Excerpts from a journal kept by Brad Halcums and Pam Courtney during the Virginia Living Museum's Dinosaur Dig Safari July 2008

July 6

We arrived at Grand Junction, Colorado, where mesas were easily visible at the airport. It was 88 degrees and a hot wind, but low humidity. We were met by two vans from the Dinosaur Journey Museum that took us the 13 miles to Fruita for the hotel check-in. On the way in, we noted the hotel is on Jurassic Street and bordered by Cretaceous Street.

In a nearby lot, about ten prairie dogs were playing. As this area develops, they will probably have to move. The Colorado River is nearly in sight of the hotel, behind an RV park. Although Fruita is a semi-desert, there are some spots of greenery in the lived-in areas. Cottonwood bushes spread many dainty white seeds. There are trees looking like honey locusts, and little sparrows.

July 7

Up by 6 a.m. and saw lighting from the mountains from our second-floor view. It is very overcast and about 70 degrees. Forecast for today is 92 degrees with isolated showers. We met at the Dinosaur Discovery Museum about 8:30 and had a two-hour geology introduction by Dr. John Foster, head paleontologist. Then we boarded a van to enter the Colorado National Monument. The Visitor Center was several miles up the road and at about 5,800 feet. Dr. Foster gave us a lesson on an overlook showing the rock layers from top to bottom.

The entire area, layers of various sandstone strata and one of gneiss, is a result of millions of years of desert dunes compacted into rock and eroded away later by an inland sea. Later the area was uplifted, and streams created towers and canyons. Another area, Grand Mesa, is basalt. It is the result of an ancient volcano and other softer layers being eroded away.

We made several stops at overlooks; one was at an outcrop where he showed us turtle tracks (hard to see). They were only the second set of turtle tracks found in the Morris layer/formation. We also saw a skink and many pine trees, shortened and sculptured by wind.

After finishing the 23-mile park road we were back in Grand Junction, where at the Museum of the West we had a private tour, focusing on Native Americans, the Spanish influence and the Western Investigations Team. The latter is fairly new and combines forensics, geology and other disciplines to examine old mysteries. We were taken downstairs to the large storage area to view furniture, saddles, domestic appliances and items not yet displayed. Then we returned to the Dinosaur Discovery Museum, where we had an hour to tour and shop.

July 8

After breakfast we met at the Dinosaur Discovery Museum. Dr. Foster took us to the preparation room, where bones are cleaned and prepared for exhibit. Several of us took turns with a small air drill, chipping away native rock from a large bone of an Apatosaurus. Then Dr. Foster walked us around the museum to point out things not normally noticed (or known) by visitors. For example, the femur and tibia of a brachiosaurus were exhibited vertically, but the hip bone had to be tilted as it would not fit under the ceiling if it was extended naturally. He also showed us the outline of the vertebrae of the largest dinosaur anywhere, Amphicoelias fragilimus, which weighed 120 tons.

Next Dr. Foster took us to the locked storage room containing catalogued specimens. Most were laid out on racks on foam sheets; some plants and amphibian fossils were in wooden trays. The most fragile and important bones were in locked metal cabinets. When asked about the “Hope diamond” of the collection, Dr. Foster showed us the brain case of an allosaurus.

We then drove about 10 miles to the location where the first brachiosaurus fossil was found in 1900. Dr. Foster pointed out to us a concrete cast of the vertebrae which was exposed. Next we went to the Mygatt-Moore Quarry in Rabbit Valley, about 2 miles from the Utah border. The temperature was now 97 degrees under sunny skies. Under screened tarps we ate lunch and met two volunteers, one of whom had been digging for over 20 years. The dig season is about four months; during the off season, the volunteers work at the Discovery Museum. Alex, our field assistant, told us the three rules for the dig site: 1. If a bone is found, leave it so it can be cataloged; 2. Keep the area clean by brushing off material as it is removed; 3. Do not dig in vertically, as this can break bones.

We all worked in an area dug into a hill about 40 feet long where bones had already been exposed. Mary and Jim found a tooth from an allosaurus. Our tools were dental picks, paint brushes, screwdrivers, hammers and dustpans. Dr. Foster and the assistants demonstrated adding to the casting of a large Apatosaurus with burlap and plaster of Paris. The dig wrapped up about 3 p.m., when we covered the area with tarps and rubble to discourage vandals and robbers. We returned to the hotel for cleanup and dinner, after which several folks went in the museum van to a rodeo.

