Why Did the Dinosaurs Have to Die?

(Note: Due to today's travel schedule, I am not taking the normal time at Tim's to upload pictures. They will come later!)

In the past few weeks, death has been a pretty regular topic of discussion in our household. Our kids have been trying to deal with the reality of Kathleen, an issue that still brings them to tears, and suddenly I was flying home for the funeral of Papa’s dad. Then, I think unexpectedly for them, Vera was gone. We had told them about Vera for several weeks, but I don’t think they fully grasped what it meant. Yesterday and today, at various points, tears were shed for Vera. I suspect many more will come.

The Pacific Ocean.

Today, however, the tears were also shed for the dinosaurs. I vacillate between thinking Evelyn gets what death means and the more probably reality that she doesn’t quite understand. She knows it is bad. She also knows she doesn’t like it. Beyond that, I’m not quite sure what she knows. Today, as we stared at the amazing display of a fossilized dinosaur still in the ground where it had been discovered at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Evelyn shed tears for the dinosaurs.

Climbing in the badlands at Dinosaur Provincial Park.

She kept asking, “Why did the dinosaurs have to die?”

It is a great question, and one that I didn’t answer well. I did try, of course. I explained that everything that is alive eventually dies, that death was part of life. I tried to postulate specific reasons why that particular dinosaur died – perhaps he/she drowned, or was old, or sick. No matter the response, she remained sad not only that the dinosaurs had to die, but that that particular dinosaur had to die.

The sadness for Vera, for Kathleen, for Terry Fox (Evelyn was quite upset that Terry Fox died), and for the dinosaurs has all melded into one big ball of emotion. So, the last day or so we’ve kept brave faces, for the most part. In addition to wanting to be brave for the kids, any sign of sadness might turn Evelyn into a sobbing mess.

I keep reminding Evelyn, and the other girls, that we were lucky to know Vera. Not everyone had the same opportunity as we did. Similarly, we were lucky to know Kathleen. Our lives have been improved by them both – and many others.

It is the many others that have been mostly neglected in the last few blog posts. It is difficult to spend time recounting fun activities – and there have been many – when one’s mind is clouded by grief and sadness. We have had tremendous fun in spite of our mourning. Starting with our time in Jasper, we’ve been surrounded by people we love the past week.

Jasper, of course, included Seth, Kayla, Peyton, Lucas, Dan and Sharline. After Jasper we spent a few days with Gary. As I noted in an earlier post, we love spending time with Gary. In addition to the interesting and challenging conversations, Gary is fun to be around. On Friday, Gary took us to Alice Lake where Leia and I both tried paddle boarding for the first time. I think we annoyed Gary a bit when we both picked it up quickly. Leia did fall once, and I happened to catch the tail end of it. Jordan “fell” as well, when I pushed her off. She’s had trust issues since.

Leia paddle boarding.

Jordan and I paddle boarding.

Leaving Gary on Saturday was actually tough. In part, this is because I didn’t feel we got enough time. Graciously, he was receptive to us using his house as a meeting place with Luke and Lisa. While an important night, I did wish I could be at two places at once. I guess I’ll just have to go back to Squamish soon.

After we left Squamish, we met Eric and Julia and Becky, and eventually Joe, at Stanley Park. It was fun to just chat, to see where Eric and Julia exchanged their vows (Third Beach), and to watch the girls play in the ocean. Becky, who is a follower of this blog, and one of the people who encouraged me to start a blog, had brought the girls a nice souvenir gift. Having read previous posts, one of the items each girl received was a pack of gum.

At Third Beach in Stanley Park.

