Fossil collector creates unofficial dinosaur museum in Belfast, P.E.I.

For a living, Linda Nobles spins yarn but says that her lifelong passion has been dinosaurs.

"Even when I was really young, I was interested in dinosaurs...always had a real passion for collecting fossils," she said.

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Decades later, that fossil collection has grown to over 150 pieces, which are displayed in the front room of Nobles' farmhouse in Belfast, P.E.I.

"I have my own little museum," Nobles said, laughing.

Over the last 15 years, Nobles has been on more than 15 expeditions with paleontologists across the United States, steadily adding to her collection.

"To think that something that large roamed the earth and some of the bones are just massive. It's just amazing. It's a treasure hunt," said Nobles.

On her first-ever dig in South Dakota, Nobles found part of a crocodile jaw, thousands of years old.

"Finding it was not so hard. Digging it out was difficult. It was in very very cement-like clay....it was hard digging."

Much of it has been hard work. Nobles said she's worked in 46-degree heat, lugging water and tools for the day.

But she says the work is exhilarating and rewarding. She's also inspired young Islanders' interest in paleontology by showing them her collection.

"Just to see their interest. It's sparking a lot of young paleontologists, I think. That's kinda cool," she said.

About half of the items in Nobles' unofficial museum has been found by her. The others have been purchased through private sales.

Most recently, Nobles was offered a dinosaur pelvis that was recently discovered in the U.S., which measures more than a metre wide.

"I'm gonna have to get a bigger room," she said.

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