VLM Dinosaur Safari to Colorado Day 5

Friday, July 11, 2008

Friday - our last day, but it consisted of wondrous sights and experiences one after the other. We traveled west into Utah to visit trackways where dinosaurs walked through soft wet sand and mud millions of years ago at the end of the Jurassic. Of course we were excited at the prospect of seeing and photographing these ancient remnants, but like our river trip, the journey was just as much a part of the adventure.

Rounding each corner in the road revealed a new geologic canvas of light, colors, textures and shapes. Many of the whimsical formations in that part of eastern Utah either stood alone on the open plain or formed an artful end cap to long ridges of sandstone. Gigantic ships, blocks of city skyscrapers, huge crouching animals - the variety of images was only limited by imagination.

And the footprints certainly didn't disappoint! Our guide chose two sites completely different in location and surroundings. The first was near the summit of an alpine-like ridge where the therapod (meat-eating) dino tracks were preserved in dense sandstone right at our feet. We marveled at the size of the tracks - inches larger than any of our sneakers or boots. There were enough tracks to try and follow them, literally "in their footprints." not an easy task when the huge animal's stride was at least twice our own.

The second site overlooked the Colorado River - a relatively easy but carefully negotiated hike took us up a rocky trail to where a massive block of sandstone had fallen out of the cliffs above. Amazingly, it had split open to reveal multiple sets of dino tracks both as impressions and as raised casts. These blocks had come to rest almost vertically, so there was no "walking the walk!" A little further up - another fallen vertical monolith with beautifully preserved tracks. An additional treat awaited us just past this block - fantastic Native American pictographs carved into the sandstone showing animals, hunters, a line of figures (dancing?), wavy lines that must have surely told something of the river below, and other designs with meanings we could only guess at. Those pictograph figures were the first I have ever actually seen, and I am sure that I will never forget them, their magical location, or the experience that led me to them.

There was one more surprise in store. Our last stop for the day was at a Utah state park with the attention-getting name of Dead Horse Point! A short walk took us to an overlook where I knew something of interest was in store. However, the wide open vista across miles of open space and straight down hundreds of feet to brick-red terraced cliffs was one of the most startling and beautiful sights I've ever seen. Through this dramatic geologic formation flowed the Colorado River - the persistent architect of so much of this week's beauty and adventure.

I wish tomorrow was the beginning of another week of exploration and discovery - but it's back to Virgina. I'm looking forward to two things -sharing my adventures with family and friends, and returning to this amazing and captivating land of canyons, prairies, friendly people – and the Colorado River!


Dan Summers, education curator at the Virginia Living Museum

VLM Dinosaur Safari to Colorado Day 4

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Today's river trip was amazing- rafting down the Colorado River was a journey through time! The fast-moving river swept us through canyons of rock where nearly 100 million years of this continent's geologic history towered above our heads. Vertical cliffs of red, grey and brown rocks showcased patterns of sediments that were sculpted by ancient winds, buried by more sediment, then compacted and cemented together to form layer after layer of sandstone and shale. As the river that we now call the Colorado began flowing over the top of this layer-cake, it slowly but inevitably cut its way through the solid rock like a water knife.

We drifted along through this geologic cathedral, marveling at impossibly balanced spires of rock that stood like sentinels at the entrance of deep canyons, at massive blocks of stone that had peeled away and tumbled down the face of towering cliffs, and at the tenacity and beauty of the trees, shrubs and grasses that thrive in the dry wind-swept landscapes away from the river's edge. We saw bald eagles, hawks, cliff swallows (lots - plenty of real estate for them!), turkeys, even a coyote patrolling the river bank.

With our life jackets securely buckled, we even floated down the river alongside the rafts like human driftwood caught up in the current.

What a day - what an awe-inspiring experience.

Tomorrow, we travel to Moab Utah to visit the site of some of the best preserved dinosaur trackways found anywhere in the world.

Dan Summers, education curator at the Virginia Living Museum

VLM Dinosaur Safari to Colorado Day 3

July 9, 2008

We returned to the dig site today (Wednesday) and continued the careful excavation of ribs and vertebrae. Careful equals slow, as it's very easy to damage or even destroy the bones. As portions of the bone are revealed, they are often coated with a liquid plastic that soaks into the pourous bone - this helps keep it from crumbling into tiny bits. Of course, using the word "bone" for this material is somewhat misleading. Over time, all of the calcium and other organic minerals that made up the bone of the living animal were replaced by other inorganic minerals. What remains is "bone-shaped rock" encased in more rock! What's for sure is that we wouldn't be able to do any scientifically useful work without the
advice and experience of our paleontologist guides. A frequently heard question from our group: "Is this a bone?" It's a good thing the experts were around!

