Long story and lots of photos today. We set out from Grand Junction nice and early planning to look for dinosaur bones at a live dig that Ori had given us directions to. It was off the beaten track and we knew we would be away from main roads but we didn’t know how far off and what we were in for. We found the Japanese Internment Camp road and followed the track from the foundations of the old buildings. Not knowing that the rainstorms had washed away the track we were looking for we kept going until we found the first left in the dusty gravel road. The road quickly became a four wheel drive obstacle course with steep uphill climbs on sheer rock with parallel gouges in the rock for grip. I decided to get out and document the progress and scout ahead just in case there was nowhere to turn around. We drove for miles in open desert following a path meant for bikes. We eventually came to an area we really couldn’t go any further. The temperature outside was getting up past 107F and we didn’t have alot of water left. So we convinced Joe ( who was happy to slog on even though it was obvious we were lost and he had two passengers too scared to stay in the car) On the way back out we decided to take a detour over a river wash that had no tracks on it and found ourselves 3 hours later at the place we had been searching for at the beginning. We headed up the steep mountain track by foot. The path was cut in two from the runoff and no vehicle could have made it -not even a bike. We got about 1/2 way up and the heat was too much. Back in the car we decided that we would explore this area when it gets cooler, like mid winter. The scenery was amazing, each direction you looked there was a completely different landscape. On one side mountains the distinct turquoise blue of the Morrison layer ( where the dino bones reside) Ahead the back of arches national park with its distinct red monoliths, to the right rocky outcrops and tortured trees, behind us stoney desert. Definitely a place to explore, but with lots of water and food and a four wheel drive built for the desert. Monty served us well but we were stretching its capabilities.
Colorado National Monument
•August 10, 2009 • 1 CommentWho goes past a sign that says Colorado National Monument and actually thinks there is anything there worth seeing – they really have to change the name of this place, it it breathtaking. Glorious red cliffs and canyons, balancing rocks, twisted trees, cliffs sculptured by the winds into soft curves, it really is worth a visit.
Day Two Dinosaur Tracks
•August 10, 2009 • Leave a CommentMore dinosaurs – now I definitely know more about dinosaurs than I ever needed to. We went to Dinosaur Ridge just west of Denver and saw dinosaur bones still in the rock and a rock face with dinosaur footprints. We have a very happy 10 year old who has decided he is going to be a paleontologist.
Fancy foxes
•August 9, 2009 • Leave a Comment
We spent the first couple of nights at Owaissa and put the fox food out hoping to see the blond fox and her kits. What we saw was the blond fox and her black fox friend. Black foxes are rare and apparently they have not been seen for years. I tried to take photos but the light was poor and the foxes were alert and quick to move if they heard the slightest sound. 
The beginning of the dinosaur expedition
•August 9, 2009 • Leave a CommentJoe’s 10 year old nephew Jakob arrived from Cleveland to spend a little over two weeks with us. He loves dinosaurs so we planned to spend the time searching for dinosaurs and fossils. Day One we headed to Woodland Park, Colorado, to the Dinosaur Resource Center. An excellent collection and well worth the visit, we thought at this point we now knew more about dinosaurs that we would ever need to but little did we know it really was just the beginning. We went further into the mountains to Florrisant Fossil Beds and unearthed a few fossils of our own. It was fun, like a treasure hunt. The best one we found was only part of a leaf but very satisfying.
The Tipi
•August 8, 2009 • Leave a CommentBy popular demand here are some photos of the Tipi and Cheyenne. Farmer Joe on his tractor and taking it easy after a hard day cutting grass.
Ori’s wonderful Garden
•August 8, 2009 • Leave a CommentJust a few photos from Ori’s beautiful garden.
Where gas pumps go to die
•August 8, 2009 • Leave a CommentTime for an update since we have a connection at last. I am weeks behind so I will try and add things in order. While we were at the Tipi in Wyoming Joe and I decided to go to Pine Bluffs on the border of Nebraska and only 15 miles up the road. There is nothing there, but we did find the place that gas pumps go to die. We also found a strange custom of dressing the dogs in pinafores and having them drag a purse along with them, or it could have just been one of the locals – we are not sure.
Wyoming
•July 20, 2009 • 1 CommentWe have settled in to the Tipi and enjoying the wild weather and the prairie. Two Swainston Hawks have a nest in the tree behind the Tipi. You can hear the chicks but can’t see them through the foliage, but if you get up early enough you can see Mom and Dad out hunting. Joe has watched them swoop down and catch small rodents, but so far I have just seen them waiting on the fence line for the speeding trucks to scare up something for them.
Joe has been working on the airstream and I have been heading down to Fort Collins during the week to exchange some consulting work for Joes medical treatment. Its been lots of fun, I could almost be tempted to stay.
At night we watch the wild weather and are actually disappointed when we don’t get the thunderstorms or the strobe lightening shows. One night we saw this cloud and thought that Nebraska must have just been nuked.
The Tipi
•July 8, 2009 • 1 CommentMonday we moved up to Ori and Kens tipi near Burns Wyoming. Set in the prairie you can see the weather coming for miles, incredible cloud formations, wind, hails storms, rain storms, lightening, sometimes it moves right by and sometimes stays right overhead. There are Swanson falcons nesting with chicks and different birds that I have no idea as to what they are, a fox that visits at night and various rodents and reptiles that I would just as soon not get to know too well. The tipi is Ori and Kens summer home and houses his hot rod collection and now Joes bike. Joe is going to do a bit of work on the 1957 airstream that is in the process of being restored. We plan on being here for a week, no internet or TV so updates will be when we find a coffee shop with wifi. So far we have only found one in Cheyenne which is about 20 miles east.
