Dinosaur Provincial Park

On the way back from Drumheller we stopped off at Dinosaur Provinicial Park near Brooks. Although it's name makes it sound like some kind of theme park, it's actually a really nice area which has been well looked after and left to be as natural as possible. Although it's huge, there is only one public loop road you can drive around & clearly marked trails - no exploring on your own!
Many dinosaur bones and fossils have been found here - especially the 'Albertosaurus' (it's real I haven't made it up) which is very much in evidence in this part of Alberta. Most of the exhibits in Drumheller originated here. Once again it was a lovely sunny day so we could enjoy the trails and the unique landscape (left). A lot of the ground is clay so it would be pretty horrible on rainy day!

Old Bones & Fossils...

... no I'm not referring to my parents visiting! In actual fact we went on a trip to Drumheller - dinosaur capital of Canada. Drumheller is the site of the Royal Tyrrell Museum (right) where you can learn all the things you ever wanted to know about dinosaurs, paleontology [all I could think of was Ross from 'Friends'] and the formation of the earth, glaciers, various ages and so forth. In fact the museum was so huge it took us 3-4 hours to get round it.
Drumheller itself is basically full of hotels where people stay when coming to the museum. The tourist centre also boasts the 'World's Largest Dinosaur' (left) which we climbed up and into its jaws.
The surrounding area is known as the 'Badlands', so named because they were bad or difficult lands for explorers to cross. They were like nothing I've ever seen before. The different rock formations are why the bones and fossils are preserved well in the area. We drove along the dinosaur trail to Little Church - seating 6 at a time - and then past Horsethief Canyon (me & Dad are stood in front of it on the right).
We were really lucky as the weather changed for the better and it was hot and sunny!

Driving in Lethbridge

I've found driving over here not bad at all. Kathy & Don have allowed me the use of their Jeep (pictured right) to get around in. It's a bit different to my Rover 25! I already knew how to drive an automatic & survived last summer driving on the right-hand side in the south of France, but was still a bit nervous driving in a new country.
However, over here the roads are really wide and there's plenty of big parking spaces (I had been concerned about learning to park a huge car) so I'm enjoying getting out & about. Lethbridge is mostly mapped out on a grid system so the roads are also very straight and handily labelled 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc starting in the centre of town. North, south and west Lethbridge are labelled as such and all avenues go horizontally and streets go vertically. Therefore I know that 10th Ave S. is the 10th road running west-east from the centre of town.
The only things I still find tricky are the lack of road markings for stop signs and school & playground zones. I don't think they're as obvious as they should be. What I do like is the cute school buses (pictured right at an event at the College) - just like in the movies!

Hostile Makeover

Last night we had the first "Murder Mystery" for this term in the Library. This one was for the Fashion Design Students and was given the title "Hostile Makeover." The idea behind the evening is to introduce the students to various concepts of the library while they search for clues as to whodunnit. It was very successful in providing students with both library & information as well as teamworking skills.
The evening began with the class registering and being divided into teams. In the picture on the left you can see myself & Fiona with the students. We entered all of their names into a draw barrel for prizes at the end of the evening (the winning team also all got HMV gift vouchers). The students then went to the refreshment table where they mingled until they heard the scream - an up until now hidden talent of one of the instructors!
Following the scream they moved towards the silent area where they found a body (top right) and a number of suspicious looking characters. If you think Fiona looks a bit flamboyantly dressed for the library it's in actual fact her alter-ego "Babs Bling," accessories instructor. In the 2nd picture on the left you can see Wendy, Fiona & myself rehearsing lines - well they are, I appear to be doing my hair!
After the scene was set the students set off and followed clues through a darkened book collection (flashlights were provided) until they finally discovered it was Babs Bling, in the library, with a poison dart!!!

Survived the 1st week of term!

All the students arrived on Tuesday... and the pace of the library changed from what I'd been used to over the summer!!!!
It's actually not much different from Burton College and I enjoy it. It's exciting when all these people are starting new chapters in their lives.
Kathy will recognise the widescreen tv in the picture. It finally got mounted on the wall (where the cabinet used to be) at the entrance to the library and we all think it looks great. The cabinet below is the book return.
A powerpoint presentation plays continually, advertising different aspects of the library to students: opening hours, ID cards, Murder Mystery Evenings, Term Paper Clinics, Computers and so on. I think one would also look good in the library at Burton, I could just picture it on the wall behind the library staff...

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

This weekend we went to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump which is just less than an hour from Lethbridge. This was the site of one of many 'Buffalo Jumps' which were the main way to hunt bison - or buffalo - for many of the native tribes as far back as 5000 years ago and lasting until the 19th century.
This particular buffalo jump gets its name from the story that a young man wanted to watch the hunt from the unique viewpoint of under the cliff itself. As he stood underneath he saw the buffalo cascading past him like a waterfall. Unfortunately, it was an especially successful hunt that time and the carcasses mounted up towards him until eventually he was trapped. As the hunters made their way through the many buffalo later, the young man was discovered with his head smashed in under the weight!
I was able to view for myself the famous cliff from where the buffalo were driven to their deaths (see picture on right) but was a little disappointed that it seemed so small. However, I found out that it was only that small because years of buffalo bones, etc had become part of the earth over the centuries.
The interpretive centre attached to the site was really interesting as it told all the stories connected to the hunt and the rituals and symbolism involved. I also ate Buffalo Burger at the cafe!!!
The centre is also unique in that it is built into the side of the cliff so you can't see it from the road, or even the car park. It is in the picture behind me, if you look really carefully you can just make out parts of the building that stick out.