After leaving the dig site, we drove to Grand Junction to visit the
workshop of Gaston Designs where museum and research-quality replicas of fossils are produced. We were fortunate to get an excellent tour of the facility from the owner, and even got to see an ice-age bear skull produced from a mold.

Tomorrow, a raft trip down the Colorado river!

Dan Summers, education curator at the Virginia Living Museum

VLM Dinosaur Safari to Colorado Day 2

Tuesday, July 8, 2008
This morning we visited the site where in 1900 the first brachiosaurus was uncovered, then continued to the Mygatt-Moore quary site for the first of three days of digging. The site has been worked since the early 1980s, and has produced the remains of many animals, including apatosaurus, alosaurus and camarasaurus.

A few large vertebrae are currently in place at the dig site, jacketed with plaster and burlap, waiting for removal by large equipment after a little more preparation. Our "team" continued the on-going work uncovering a large rib, an apatosaurus tooth, and clearing additional area in search of removable fossil bone.

Tonight - it's off to the local rodeo. When in Rome ...

Dan Summers, education curator at the Virginia Living Museum

Virginia Living Museum on safari to Colorado’s dinosaur country

Monday, July 7, 2008










Great trip so far - everyone in our group is very friendly and getting along well.

This morning we met John Foster, the lead paleontologist at the Museum of Western Colorado. He gave an interesting slide presentation/talk (at the Dinosaur Journey Museum, a 3 minute walk from the hotel!) on the basic geology of the area and the major players in the animal fossil record.

We then hopped in their 15-passenger van for a trip along the 23-mile Rim Rock Drive which winds, and I mean WINDS, through the amazing geologic formations of the Colorado National Monument State Park. We stopped at a number of overlooks with breathtaking views across vast expanses of open space with vertical drops of hundreds of feet - this is definitely NOT coastal Mid-Atlantic geology!

At one stop he showed us turtle footprint "casts" under a sandstone overhang, 150 million years old, one of only two sets known in the entire formation.

After our descent from Rim Rock Drive we drove into Grand Junction and visited the Museum of Western Colorado where we saw interesting displays on ancient native cultures, the Spanish influence, and the history of the area in the 19th and 20th centuries. The staff also gave us a tour of their "large materials" collections area.

From there, we returned to Fruita to visit the exhibits at the Dinosaur Journey Museum - they have a few of our old dino exhibit friends, including the lovely one tearing the head of another animal. (Dinosaurs - wherever you go, there they are.)

Tomorrow, we dig for dinos.

Dan Summers, education curator at the Virginia Living Museum

Coming soon --behind the scenes information about the Museum, photos of events and essays on museum topics.

No Child Left Inside –the Perfect New Year’s Resolution
In the New Year, Congress will act on a proposal to include environmental education, “No Child Left Inside,” in the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. This proposal, supported by Congressman Bobby Scott, would provide new funding for environmental education to develop rigorous standards, train teachers and develop statewide environmental literacy plans. The proposal gives states that develop environmental literacy plans access to additional funds without adding any new tests or requirements on school systems.

New federal funding would provide unprecedented support for teachers and schools to teach more children about the environment. As we pass on environmental challenges to future generations we must give them a solid understanding of the issues and the tools to create solutions. This also has benefits for the economy as jobs related to environmental science and engineering are predicted to increase in the next decade.

For many area students, their only interaction with nature comes during a classroom program at the Virginia Living Museum. In his 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder author Richard Louv argues that spending less time outdoors is directly linked to an increase in a wide range of children’s behavioral problems such as attention deficit disorder and rising childhood obesity rates. “No Child Left Inside” would reinforce the informal learning and healthy benefits that occur when children and families spend more free time outside.

How can a child value the environment and understand the interconnectedness of the web of life, if they’ve never experienced nature? Never used a Secchi disc or seine net in a field science class or never even captured tadpoles in a jar or collected fall leaves to savor autumn’s palette or studied the miniature society of a backyard anthill? Hopefully Congress, including Congressman-elect Rob Wittman, will adopt this measure and enable millions of children to benefit from environmental education and value the wonders of nature.

Page Hayhurst
Executive Director
Virginia Living Museum