Got off work early on Thursday, much to the chagrin of my boss. Hey... we were told 3 PM by corporate. Everyone else left early... so what the heck, right?
Got pizza and movies, went to sleep. Friday was a big day. Drive 3 hours to a place just outside Delta Utah called U-dig fossils.
http://www.u-digfossils.com/
Trilobites, algae and Brachiopods galore. Of course we kept forgetting to bring our cameras. So I don't have any pics of Mrs. P hunting Trilobites, but her sore hands, cut thumb and $100 or so less dollars from our bank account proves she was there. Oh and she found quite a few Trilobites too. Nice ones. Right off the bat too. And that's a good thing.
I'd doubt she woulda had as much fun driving 3 hours to the middle of no where, then spending 4 hours digging in the cool air and cloudless sky on sharp and jagged rocks if she hadn't found fossils right off the bat.
She's a trooper.
I found a great one. "Cheeks" still intact. Plus a nice piece of fossil algae. Yes, algae... can you imagine how hard it would be to find 500 million year old algae? It's very rare.
So if you do not know what a Trilobite is, it's like a little bug. Only they lived on the sea floor way back when Utah was under water.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilobite
Brachiopods are like clams. Bivalves. The ones we found were tiny, like a small black pinkie toenail.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachiopod
Fossil algae... well that's pretty much the same as the stuff we have now... I've found it before, the guys at the quarry tell me I have a good eye, most everyone else never seems to find it. Perhaps they do, but overlook it for the more recognizable Trilobites.
http://images.google.com/images?q=fossil+algae&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7SUNA&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
(The first couple pics are what my stuff looks like.)
All in all we had fun. We were told to go in a place where everyone else was digging... I should've moved over to the area where no one was digging. Less kids. Less noise. Less picked through. But oh well... the wife says it's something we could definitely do again. Yay!
Yeah, yeah... pics!!! I'll get them. Tonight maybe.
The drive home was fun. A full moon rising above the mountains, no traffic, police roadblock! Ha! Yep, we got stopped out in the middle of no-where at a huge police roadblock. Lights, police armed to the teeth, cones, an RV. Turns out they were checking for ATV licenses, DUIs and the usual illegal stuff people like to do on holiday weekends.
All they asked us is if we had any alcohol in the car. "No sir." And we were on our way. Lot's of police out on the freeways. Thank the heavens for cruise control.
Saturday we spent the afternoon with my grandma. Took her to Chili's for a late lunch. Mini-hamburgers and chicken tacos a-plenty. Don't forget the chips and salsa. We went back to the parent's house to watch a little TV, let the lunch settle and have some banana-split cake. Yummy. Not sure about the pineapple.
Sunday we spent the day at my in-laws. I love them so much, they're great. Perfect in-laws. We sat around talking, then went outside to fly kites, blow bubbles and chase the mini-dog around. My wife flies a kite like no one's business. A wonderful dinner, Honey-Baked ham and turkey... only the best turkey EVER!!!! Finished the night with TV and home to bed.
Pretty good weekend, albeit a fast one.
-Jeff
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2 comments:
It was a really great weekend. I had so much fun doing all of the things you talked about - trilobite hunting, late lunching with Grandma, and flying kites and playing with the baby nephew at my parent's house - everything is so much more fun with you! I love you sweetheart.
Sounds like the two of you had a great time. Good weather, cruise control and chips & salsa at Chili's - who could ask for more? And then you get a great Sunday with the folks- you are both very lucky to have such a fun and loving family! Jeff's a lucky man!
Mom
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