We went on one of the park trails and Jim (geologist) gave us the interpretive tour of the riverbed and surrounding sediment. (Unfortunately the creationist who cleverly modified the park signage wasn't there to give us an alternate interpretation.)
After that we broke up into groups and combed the lower area of the park, an area well travelled by tourists. No good finds, but on the up side, no sun stroke. It was 102 at the base of the coulee (aka canyon, aka draw) so the 3 liters of water I had were barely enough. The weather at the top of the buttes (hills) was a little cooler, but climbing crumbling sheer sandstone cliffs is no simple task. By the end, our tails were all matted and backs were all raw. We decided to head back by 2, and at camp everyone had numerous cool drinks. Depending on the person and the type of drink imbibed, this had negative effects on the general attention span of the group during the afternoon lecture. (I learned that I should never sit between Natasha and Melinda…) Natasha and Melinda were the two crazy friends who let Olli sleep over. I brought Olli up to their cabin to help Natasha with the hat she was knitting, and when I tried to tell him it was time to go, he said, I don’t think so! He was so content and comfortable on a bed again!
**EDIT**
I forgot to mention Max! Max is a local amateur paleontologist who looks for fossils in his spare time. It's required by law to turn dinosaur bones in to proper authorities, and since Frankie counts as a "proper authority," he brings her his yearly finds. In this case, you can see T. rex (yes, THAT T rex!!) vertebra, claw, and other oddments. (Notice the paleontologist fuel on the table.)
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