Going Places

Fall 2014

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20 g o i n g p l a c e s | F a l l 2 0 1 4 (2) cfdc Digging for Sea Monsters It's never too late to become a paleontologist – just don't forget the knee pads by Liz Bryan "S ea monsters?" My neighbour's kid Billy, aged six, is quizzing me through the garden fence as I pack the car for my trip. I've been trying to explain that I am not, despite his clear impression, heading out to hunt for dinosaurs. "I'm going to look for fossils of marine rep- tiles, like . . . well . . . like dinosaurs, I guess, only the ones that lived in the sea." I inform Billy that 80 million years ago there was an ocean, right here in the prairies, cutting Canada in two, stretching between the Rockies and Ontario. "And some of the crea- tures that lived in the sea were bigger than whales, some even bigger than Tyrannosau- rus rex. eir bones turned to fossils and . . ." Leaving him to ponder this seemingly ridiculous suggestion, I mentally tick off the items I've packed for my trip: hat, sunscreen, bug repellent, water bottle and knee pads (I have two partially bionic knees to care for). I've been told that paintbrushes and dental picks will be provided, though I can't help but wonder how eff ective a dental pick is going to be in dealing with the dinosaurs of the deep. "I'll bring you a photo," I yell to young Billy as I set out for Morden, Manitoba, and the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre where I'm to meet my fellow volunteer paleontologists – all members of Experience Manitoba, a meet- up club for women adventurers. Housed deep underground, in the base- ment of Morden's huge modern recreation centre (known as the Access Event Centre), the museum has the largest collection of fos- silized marine reptiles in Canada, all found nearby in the hills and gullies of the Manitoba Escarpment. Here on the ancient fl oor of the Western Interior Seaway, the rock is layered in dark and light – mostly shale and bentonite clay with a few thin strips of coal. e shale rep- resents hardened deposits built up on the sea fl oor (where the bones of dead creatures accu- mulated), and the pale bentonite is volcanic MADE IN MANITOBA Before you hit the road, gas up at Husky and earn CAA Dollars on fuel, car washes and merchandise purchases. Bruce is 13 metres long – bigger than the average T-Rex! It takes many hours to remove material around a fossil and prepare it for display.

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