Day Three- The Dam

My kids don't really stick to anything for very long.  So imagine John's and my surprise when for the third day in a row- they wanted to go explore out at St.Mary's Reservoir.   John had told them all about a co worker of his who has searched the area and found some pretty amazing archaeological things.    (ancient arrowheads, the skeleton of a camel, mammoth tracks and last September,  a T-Rex tooth!)   Pretty cool eh?   I still can't really wrap my mind around the idea that CAMELS once roamed this area- but the evidence is there- just waiting to be unearthed.

This morning the kids vehemently insisted on NOT fishing (what no fishing?) and instead exploring the spillway beneath the Dam.   Oh my goodness they had so much fun!    We knew it was going to be a great morning as soon as we arrived.   We hadn't even been there 5 minutes before we saw several pelicans circling in the air above us, two muskrats, and a half dozen little critters that we think are called marmots.    (Picture a gopher the size of a puppy)

The most enjoyable part of all though was searching along the banks of the river for anything that could remotely pass as a fossil.     It was cute to watch Abby, Sam and Jess run from one spot to the next with their pails, sticks and shovels in hand turning over every rock they passed by.      I couldn't help but wonder about the history hidden in those rocks, and I wished I knew more about this kind of thing as I'm certain that we probably ran right past (or over) some very cool treasures without even knowing it.

One thing we did find were these cool imprints at one spot.  It might be hard to tell in this photo, but several rocks contained the imprint of a shell.  The picture on the bottom left shows the large area that we found that was just dotted with hundreds of shell prints.

 These imprints were very similar to the shell of a mussel or a clam and John was excited to think that perhaps we were looking at proof that this was once part of an ocean floor.     

 Whoa.   Camels AND an Ocean...?   Crazy right?

I was having a hard time buying it at first, yet the thought is so very intriguing, and by the end of the morning I was as into it as anyone.   In fact,  I found myself at times secretly determined to be the one who found something amazing.   I made sure to walk as far away from John and the kids as possible because I didn't want them to steal my find.    As I scoured every inch of ground in front of me I had visions (or delusions of grandeur) of unearthing the fossil of a previously undiscovered dinosaur. 

  And naturally, it would be known as the TANosaurus.  

After Me.  The one who discovered it, of course.  

Alas, the lure of the nearby playground eventually stole the attention of the kids and I was forced to follow them, leaving the mysteries of the Jurassic era for someone else to find.    

But I was so close.  I could feel it!

After the kids played at the park (in the pouring rain the weirdos!), Abby remarked that today was the most perfect day, and that she just LOVED St. Mary's Dam.  

I suppose you could say that this was the Best Dam day of the whole week?

(I'm so funny.  I know.)