We left Stanley Park and headed to Lac Le Jeune, a campsite I picked in BC based on location and driving time, and nothing else. I’d happily return – but I’ll need to figure out how to make my        battery power work (Dad told me to test it out prior to leaving, but alas I did not listen). En route to Vancouver Island, Dave and Krysten joined us for dinner and the evening. It was great to catch up with some old friends. It was also great to see Marley interact with their dogs. Those of you that know Marley are aware that she’s a bit skittish around dogs. For example, for every stop or visit prior to Lac Le Jeune, she’d ask if the friends we were going to see had a dog. Having been bit by a dog as a kid – a small, evil dog, so fortunately only a small bite – I don’t blame Mars at all. Poor Milo suffered Mars’ conquering of her fears. Bhaer, Amos and Faith’s dog, is largely responsible for Marley gaining nerve. In the past few weeks, Mars has done a great job. She never indicated she was afraid of Seth and Kayla’s puppy, Gnessy. With Milo she went from stand-offish to full-on spend two hours with a dog. Now, Milo is tiny, so Mars had little to fear. Milo, on the other hand, had much to fear. As Jordan walked Jay, the rescue dog, Marley dragged Milo. By the end of the night, we were quite enjoying poking fun at how scared Milo seemed to be of being dragged about by Mars. Seeing Marley overcome some of her fears was great to watch.

After Lac Le Jeune, we headed to Banff. Although a beautiful place, we had perhaps our worst campsite of the trip (admittedly, Saskatoon even without the mosquitos was also pretty awful). To have power, we stayed in essentially a parking lot for RVs. It is a step above staying at Walmart, but not by much. What made Banff enjoyable was seeing Rhonda and Mike. The next time we see them, they will be plus one. We’re excited for them to have their first baby, as they’ll be great parents. Mike is a crazy cyclist, and if we find ourselves in closer proximity, I think I’ll get him to teach the girls and I how to ride properly. As I posted earlier, we had dessert at Banff Springs. It was nice of them to drive from Calgary to Banff just to say hello.

With Mike and Rhonda in Banff.

After Banff, we headed here – that is, Dinosaur Provincial Park. This was a highly anticipated stop. Leia and I have been here before (as was Jordan, when she was 9 months old), and loved it. Scott, a classmate from law school, and his two kids, Evelyn and Grayson, were due to meet us there for a night. I was nervous about rain. We left Banff just as it started to rain. It was spitting in Calgary as we got groceries, and on and off as we drove towards the park. And, most ominous of all, there were massive rain clouds in every direction. Thankfully, Scott and the kids stuck to the plan and met us at the park. It never really did rain. It did get to be a late night, however, as Scott and I sat around the fire until nearly 3 am catching up.

The two Evelyns.

Not only were we not rained on, so far on this trip I’ve not yet set up or torn down in the rain, and I’ve only once packed up the trailer when it was a bit damp. I’m expecting a tornado. We’ve mostly avoided crazy weather, and hopefully that trend continues. Tomorrow we’re aiming to get up around 5am to pack up and head off. We decided to spend two night at Rushing River Provincial Park outside Kenora, where I stayed with the girls on the way west. The hope is to rent a canoe or boat and do some fishing – maybe at the campground, or maybe on Lake of the Woods. Either way, to arrive tomorrow means a 15-hour (or so) drive. Our longest. That means if there are few pictures with this blog it is a consequence of having slow internet at a quick stop. No long stops tomorrow, just trucking through.

Exploring at Dinosaur Provincial Park.

After Rushing River we are on the last leg of the journey home. That too will include friends, as we plan to stop in Sault Ste. Marie to see Patrick and Renee and their boys.

Along with Jordan’s 14” bass, one of my favourite memories of this trip will be the time spent with family and friends. I only wish there were more time.

I know that as we continue along on our journey we’ll be excited to get home. Normalcy for the kids will spell relief for us. We look forward to sharing our memories of the trip with family and friends in Ontario. We’re excited that Priscilla and Mark are supposed to be there when we arrive. And of course, there is the garden!

For now, I’ll just listen to the coyotes yelp (I tried to wake Jordan, who loves coyotes, so she could hear, but alas, the wee gal is tired!).