We did a family trip to Drumheller this year, instead of a party, for Daegan’s 7th birthday. It was a wonderful time—and much needed as things have been crazy busy here this spring. Such is the life of the self-employed family: feast or famine. And the boys did a LOT of activities this spring.
We headed out Saturday afternoon, as Daegan had his final drama performance that morning. By the time we got there (about 1 1/2 hour drive) we were able to check into the hotel, which was lovely (and free! we did it on points!) Jim took the boys for a quick swim while I unpacked, and then it was off to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, which houses the largest collection of dino fossils in Canada, and is regarded as one of the top palaeontology museums in the world. We’re lucky to live here!
We walked around the museum, checking out some new displays, and revisiting old favourites. There were a few funny moments. Daegan was soooo excited to go and see the new sarcosuchus (prehistoric SuperCroc) skull on display, but we didn’t see it our first pass through the museum. So up he marches to the info desk. “Excuse me….where’s the sarcosuchus skull?” Two dumbfounded teens asked him to repeat his question, and then pointed to a more knowledgeable colleague—“ask that guy”. This fellow gave us a personal escort to the skull, and chatted with Daegan, commenting to me on the side, “He really knows his stuff!” LOL! The other funny moment occurred in the dinosaur hall. There are dozens of large dinos (complete skeletons) on display, and lots of smaller bones as well. Daegan ran around pointing things out to me in a very excited way: “This is______; he lived during the_____. He grew to be _______ feet long. Did you know____________? (insert interesting factoid about the species here)” Well, when Daegan gets excited you can’t help but catch his enthusiasm, and as he went through the hall he acquired a following of a good dozen or so people enjoying his impromptu tour! I just watched him revel in his element, and field questions from strangers with aplomb---some about dinos, some about himself. How old does he have to be before he can work here? :-)
The following day Daegan and Jim got in another swim in the morning (Gareth didn’t want to, so he and I hung in the room), then headed off to the hoodoos before heading back to the museum again. There was an interpreter from the museum at the hoodoos (they do this for the busy summer season) who had lots of fossils and other artefacts for the boys to check out. She gave us some tips on places to look for fossils in the area off the beaten path (nb. in Alberta, fossils are heavily protected by law and any finds must be reported to the museum)—she was VERY helpful. We then went back to the museum and spent another 5 hours there, taking in a fossil-casting class in the middle. Both boys ran themselves ragged and passed out on the drive home, something they haven’t done in years now.
Daegan opened gifts that evening once home, and the next day I made a small birthday cake for him. All in all, a wonderful birthday for our wonderfully dino-crazy son!
Here’s some pics (hover cursor over for details):
