21. Visit the Dinosaur National Monument

A report on one of my items from my 30-before-30 bucket list.


Saturday, July 19, 2014
Although Vernal could have easily been an overnight adventure, one-day adventures are a little easier to accomplish, so we made it happen.

We left early Saturday and drove to Vernal. It's about 3 and a half hours there. We first went to the temple to check that temple off our lists. (Ashley and I both want to visit all the Utah temples this year).

Then we headed up to the Dinosaur National Monument. Turns out the monument itself is HUGE. We really only got to see a sliver of it. But it was a sliver with a lot of bones, so that made it ok.

The Fossil Bone Quary Exhibit Hall is a building built over bones that are still in the rock.

All the bones have been labeled and cataloged, but if they were excavated, they would simply sit in a box in the back of some museum. This way people can enjoy them in their semi-natural state. 

Also, the guy who discovered this quarry, Earl Douglass, was really hopeful that bones could somehow be displayed this way:

"I hope that the government, for the benefit of science and the people, will uncover a large area, leave the bones and skeletons in relief and house them in; it would make one of the most astounding and instructive sights imaginable."

How cool that he got his wish.

Now, for some things I learned:

• Dinosaurs died here because of drought. This was likely a river that dried up, and as it dried up, dinosaurs died here. Their bones were all collected in one place after a flood, and mixed up and covered in sedimentary rock, which is why they are all over the place.
• A dinosaur fossil is considered "complete" if it has at least 40 % of the bones. That's less than half. But ear bones and other small bones rarely if every survive, so they never expect to have all of them.
• Additionally, a skull is one of the most rare bones to find in tact, as it is hollow and easily broken.
• Long-neck dinosaurs did not lift up their heads like giraffes and eat from trees. Rather their long necks were so they could graze across a long area of grass without moving their bodies. Talk about lazy!
• Also, long-neck dinosaurs were protected from predators mainly by their sheer size, since they were so much bigger than any other dinosaurs. They didn't need any other protection.

Enough of the science lesson, here are some photos:

*not a real dinosaur

on the tram to the exhibit

* a real [dead] dinosaur

We saw some petroglyphs as well.

The weather was perfect for the fossil hike in the desert. Warm but overcast.

Another great adventure for the books. Thanks to Rushley and Eliza for joining me on a long wonderful day!

Island Vacation Part 2: Orcas

When I left Oahu, I flew to Seattle, where I spent a day with my nieces, then headed out early Thursday morning (July 3) to catch a 6 am ferry from Anacortes, Washington over to Orcas Island in the San Juans. We were having a Dean and Maureen Holmes family reunion there at Camp Moran, and I have been excited about it for quite a while. We booked the camp two years ago. I have always wanted to spend time in the San Juans, and now I'm pretty sure I need to go back. Like all the time.

It was absolutely gorgeous! The ride on the ferry, the view from the top of the mountain, the lake we were staying on, the setting of the camp itself (although I wouldn't say the cabins were particularly gorgeous). It was all I thought it would be and more. 

I spent time with my family, raced canoes, laid on the dock, watched for meteors (I saw one of the best ever!), laughed with my siblings, reconnected with my cousins, ate awesome food, played crazy games, thoroughly enjoyed the Holmes-ness of the variety show, read my book, hiked, geocached, and just had a wonderful trip.

This vacation was exactly what I needed. It was an amazing ten dies on two islands and I am so glad it all worked out! 

Now, a photo dump of Orcas:

On the ferry. We passed the time with the views and a puzzle.

Waterfall hike.

Anti-hug with Chan.

Moran State Park

The Russell family owned most of the town of Orcas. Mom and I ended up talking to one of them while waiting for the ferry, and he told us much of the history of Orcas, as he had lived there for 50 years. The picture is just fun for Russ.

This mirror was so fun. When you looked into it, you saw your face but the other person's hands.
We found it hilarious and laughed about it for a long time.

Everyone at the reunion. Only half the family, and they all rock!

Now for some beautiful views

Island Vacation Part 1: Oahu

On a whim last March, I invited my sister-in-law Steph to go to Hawaii with me this summer. I was having vacation fever and she had never been, and the timing worked out, so we planned to go. Shayne also came, we flew stand-by and somehow made it to Honolulu on June 27, 2014. Just in time for Steph's birthday the next day. We went to the beach, visited Pearl Harbor, exercised, hiked Diamond Head, watched random fireworks,  jumped off the rock in Waimea Bay, ate shrimp and lots of fresh fruit, biked along the beach, geocached, ate delicious food, boogie boarded, flew a kite, slept, swam, and all around had a great time. I went to BYU-Hawaii for a little while, so it was fun to be back. I'm glad I could share the island I love with people I love.

And now... a photo dump:

Flights over the ocean always freak me out a little bit.

First hotel view of the canal and the mountains.

Fireworks to welcome us.

Rainbow over the canal.

Birthday excitement!

On the bus. We traveled by bus a lot.

Diamond Head. Hot hike, but awesome views (and the bunker) made it worth it.

Beautiful ocean, perfect for swimming.

Kite flying.

Random exercise equipment.

Chickens. Everywhere.

USS Arizona Memorial

LDS Honolulu Tabernacle. Cool place for church on Sunday.

Pineapple Plantation train.

The pearl in the oyster I picked.

Visiting my old school. So much has changed. 

The green mountains of Hawaii on the way to the North Shore.

26. Swim in the Great Salt Lake

A report on one of my items from my 30-before-30 bucket list.

On Thursday I realized I had a free Saturday, so I emailed my fam and asked if they wanted to join me on a jaunt to the Great Salt Lake. It was a beautifully hot day, which was perfect for swimming.

We started out at the Fielding Garr Ranch for some Cowboy Poetry. This little guy, Cowboy Thatch, was 10 years old and totally adorable! He had some great poems and did great job reciting all from memory. Also, there was a snake under Jessie's chair, so we all had a minor freak out in the middle of one of his poems, but the other cowboy poet came down and saved us from being attacked by the nonpoisonous snake.

Then we headed over to the Island Buffalo Grill for some buffalo burgers. I was a little apprehensive, since I really don't like gamey meat, but the lady at the front said it wasn't gamey (she was right). Plus, really, when else would I ever try buffalo meat? So, I got it, and it was delicious!! It really just tasted like a normal burger, but with leaner meat. Good choice.

We then walked down to the beach. The water in the lake was really low. Or at least seemed that way. Therefore, the beach was crazy far out. There were some flies (not those gross biting gnats) and the lake smell on the water's edge, but when on the far side of the beach, or in the water itself, it was lovely!

So we waded in (pretty far to get deep enough) then we all sat down in the water. And that salt water is awesome for floating (not so awesome for after-swim residue). We just chilled and relaxed in the water. We skipped rocks and just hung out. That was my favorite part of the day; everyone just hanging out in the water. I think everyone was pleasantly surprised by the awesomeness of the lake, and I am so glad we did it. I didn't get any pictures of us in the water, because there is no way I was taking my phone close to that. But here we are on the beach.

Even cute pregnant Mackenzie got in. She loved the little brine shrimp, as her favorite animals of the day.

We also got to witness a lovely sunset. Such a beautiful place right in my backyard.

All in all, a wonderful trip to the beach, and my third island adventure in a week and a half.