Very old school.

If you’re traveling in Ontario, Canada with your kids anytime between May 1st and September 8th and find yourself anywhere near Greater Sudbury, make some time, a day would be best, to detour to Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf for a unique experience in family entertainment. Open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, this singular attraction offers service in both English and French.

The park began as a dream for owners Josee and Marcel Rainville, who, after five years of work, completed the first 9-hole course in 1998. Over the years five more courses were added as well as the amazing steel dinosaurs, all scaled to size. The park owners make all of the skeletal replicas.

Dinosaur Valley offers a variety of amusement options ranging from a total of 54 unique holes of miniature golf to labyrinths and over 20 mammoth dinosaur and insect exhibits, plus their new Raptor and Dragon exhibits, added in 2006.

It is fun with a purpose, too. The Rainvilles have dedicated the entire park to cancer families to honor of the memory of their son, Steven, who died of leukemia. Dinosaur Valley also hosted Canada’s first Pro Mini Golf Tournament in which 100% of the proceeds were donated to charity (the Canadian Cancer Society).

This family fun centre is reasonably priced, too, with labyrinth entry only C$2.50 per person and 18 holes of miniature golf starting at C$5.99 for children and C$7.00 for adults. While some of the exhibits may be a little extra, most of the extraordinary metal models are incorporated into the golf courses. The park accepts cash, debit, Visa, and American Express. For those of you who like to plan ahead, you can book your visit to Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf online via their website, www.dinosaursudbury.ca.

Image by StormeTX via FlickrFor sheer variety, there aren’t too many places that can beat Northern Arizona for landscape and beauty.  First off, select a home base–a place to return to after driving around all day.  The Northern Arizona sights are relatively close, but “relatively” still might mean a few hours drive.  One of the best home bases is Sedona.  It’s got quite a collection of shops and restaurants, and also has Slide Rock, in Oak Creek Canyon, just a few minutes outside of Sedona.

Slide Rock is a canyon carved out of the red rock by Oak Creek.  The algae covering the rocks makes them especially slippery, so swimmers can actually slide right on down the river, like a naturally formed water park.  It’s a very popular destination, but be sure to check with the park in advance, because they will close the creek to swimming if the algae level gets too high or the water level gets too low.  Oak Creek is also great for fishing.

With a comfortable home base, the family is ready to make their expeditions to the other Northern Arizona sites of interest, starting with the world’s biggest hole in the ground, the Grand Canyon.  Carved out of bedrock by the Colorado River, the canyon is a scar across Northern Arizona, and offers some of the most incredible views in the state.

Between Sedona and the Canyon is Flagstaff, one of the few places in Arizona where you can go skiing.  That’s always been an attraction for Phoenix dwellers–the possibility of driving to Flagstaff at dawn to ski all morning, then driving home to jump in the backyard pool.

There are several other sites of interest within a few hours’ drive from Sedona, such as Meteor Crater, the Petrified Forest, the Painted Desert, and Montezuma’s Castle.  All of them are worth the trip, and make Northern Arizona one of the most attractive areas in the country.