Sunday, September 16, 2012

Dinosaurs and Little People

It was a perfect fallish day yesterday - warm but cool enough to make being outdoors comfortable.  With Sara away in Germany (fully recovered and feeling great) I was taking care of her four kids.  My friend, Mickey, and I decided to take her grandson, William, and my grandkids, Charlie, Max, Elly and Quinn, to Jurassic Forest, just north of Edmonton.

Quinn, Charlie, Elly, William, Max

We packed a picnic lunch to eat in the wooded picnic area and headed out.  What a great time we all had.


Clockwise:  Charlie, Quinn, Max, Elly, Mickey, William


The park is laid out through a natural forest with boardwalk trails.  Off the trails are life-size automated dinosaurs that are activated by sensors.  That way, everyone on the trail can hear the roars and see the movement of the giant beasts.  Quite spectacular. We had to make sure that the younger ones understood that although they move, the dinosaurs are unable to leave the spot to which they are anchored.

Our first stop was the sand-filled play spot where the kids enjoyed brushing the sand off new 'discoveries' of dinosaur skeletons, and sliding and climbing on dino-like structures.

Quinn was among the younger kids who climbed up the dino's throat and slid down his toung.

Elly, William, Max and Charlie were among the budding paleontoligists who unearthed new skeletons

William and Elly, who struck up an immediate friendship, worked together at
unearthing the skull and neck of a dinosaur
 Then began the fun of the boardwalk and the actual moving animals.  Natural wild grasses, plants and forests lined the route.

Charlie, taken by Mickey

Different types of dinosaurs battled over food and territory.

Photo taken by Mickey
The rope fence kept us from encroaching on the dinosaur's territory.


Charlie and Max, by Mickey
On the trail - Quinn pushed her stroller the whole way - over a kilometer.
Mickey and William
Me and mine, at one of the many benches along the way
Another fearsome beasts.  There are signs telling the species of each dino, but I didn't take note of any of them.
Those two little people were just so cute. William is quite a charmer.
I love this picture of Elly and William
And finally it was time to go home.  After all that outdoor exercise and excitement, all five of the kids fell asleep in the van.  The end of a great adventure.






8 comments:

Sara said...

Thanks for doing that Mum :)

Mickey said...

Great time! Beautiful weather! A wonderful group of adorable children! Glad we have so many photos of the day between us! And a carload of 5 sleeping children to take home.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

What a great place to take children. It must have been loads of fun for you all. Lots of photo opportunities there for sure. It's great you can help your daughter out like that while she is gone and it's good to hear she's doing ok too! Hope your Monday is a wonderful one!

Southhamsdarling said...

That is a lovely photo of Elly and Williams! Lovely that they got on so well together, and the photo of you and your grandchildren is delightful! What a wonderful place for the youngsters. My grandson loves dinosaurs and he would so love to visit this place. We haven't got anything like that over here I'm afraid.

Magpie said...

What a perfect way to spend the day. The kids all look so well-behaved and happy. The weather looks fantastic!

Bev said...

Oh man I have going to have to find that park...for my the GK's come visit!!...

Ellie said...

Oh it's good to hear that your daughter is fully recovered.
That looks like a wonderful place to take children and they certainly look like they all had a great time. :)

Granny Annie said...

That had to be a glorious day:)