Raptors delight awaits in Redwoods

Big dinosaurs might be scary, but the little ones are the real monsters that will get you. Just ask the bad guy in the second Jurassic Park film A Lost World (1997), who made the fatal mistake of underestimating the tenacity of a horde of hungry mini-raptors, waiting to pounce in Fern Canyon, a primeval gorge with 50-foot walls draped in lush and rare feathery fronds. 

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This Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park natural wonder has served as the backdrop for many other dinosaur flicks, not surprising considering that its surrounding redwood forest represents one of the oldest ecosystems on planet Earth, remaining unchanged for millions of years. 

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Director Steven Spielberg couldnu2019t resist using another nearby geological feature for as eye candy film, Wedding Rock in Patricku2019s Point State Park, which like Fern Canyon, were stand ins for the rainforests of Isla Sorna, the dinosaur land in the film and best-selling novel by Michael Crichton.