More than you can imagine.

As the Mindblaster gets up to speed, you become keenly The sheer size of the gate you walk though foreshadows aware of a few things. First, that you no longer know which the magnitude of the adventure your family is embarking direction is which. Second, that your eyes can deceive you. on today. As you walk down the pathway, dense boreal And third, that you made a good decision to go on this ride growth transforms the area at Jurassic Forest magically before eating of one of Calaway Park’s famous hot dogs. to a time when massive creatures ruled the earth. As (calawaypark.com; 403.240.3822) you come around a bend, you spy a pair of in the brush, fighting over a meal. As they roar and tear at each other, you’re thankful for the occasional asteroid. (jurassicforest.com; 780.470.2446)

Your kids’ little hands tug at you to quicken your pace. One hand on your child’s wrist, the other on their shoulder, While you’re content to stroll through the Transalta together you make a perfect cast fifty feet out into the pond Rainforest habitat at the Zoo, the little ones are on at Muskoseepi Park in Grande . Stocked with trout a safari of their own — to come face to face with a Lowland each summer for kids, you know it won’t be long now and Gorilla. The silverback is in a bit of a mood today, beating sure enough, with a quick series of jerks, they’ve hooked his chest — just as you arrive at the enclosure. As majestic one. From the smile on their faces, you know it’s going to as these animals are, it’s the look on your kids’ faces that be a very good day. (cityofgp.com; 780.538.0454) you’ll remember. (calgaryzoo.com; 1.800.588.9993)

You and your kids are in the heart of Dinotown . The adrenaline starts pumping as the Bauer triple You’ve joined the paleontologists on a Fossil Safari in chair nears the top. You know that in seconds you’ll be Provincial Park, and today you’re on the hunt plummeting down the trails at Nitehawk Recreation for the elusive Albertosaurus. The paleontologist guides Area at breakneck speed. You, your bike and all the your kids to where they’ll uncover massive jawbones adrenaline you can muster versus the berms, table and teeth. As he explains to them in detail the hunting tops, teeter—totters and gravity. Taking your last relaxed behaviour of the ancient lizard, you know there’ll be breath for awhile, you get ready to grab your bike and no need to tell ghost stories tonight. (dinosaurpark.ca; show your buddies the meaning of true awesomeness. 403.378.4342) (gonitehawk.com; 1.888.754.6778)

‘Life is sweet’ you think to yourself, as you and the The kids are fast asleep in the trailer, exhausted from a kids take a fun and easy float down Discovery Canyon’s day filled with adventure at Ol’ MacDonald’s Resort. shallow river fed waterpark. Under the hot mid summer sun, As the sun starts to set over Buffalo Lake, you and your you glide past the tree-lined banks, smiles on all partner take a moment to just sit quietly on the beach, your faces as big as the central sky. An occasional the water gently lapping up on the shore. Here under splash of water reminds you that Red Deer is a pretty cool the clear summer sky and cooling evening breeze it place. (reddeer.ca) suddenly occurs to both of you — you’re having the best conversation you can remember in a long time. (olmacdonalds.com; 403.742.6603)

You brought the family here to the Douglas Fir Resort You’re hunched over the ground under the summer sun to get a real taste for the mountains in Banff, and you’ll of the . Looking over, you pause for a moment get right to it, you promise yourself. But seeing your kids to watch your kids brushing off a bone that’s half come barreling down Valley’s tallest waterslides, unearthed with wonderment in their eyes. You came on laughing and screaming, you ponder “maybe after lunch.” “The Dig Experience” at the Tyrrell to fill an (douglasfir.com; 1.800.661.9267) afternoon. You find what you ended up filling was their heads with dreams of being paleontologists on the hunt to rewrite history. (tyrrellmuseum.com; 310.0000 then 403.823.7707)

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