Countdown to Fossil Dig 2009 Saturday, June 20, 10:45 p.m. Central time

Laurel and I arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota right on schedule. The flights to Denver from LA and then Denver to Rapid City were generally OK, though I spent a fair amount of time helping clear the turbulent weather so our flights were less bumpy. When the pilot said, "we are in for some bumps along the way", that was my cue to visualize a clear path for our plane. I really prefer to have my feet on the ground most of the time, and if I could, I would only fly when the going is smooth.

Enough of these mundane details. We drove our rental car to the nearest Wal-Mart to purchase our groceries for the week. We are staying in rooms in the house at our motel and we are fortunate to have access to the kitchen so we can prepare our breakfasts and dinners. Later, we finished our shopping at a small organic market in Hill City.

From Rapid City, we drove southwest to Hill City to visit the Black Hills Museum of Natural History. This place is amazing. One of the stars of the Museum is the Tyrannosaurus rex "Stan", one of the most complete T. rex specimens ever found. We have visited this museum each year and Stan never fails to elicit chills down our spines. He is spectacular, and he is not alone. There are individual T. rex skulls, an almost complete Triceratops (very rare), Struthiomimus, Camarasaurus, Edmontosaurus and many more dinosaurs. They have an impressive ammonites collection, fish, trilobites crinoids and plants.

This year there are new additions; beautiful bird/dinosaur fossils from China. You can see the feathers on the bodies and wings, and long tail feathers. There are claws on the "fingers" of the wings. Truly spectacular and a rare treat to see them in person.

We spent some time in the adjacent gift shop and I found some wonderful books on various topics. I may not have time to read them while I am here, but they will be great references upon my return and will allow me to continue learning about fossil identification. If I can't be in the field, at least I can immerse myself in a book.

Though we hated to say good bye to Stan and friends, it had been a long day. and we had a 2 1/2 hour drive ahead of us. We made one very quick stop at the Prairie Berry Winery and purchased an unusual bottle of wine which is a blend of grapes and chokecherry. We found a nice goat cheese and some Manchego cheese. We had an impromptu goat cheese wrap with rice tortillas brought from home, some carrot sticks and an apple, and began our drive to Buffalo.

This part of the state has had an unusually wet spring and the hills are many shades of green, often frosted with yellow flowers. Since rain had been falling on and off since our arrival, the sky presented a dramatic dark gray background. When the sun shone through a break in the clouds, the rolling green hills practically vibrated with life. The 12th Century mystic/nun, Hildegard of Bingen called it "veriditas". It was a breathtaking sight.

The last 30+ miles of the drive seemed to last forever, but just as we were both whining about our sore sits bones, the little town of Buffalo appeared. It is especially notable for all of its trees. In this part of the country, trees are very scarce. There is plenty of grass, cactus, flowers and more cactus, but the number of trees could be counted on one hand. (mild exaggeration) The trees of Buffalo were a welcome sight.

We checked in at the Tipperary Lodge Motel, received our keys, unpacked, met our housemate, Leslie (a fellow amateur paleontologist, and professional archeologist), and heard about her "finds" in the field on ranches in Wyoming. She had great success last week, and Laurel and I are thrilled for her, and just a tad bit envious. I would love to come home with a Triceratops rib and vertebra (just two of her treasures). She helped us connect to the internet, and well, now you are up to date. It is 11:30 p.m. our time and a long day must come to an end. Our excitement and anticipation of what this next week will bring is filling our heads, and I know, from past years' experience, that dinosaur fossil dreams will visit me tonight.

Cheers.