July 9

Forecast for today is 97 degrees and clear. Dr. Foster drove us again in the van to the Mygatt-Moore Quarry. We uncovered the rubble from yesterday and began slowly removing material from bones. Every hour Ray, on of the volunteers, reminded us to drink liquids to avoid dehydration. We worked until 12:30, when lunch was set for us from coolers. Brad found a small piece of rib bone, probably from an allosaurus, which was glued back together with Elmer’s glue. We wanted to put a plaster cap on the vertebrae we were uncovering, but progress was too slow since the bone pieces were so crumbly. Brad also found a vertebra at a 45 degree angle nearly fully buried, which we did not have much time to uncover. The uncovering was slow, as the bones were in various positions and it was often hard to identify bones from rocks. Some rocks had green veins of vanadium oxide. At 2:30 we began the covering process. The digging is done only a few days a week and often when volunteer groups like ours are available.

About 3:30 we returned to the older portion of Fruita, to a shop that does castings. The owner showed us the process and poured expanding foam into a latex mold. Within a few minutes the foam had hardened and the cast was removed. Castings are sold to many libraries and educational facilities as replacements and for educational purposes. We returned to the hotel and had 15 minutes to change and wash up, then volunteer Alex took Dan, Bob, Danny, Pam and Bill to tour the Two Rivers Winery about 7 miles away. Then back to the hotel to do laundry and prepare for tomorrow’s rafting trip.

July 10

Forecast is again 97 degrees and sunny (with Moab at 104 degrees). It was a short trip to Rimrock Adventures, where we loaded onto a van and were driven west to Loma, where we put into the water in two inflatable boats about 8:45 a.m. The river was swift and smooth. It had dropped 6 feet from its spring peak but was still much higher than in 2007. We saw bald eagles, both mature and young. McKellar was given the OK to hop out of the raft as long as he kept his life jacket on. He did not mind the 65-degree water temperature until he returned to the boat. Our guide pointed out a coyote, great blue heron, turkey hen with six chicks, red-tail hawks, mallards and swallows (with mud nests under cliffs). The scenery was outstanding and our guide pointed out various canyons and a clifftop bike trail parallel to the river.

After going through Horsethief Canyon, we stopped at Blackrock for lunch. The beach has shade from tamarisk trees, a very invasive species that stabilizes shorelines but absorbs too much water and is difficult to destroy. The black rocks were granite with veins of pink feldspar. Juniper trees grew among the rocks, with some being hundreds of years old. Above the beach was a plateau with lovely wildflowers and a great view. The sand was as fine as that on the Outer Banks. Dr. Foster, Alex, Danny and McKellar had a fun watergun fight among the rocks.

After lunch, nearly everyone got in the water and drifted several miles alongside the rafts. Just before the Utah border were some Indian petroglyphs and steps carved into the wall. Those in the water followed a tradition of floating across the state border. The 25-mile float ended at 3:30 when we landed at Westwater, Utah. We were driven back to the hotel and after a quick shower we met Dr. Foster at the downtown museum and walked to the nearby street fair, where we stayed until about 8:30.

July 11

We were up 6; the forecast is 99 degrees and sunny for Moab. We met at the Dinosaur Museum about 8:30 and did some last-minute shopping; at 9 we boarded the museum van and headed west on I-70. When across the Utah border we turned south, and for two hours we climbed through spectacular scenery, noting various formations indicated by Dr. Foster. Snow could be seen on distant mountains. The temperature cooled as we climbed and we saw aspen and pine trees. On a plateau, Dr. Foster took us to several unmarked sites to identify carnivorous dinosaur tracks in the rocks, the rocks, hidden in a stand of small shrubs. These tracks had been made in mud which then turned to rock.

We then went southwest to Moab, passing several well-irrigated ranches and resorts. After lunch there, we headed north to see more trackways. Once again, the formations were breathtaking. The climb to the trackways was moderately steep and went up at least 100 feet. Dr. Foster also pointed out Indian petroglyphs on the walls.

We proceeded north to Dead Horse State Park, where formerly rustlers would keep stolen horses on a peninsula of rock. The neck of the peninsula would be blocked to keep the horses from wandering off. The name Dead Horse came from times when horses would die of thirst before the rustlers would return. At the end of the walkway was a spectacular view of Canyonlands National Park. The sights went on for miles, and camera shots may not show the depth perception there was.

Back in Fruita, we took over the patio of a Mexican restaurant and had a nice dinner of tacos, enchiladas, rice and beans. We shuffled back to the hotel at 8:30 and were glad for showers.

July 12

Dr. Foster picked us up at 5:30 a.m. at the hotel and took us to the Grand Junction airport. (At security, the spray Lysol we had was confiscated by TSA as hazardous material.) The flight to Norfolk was uneventful, and Dan Summers returned us in the VLM van to the museum at 8 p.m.

Lessons to apply:

   1. Note the weather carefully. We had taken too many clothes for cooler temperatures, which did not happen.
   2. If the hotel has laundry facilities, take fewer clothes since they can be cleaned.
   3. Sunglasses should not have metal rims in hot areas.