers!