Dinosaur Dig

Last Thursday we got to do one of the coolest things that we've ever done:  participate in a dinosaur bone dig.  The dig is located on a remote ranch in Wyoming, about 4 hours southeast of our home.  It's hard to believe that this cattle country hides paleontological wonders.

Upon arrival we watched a short video about the dig site and the proper technique for extracting these ancient bones.  We didn't anticipate that, as amateurs, we would be allowed to do much digging.  We've never been so glad to be wrong in our lives!  They cleared a spot and put the kids to work right away.

It was hot, tedious work - but rewarding nonetheless.  The sense of camaraderie at the dig was strong, and many of the participants took an active role in teaching us about dinosaurs and archeology.

Both Annabel and Thane found numerous tendons and bone fragments, including vertebrae.  Annabel's coolest find of the day was, alas, unidentifiable in its fragile condition and was thus simply catalogued as "bone fragment."

While Thane's great find was decidedly on the small side, the buzz it created was assuredly not.  He found a theropod tooth, which is considered the holy grail of dino digs. 

In a year or two, university students will complete sorting the finds from this summer's dig, and Annabel and Thane will go down in history as the discoverers of each bone they found.  We were told that Thane's tooth will probably end up in a museum.  How cool is that?!?