Hiking in Dinosaur Provincial Park

Last Saturday, a group of us sacrificed our Saturday morning sleep-in to hit the road bright and early. Destination: Dinosaur Provincial Park. Five of us crammed into Geoff and Evelyn's small little Accord for the 2.5 hour drive down to the park.

Two pee stops, a breakfast stop at McDonalds, an evil look from a couple in a van, and several iPod tunes later, we arrived at the park for our 10am guided hike. We met up with a friend of Evelyn's, Brian, who works as an interpreter at the park and gave up a lazy morning to hike with us through Camel's End Coulee. There's a reason why they start the hikes in the morning, and by the end of it was glad for our early start. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, the badlands get incredibly hot during the day...it is a desert, after all.

The hike follows a meandering coulee (a temporary waterway that is usually dry). It was a little muddy due to a fair bit of rainfall the week before, which for me, added to the fun. The views were spectacular and the guide had lots of interesting info. It's amazing to see the plant and wildlife that manages to survive in such a hostile environment.

After the hike, we headed back to the interpretive center to have lunch (and ice cream!), wander around, and catch one of Brian's shows. Then we piled back into the car, which by this time was a wee bit warm....both us and the car. We finished off with supper at Peter's Drive-Thru....mmmm....burgers, onion rings, and milkshakes...the best! Then we all made our ways home, completely exhausted. A great day.

(For those of you who check out Evelyn's blog, the following photos may seem familiar. Yep, they're Eveyn's photos (thanks, Ev!). I did take some of my own, but my lap top is not being very internet-friendly at the moment so I'm using my Dad's computer and, hence, Evelyn's pictures)