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Step back in time in North Dakota! From digging in the dirt along the Hell Creek Formation to learning of the inland sea and mosasaur that swam near Cooperstown to the lesson on the small horse at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in Medora, you CAN actually walk in the footsteps of the dinosaurs. No matter where you are, you are always at the gate of Jurassic Park!
Day 1:
Bismarck – North Dakota Heritage Center
Fossil exhibits in the North Dakota Heritage Center trace the history of life in North Dakota from about 90 million years ago to the present. The space within the Heritage Center that is devoted to these fossil exhibits is called the “Corridor of Time.” These exhibits are meant to provide a prehistoric background and setting for the appearance of humans in North Dakota, which occurred about
11,000 years ago. Exhibits include: “Dakota” the Dino-Mummy, the Mosasaur, a Paleocene Era Pond Exhibit, Mastadon, Bison latifrons skull.
Day 2:
Parshall - Paul Broste Rock Museum
One of the most unique and interesting museums in North Dakota is the Paul Broste Rock Museum. Paul Broste, who farmed near Parshall, had an inordinate fondness for rocks, minerals and fossils. Broste amassed a huge collection over many years and built a museum out of field stone in Parshall to house the collection.
New Town – Three Affiliated Tribes Museum
A cast of the skull of the giant bison, Bison latifrons, is on permanent exhibit at the Three Affiliated Tribes Museum in New Town. The original skull was found along the shore of Lake Sakakawea near New Town.
Day 3:
Watford City – Long X Visitors Center
While excavating a prehistoric crocodile remains, a huge, beautifully preserved petrified tree stump was discovered still in growth position. After the rock was removed from around the stump it was determined to be 9 feet in diameter at the base and 8 feet tall – the largest petrified tree stump ever seen in North Dakota.
Day 4:
Dickinson – Dakota Dinosaur Museum
The mission of the Dakota Dinosaur Museum is to promote tourism by providing a facility for preservation and display of geological and paleontological specimens for public review and education. The museum features 11 full-scale dinosaurs, including a real skeleton of a Triceratops. Visitors can also view a complete Triceratops skull in the museum’s model lab.
Dakota Prairie Grasslands, Medora Ranger District Office, Dickinson
Sixty-million-year-old crocodile remains from the famous Wannagan Creek fossil site on U.S. Forest Service administered land near Medora are featured in this small exhibit in the Medora Ranger District Office.
Medora - North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame
Skeleton of the Oligocene (30 million-year-old) horse, Mesohippus - Most people are under the false impression that horses did not inhabit North America until they were introduced by the Spaniards during the early days of conquest. But horses are indigenous to North America.
Days 5 & 6:
Bowman - The Pioneer Trails Regional Museum and Paleontology Department
The museum is a regional research and repository for history from within 100 miles of Bowman. We have departments active in archaeological and paleontological research, as well as preservation collections relating to local history.
Day Tours:
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a paleontologist? Did you ever wish you could join a field expedition to collect fossils? Maybe even a dinosaur? http://www.ptrm.org/pdaytour.html#schedule.
Trip Highlights: - North Dakota Heritage Center
- Paul Broste Rock Museum
- Dakota Dinosaur Museum
- Dakota Prairie Grasslands, Medora Ranger District Office, Dickinson
- The Pioneer Trails Regional Museum and Paleontology Department
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