Leaders: Dr. Emily Bamforth and Mona Trick

Two trips in one! This extended three-day trip is organized into two parts, namely:

Part 1 — Grande Prairie

You can either choose to be a “Digger” or a “Fossil Preparator.” Both groups will tour the museum and collections of the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum near Wembley (west of Grande Prairie) at a special museum entrance price kindly offered by the museum. The Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum features a wide array of fossils, specializing in those from the nearby Pipestone Creek bone bed. “Diggers” will tour the museum starting at 1:00 p.m. on the afternoon of Saturday August 24. Then on Sunday, August, 25, the “Diggers” will excavate dinosaur bones at the nearby Pipestone Creek Bone Bed, for the full day (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.). Lunch will be provided. Maximum of 10 people. Minimum age is 12 years old. Each minor child must be accompanied by one adult. The fossils from at least 27 individuals of Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai were excavated from the Pipestone Creek bone bed of the Wapiti Formation (approximately 72.6 million years old, Campanian Age of the Late Cretaceous). This is one of the densest bone beds in North America. It extends at least 1 km into the hill and contains fossils from hundreds of individuals. “Fossil Preparators” will tour the museum start-ing at 9:00 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, August 25. Lunch will not be provided. Prepare fossils for the afternoon in the museum’s lab. At 2:30 p.m. you can join an optional outing to hike to the Pipestone Creek Bone Bed to watch the “Diggers” in action. Maximum of 5 people. Minimum age is 12 years old. Each minor child must be accompanied by one adult.

Part 2 — Grande Cache

On the morning of Monday, August 26, 2024, we will tour the extensive dinosaur trackways near the CST Coal mine outside of Grande Cache. Gather at 8:00 a.m. at the Grande Cache Tourism and Interpretive Centre (9701 Highway 40, Grande Cache) for the safety orientation and then we will board the provided bus, passing through the CST Coal Mine to see the tracks. We then return to the Grande Cache Tourism and Interpretive Centre at about 1:00 p.m. For the afternoon, we will visit a couple of nearby sites and enjoy our lunches in the field. The tracks are in the Grande Cache Member of the Gates Formation (middle Albian of the Early Cretaceous). There are a variety of different tracks, including those from quadrupedal dinosaurs (nodosaurid ankylosaurs?), bipedal dinosaurs (theropods and ornithopods?) and invertebrate burrows. Most tracks are on nearly vertical rock faces, tilted upwards by mountain-building processes. Bring your binoculars to better view the tracks. Maximum 20 people. Minimum age is 12. TWO adults are required for EACH child aged 12 to 16 years. ONE adult per EACH child aged 17 to 18. CSA certified safety glasses and work bootsare MANDATORY. Hard hat and high visibility vests are also MANDATORY. Hard hats and high visibility vests can be borrowed from the CST Coal mine if you notify Mona Trick (giftshop@albertapaleo.org) when you register.

You can select both parts or just a single part of this trip (for example only the Grand Cache tracks). Note the maximum numbers for each part and requirements for number of adults for each minor. For this field trip, you MUST send the completed waiver, Grande Cache Tracksite Tour Agreement and emergency contact form to Mona Trick (giftshop@albertapaleo.org or phone 587-578-4579) BEFORE August 13, 2024. You can drive (7.5 hours from Calgary) or fly to Grande Prairie Airport and rent a car (several car rental places are available). In any case, you will need your own transportation for the 20 minute drive from Grande Prairie to the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum near Wembley and for the 10 minute drive from the Museum to the Pipestone Creek Day Use Area on the next day. Several hotels in Grande Prairie offer discounts for those registered with this museum program. Contact Mona Trick for details. Grande Cache is a 7 hour drive from Calgary. Grande Cache and Grande Prairie are 2 hours apart via Highway 40. Arrange your accommodation in Grande Cache early because it has only four motels, and some may already be booked. Grande Cache also has several nearby Provincial Parks with camping. Contact Mona Trick for details.

FEES

Part 1—Grande Prairie

• “Diggers”—Tour Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum and dig in Pipestone Creek Bone Bed (maximum 10.) Adult:$212.00; Child (12–17):$174.00.
• OR“Fossil Preparators”—Tour Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum and prepare fossils in the lab (maximum 5). Adult:$12.00; Child (12–17):$6.00

Part 2—Grande Cache

• Tour Dinosaur Tracks (maximum 20) Adult or child (12–17): $40.00

To register for this and any other trips, download and complete the field trip permission form.

Registration deadline is July 19, 2024.