My kids call activities that I plan “dad-ventures.” My dad-ventures have had mixed results. Some are unexpected gems and others are horrible failures. So, when I suggested that we stop in the Hell Creek formation to hunt for fossils, they were skeptical. Our base camp was Makoshika State Park, Montana. We missed pronounced it the entire time we were there. We called is mako-sheeka instead of mu-co-shi-ka which is its Native American name. Later visitors called it hell with all of the fires put out. We arrived at the campground a day earlier than expected and we thought we would have to pay to adjust our reservation. Fortunately, we met campground hosts Lori and Oscar who were very kind and helpful. They suggested that we look for a campsite in Pine Creek Campground. The road sign on the way to Pine Creek campground said “no trailers”. When I asked Oscar about that, he said that our pop-up didn’t count as a “real” trailer. I guess in some ways this is true, we had no problem pulling our camper up the 15% grade. The Pine Creek campground sits on a small spur of public land overlooking the badlands of Montana. The view from our site was amazing and is probably one of the best sites we’ve ever had. We ate spaghetti together as the sunset turning a distant thunderstorm into pinkish orange sky fire.
One of my favorite pieces of camping gear is the solar shower. If you are like me, and like to take showers, you’re going to want to buy one of these. As the sun set, our family put on swimsuits and took turns washing down with sun-heated water on the tailgate of the truck. So refreshing! As night descended, we were cozy in the trailer, getting ready for a big adventure the following day. Just before going to bed I was outside adjusting the trailer when I heard a snake rattle. Not more than two feet away was a large prairie rattlesnake under one side of our camper. The ranger at Theodore Roosevelt National Park said that prairie rattlers like to come out on cool nights to find sources of heat. For some reason, this snake chose the rocks under our trailer. From a safe distance, the kids shined their flashlights on the snake hoping the snake would find another place to go. After about 15 minutes, it was clear that the snake wasn’t going anywhere and wanted to stay under our camper. I did not think it was safe to have a rattlesnake under our camper for the night, so I dispatched it in the most humane way I could. But I don’t think we will soon forget that encounter.
The next morning, I saw a very large buck mule deer at sunrise. I could tell by the lack of chill in the air, that it was going to be a hot day. I was worried that this dad-venture was going to be a bust as the children melted under the sweltering Montana sun. We met our guides, Shana and Shane at Baisch’s Dinosaur Digs in Glendive. Their family has been hunting fossils on their private ranch land since the 1950’s. They took us out on a pockmarked ranch road full of gullies and ditches. I was happy we had an off-road pick-up! The dig site was beautiful. Gray, black and orange hillsides characterized by twisting gullies looked as if they were being melted in slow motion by water. By this time the heat of the day was setting in and we had not even begun. We had no idea what to expect, but after a short hike our guides showed us just how much fossilized bone was laying on the hillsides. We found large chunks of dinosaur bone, turtle shells, petrified wood and even petrified pinecones scattered about. The kids found one large outcropping of bone which we spent about 45 minutes excavating with screwdrivers and paintbrushes. The excitement of the dinosaur fossils cancelled out the heat of the day as the kids scampered from gully to gully, finding the remains of an ancient ecosystem. We ended the day by hiking to a recent triceratops excavation. The number and the size of the bones was impressive. We got to ask some real paleontologists about their work. Samantha later confessed that she thought this dad-venture was going to fall flat. But the kids left energized by their finds and the stark beauty of the Montana badlands. This dad-venture did not disappoint.
