road trip!
 

Just got to kc, mo. Heading north to nebraska tomorrow morning, cant wait to get to:


http://ashfall.unl.edu/

Be aure to look at the ashfall animals theyve found so far. One and three toed horses together, rhinos, etc

Looks like fun!

Left sioux city this morning. Went by sioux falls, absolutely beautiful falls over gorgeous red quartzite. From there, west to and thru the badlands. Just beautiful, but not as colorful as the painted desert. Made several stops, got to see amazing fossils...and then right before exiting the park to head for rapid city, we came upon a herd of bighorns. Got great pics of mamas and babies.
in the am, we have a 214 mile round trip to see devils tower in wyoming, and then come back to rapid city for the geology museum, and then the crazy horse monument and mt. Rushmore.
Having a great time. Staying the next couple nights at the hotel alex johnson...supposedky haunted, but i dont believe in such things!

Just left devils tower, wy. Amazing!

Got back to rapid city, and toured the geology museum at the college. A great set of exhibits. Left there to go to the crazy horse and my Rushmore monuments. I had no idea crazy horse was literally stabbed in the back by a soldier, dying that night.
Not sure why i was surprised, knowing how Osceola ended up in south Carolina, taken into custody when he met under a flag of truce...he's buried at fort moultrie.

Why no pictures?

Sounds like an amazing trip, Danzig. Enjoy!

Otis

Theyre on my phone. Will download when i get home so i can post them then.
have a ton of them. In colorado springs now. Pikes peak is gorgeous, going on the train up tthere in the morning.
Ate at landrys seafood in denver last night. It was fantastic. Get the seared scallops, you wont regret it.

44 hours in the car since leaving home...2300 miles. Thats nothing, when we went to cali in dec, 65 hours....and no arguements!

Went up the mountain this morning. Absolutely spectacular. When we left the station, it was around 70 degrees. Got to the top, with wind chill, 22.

A relatively uneventful day yesterday... Left col springs early, to get to okc last night. Made one stop, at capulin volcano. Saw some mule deer. Great view from the rim of the volcano, over 100 volcanoes in that area. Hiked down to the vent, so cool.
Heading the rest of the way home today...can't wait to get doggie! :p

skeleton of a three toed horse, ashfall, ne

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a portion of the ashfall fossils, still an active dig site

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the badlands, south dakota

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devils tower, wy

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the ubiquitous praire dog
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big horn sheep, badlands

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a 'lizard', about 60 feet, makes an alligator look tame. note the fish in the background! museum of geology, rapid city, sd

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buffalo, custer state park, sd

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wild burros, (here kids, pet the baby. stranger (me) to kids, i wouldn't recommend that. custer state park
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mammoth, at the mammoth site, hot springs, sd these aren't fossils , but very fragile bones. amazing! over 60 found so far.

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pikes peak, view from 'the garden of the gods', colorado springs, co

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snowmelt from pikes peak, col springs

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mountain view, summit of pikes peak. that's not snow in the background..it's clouds

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i'll post more tomorrow. tedious to download, crop to fit, etc.

:wf

pikes peak

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more mammoths. they evidently fell into a hot spring over the years that filled up over time...the sides were too steep to get out, and there they all were when a bulldozer came to clear an 'unsightly hump ' of ground

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pronghorn

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crazy horse, about 40 years to finish it.

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titanothere, that once roamed north america. if you look close at his feet, there's an alligator. they were a lot smaller then, and lived in south dakota!

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triceratops

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crazy horse scale model. it's going to be great, wonder if i'll be alive to see it!

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mt rushmore

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hope you're enjoying these!

snow plow, over ten feet of snow at the top of pikes peak...and they remove snow all year long..
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short faced bear

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that's a line up of skulls, with the now extinct short faced bear on the far right. a polar wouldn't stand a chance...


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that's the two types of mammoths to show size. on the left is the wooly, on the right is the colombian. all but three found so far in that pit, which is still an active dig, have been the much larger colombian-which makes an african elephant look small.


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they are keeping the bones where they find them, as they find them, because they're so fragile. they aren't fossilized, but are the actual bones..

i guess we should have gone to rushmore first. because after seeing crazy horse, it looks very small-and it is a lot smaller!

the saying on the bottom of the crazy horse statue....when he was with the soldiers, one snidely asked him where are your lands now? and that's when he pointed and said where my people lay.
no state or federal money is going to that monument. it's all by donations, sales at the shop, etc.