We’re Not Stranded!
Days 3 and 4 of our Cross-Canada (Mis)adventures
A brief update: Things never go as planned
I left off my last story with my family and I essentially stranded on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere.
Our dealership really messed up when they changed out my tires and the lug nuts on one of the wheels had not been tightened properly, leading to one of them actually getting sawed off by the unstable hubcap as we drove at high speeds.
We are fortunate it was a mere inconvenience and didn’t result in anyone getting seriously hurt. My dealership has definitely heard from me, more on that later.
I would like to make a suggestion, however. Those who work as call-takers at roadside assistance agencies should really have a basic knowledge of vehicles. I mean, the truly basic fundamentals. The first person we spoke to didn’t even know what a lug nut was, and when we said one was missing, he thought we meant one of our tires was missing.
How would that work, exactly? We’re driving down the highway and one of our tires just disappears? It’s not as though we were calling from a parking lot, we had explained we were on the side of a highway.
If you’ve been reading my stories for a while, you’ll know I hate talking on the phone. I’d probably hate it even with excellent hearing, but I do not have excellent hearing, not even close. The vehicle and roadside assistance are in my name only, so I had to be the one to call.
When I called and finally got a competent person on the line, she remarked on how cool-headed I was.
Me! Cool-headed!
She said if she’d been in my shoes, she’d be fuming, and I was cracking jokes while trying to describe our location — the best “landmark” I could offer was a field of cows nearby, and those ladies were not offering us any help.
Anyone who knows me knows I can be passionate, intense, and opinionated — sometimes even feisty or defiant.
Honestly, it’s taken decades of hard work to get better at picking my battles (I used to pick all of them) and keeping my cool. In this case, although I was annoyed, I knew ranting at the lady on the phone wasn’t going to help, nor was it her fault that our dealership messed up.
So… yay me!
Onward and upward
We safely arrived at our next destination: Dinosaur Provincial Park. It is very cool. As you near this national heritage site, the grasslands become badlands. There is incredible scenery, lots of interesting hikes, dinosaur bones and fossils, even a great museum.
We played football, bocce ball, went biking, hiking, and enjoyed sitting around our campsite reading. Our son found a bunch of kids to play with, so he spent time playing with them at the playground. We enjoyed lovely campfires in the evenings.
This time we only had a minor snafu. As we were packing up our tent, one of the tent poles snapped. Luckily we came prepared. This happened once before, so we had an extra piece on hand and were able to replace it fairly easily.
Tips for families visiting Dinosaur Park
Guided tours fill up quickly, so sign up right away. We didn’t realize, but you can actually register for paid programming in advance by signing up and paying online.
The badlands can get extremely hot — 10 degrees hotter than the campground. They are at a higher elevation than the campsites, and there is no shade.
There are a variety of trails and tours for varying hiking skill levels, but most are somewhat challenging as there is a lot of rocky terrain, narrow trails, and many uphill and downhill climbs. Dinosaur Park offers bus tours for people who prefer not to hike.
Wear a hat and proper hiking shoes, and take lots of water. It is also recommended to wear pants or high socks. There are rattlesnakes in the badlands, but sightings are rare. The snakes would rather avoid you than bite you, if you watch your step and leave them alone, you’re not likely to encounter trouble.
The campsites are nice but rocky, so I’d recommend sleeping on a cot or air mattress if you tent like we do. The outhouses did not have any hand sanitizer, so I suggest setting up a hand washing station at your campsite.
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