Travels With Abs - 7/4/2009 - Kanab, Utah

We left Ruby's Inn and headed back to St. George via Kanab, Utah.

We stopped for a brief look at Red Rock Canyon, before we left the enticing colored cliffs.

Scott Richardson joined us in Kanab to explain more about the excavation and freeing of fossils from their surroundings. He also showed us some of the latest finds. What an exciting time for paleontologists!

Abs holds the "toe bone" of a dinosaur that had teeth at least 6" long.

Scott explains the fossilized impressions of dinosaur skin.

This plaster model is the only thing left of a rare find from several years ago. The original skull was stolen and probably resides now in the museum of some private collector.

Fossils are carefully collected from sites and transported in "plaster jackets." The pieces are put together like an ancient jigsaw puzzle, often without a photo to guide.

They must be carefully pieced back together to tell the story of the animal.

Sott Richardson holds the bone of a dinosaur that had a broken leg. The leg was partially healed, but probably left the creature vulnerable. Many bones show teeth marks and other trauma. Paleontologists can piece together many of the stories the bones leave behind.

We spent a little time in the museum. They had a Junior Ranger program, but Abs was the only one interested and she did not have enough time to finish.
A visit to the local rock shop was a joy for rock-loving Abs. She shops for rocks like I shop for fabric. She did end up with a small trilobite for her Aunt Kr to make into some sort of jewelry for her.
Lunch was served at Frontier Movie Town where there are many old sets from movies, many of them filmed in Kanab and surrounding areas. The sets have been brought to this central location and are fun to wander through and take photos. No charge!

Lunch was preceded by our group's acting in "How the West Was Lost." We all put on costumes and followed the set script while a man ran around frantically taking photos. The photos were available later for $10.00 each. Fortunately, they sold out to doting grandparents before I saw them. I don't imagine I was very photogenic in my Indian garb with camera, and other items I carried for a couple of children, hanging off me, but it was fun.

We had a very nice barbecue lunch. Abs only ate rolls and drank lemonade, I limited the rolls to two and gave her an apple on the bus. I should have tucked a jar of peanut butter in my purse.

It did not seem like the Fourth of July. We were visiting the museum when Kanab had their town parade, but we were headed back to St. George and were assured our hotel was a great place to see the fireworks. That was an understatement! I think the whole town gathered in front of our place and we joined in the family atmosphere. I cringed when someone pulled a pick-uo truck in front of the building, opened the door, and turned the radio up to LOUD, but when the fireworks started, I discovered they were set to the music on the radio station and we felt like we had front row seats. It was one of the best firework displays I have ever seen. A barrage would go off at the park a few blocks away, and while it was reloading, we were treated to another display on a nearby hill. The two sites kept up a constant, heavy stream of fireworks for the entire time. no downtime to wonder if that was all there would be.
Finally, I felt like the Fourth of July had arrived.

Travels With Abs - Wednesday July 1st - "Tracking the Dinosaurs"

Wednesday morning started off with a trip to the Snow Canyon sand dunes to hunt for "dinosaur eggs." Darrell McMahon, our education director, presented information on dune formation. His use of foam props and photos, provided good visuals and encouraged the children to pay attention.

We examined tracks and track ways as we headed out over the dunes. It had been a busy place overnite.

The children had been in instructed in proper exploration techniques for paleontologists, but excitement reigned during the actual "dig" and everyone scrambled.

After much excitement and scurrying into the sand like little crabs, the groups unearthed their finds. Abs' group found several "Cantaloupeasaurus eggs."

Andrew Milner joined the group again and we headed to a special area designated "No Trespassing." Unfortunately, some people can't read and they had taken a backhoe into the area a few months earlier. Large slabs of terrain containing dinosaur tracks had been removed. Some were found being sold on e-bay. One of the most unfortunate parts of the theft is the loss of information. Many artifacts which could be priceless are rendered almost worthless by their removal from the site without proper documentation.
I was fascinated by the changing terrain and scenery in Utah, all within a short distance.
(Yes, those were taken out the window of the moving bus. What was your first clue?)
It amazes me that people make these finds in the, seemingly, middle of nowhere. We could see the tracks better from a higher vantage point. This was quite a hive of activity about 200 million years ago.

I was finally learning to spot the tracks. Some were were more obvious than others.

After a morning devoted to learning and a delicious lunch at the Electric Cafe, it was time for the children to let off some steam. An afternoon at the local water park was just the place to cool off and expend some of their energy. It was a busy day. The children were still raring to go, but the grandparents were delighted we were staying in for the evening. Everyone enjoyed pizza and spent the evening watching movies about....what else?....DINOSAURS!

Oh, Give Me a Home, Where the Dinosaurs Roam.....

One of the joys of keeping the children is taking them to places I would not ordinarily choose to visit. One of Abs' great interests is dinosaurs. She knows whether they are "herbivorous," "carnivorous," or "omnivorous." She knows how big they are, what their skin was like, how fast they move.....you name it, Abs can recite it. So, it was only natural that we should visit this exhibit at Zilker Park in Austin. Set in a rather natural habitat, with identifying information, and life size models, we perused the creatures and were thankful they were only models. An bonus was the myriad of "prehistoric" plants. Of course, not all these dinosaurs lived in this area, but the park does have an area counting real tracks from prehistoric visitors.
Abs lingered at each exhibit a little longer than the rest of us. At one point, the three of us sat on a bench and waited for her to join us, within eye distance, but dallying back up on the trail. I called to her several minutes later and she eventually came. A woman and her small daughter waved and called out to her as they passed by us on the trail.
"Who are they?" I queried.
"Oh, they had some questions on one of the exhibits, so I helped them out," she said matter-of-factly.
This summer I am taking Abs to an instructive week in Utah where dinosaurs really roamed. It should be an interesting and enlightening experience.