Unbelievable fossil hunting, huge geodes to find and
keep, topaz gemstone hunting, beautiful agates, petrified wood,
plus lots more! Call for
details!!
Contact us at
1-800-411-DINO (3466) for more
info.
2010 Dinosaurs
Rock Utah Fosil Dig
Group
****************************************
WARNING: This Fossil Dig is
Not for Everyone! Please Read below
prior to signing up:
1. You must
be in good enough physical shape to walk a 1/2 mile
without being winded. 2. You must
be able to withstand long car rides (with your kids)
for sometimes up to 3
hours. 3. While we make every attempt to
stop at bathroom facilities along the way to a dig
site, if going to the bathroom in the "field" makes
you grossed out, this is not for
you. 4. There is absolutely NO ALCOHOL
CONSUMPTION while we are in the field together.
You may however do whatever you like when we return
to the hotel. 5. Somewhere, at sometime, you or
someone else will experience a "FLAT
TIRE". Are you willing to help, or will
you complain? 6. If your are used to fancy hotels and
being catered too and want to sit at a pool and eat all day
- please don't sign
up!
7. This is a REAL FOSSIL &
MINERAL DIG. You may or may not always find specimens. We
may decide at the last minute to investigate a new location
which is quite adventurous but no guarantees. So far
everyone took home loads of specimens. It may be better for
some of you to purchase our EXCAVATION KITS that
replicate a real fossil dig and do this right in your own
air conditioned comfortable
home. 8. You must be
open minded so if we say we should be back to the
hotel at 6PM or 7 PM and it turns out to be 8PM or
9PM, is this too much for you to handle?
9. Utah is dry and hot. So far our
Fossil Digs were in the mid to upper 80's. Is heat a
problem for you? 10. You need to follow
directions carefully such as keeping your gas tank full in
the morning and making sure your kids don't stray too far
from the group. 11.
Finally, can you do this whole thing on your own?
YES! Remember though, there is NO CELL PHONE SERVICE
on many of the roads. You are driving for the most
part on dirty, dusty roads that often times gives you a
flat tire (mostly on passenger car tires). Maps are
hard to follow and the sites you try to find may or may not
exist anymore. We travel in caravan style and work
with walkie-talkies for
communication.
OK - that was the bad part and I
wanted to cover this first.
Now for the cool
stuff.
*************************************
What an
amazing experience this will be – I’m Leslie Freund.
My husband (Neil Brown) founded Dinosaurs Rock 10 years
ago. Neil has been a fossil/mineral fanatic since he
was a child and he brings his passion to all our
educational programs….especially to this adventure travel
tour. He has an amazing connection with kids and
that’s why this trip is so unique…we’ve made what could be
a “watching paint dry” experience into one that is fun,
interactive, as social as you’d like it to be and totally
memorable for both the adults & kids. And, yes,
everyone finds lots and lots of fossil and mineral
specimens to take home. There’s something totally
awe-inspiring about making these discoveries in their
natural environment. It’s hard to convey in writing
(I think some of the visuals/testimonials on our site do a
better job.
Pricing is $699 per person which
includes
- Welcome & Pre-tour evening
orientation approx 7PM -the night before Day
1
- 3 day guided tour led by founders of
DINOSAURS ROCK and local Utah-based geologists/fossil &
mineral experts who know the lay of the land and have
access to ideal sites where we are sure to make
discoveries.
Each day starts with an overview of our
itinerary led by DINOSAURS ROCK founder Neil Brown, a
brief, informative learning session about the local geology
of the sites we’ll be visiting and specimens we’ll be
finding. Over the course of the 3 days, we’ll be
visiting sites to uncover fossils such as dinosaur bone,
petrified wood - excavating trilobites from shale and
discovering minerals such as wonderstone, giant
crystal-filled geodes and topaz….and gaining insights along
the way.
We do a daily drawing for cool fossil
& mineral prizes (everyone wins something each day)
either in the AM or at our dig/rock hunting
site.
Each day is unique and
different.
We travel in a “caravan, “ following each
other’s vehicles on open roads (no chance of getting lost!)
to 1 or 2 different local sites each day to discover
different fossils like dinosaur bone, petrified wood,
trilobites…..and minerals like geodes, wonderstone,
topaz.
Magnificent Scenery while driving to our
locations.
We make provisions for facility breaks
along the way. We stop for Lunch (included) – there
are various box lunch menu choices and we can arrange for
special dietary
needs.
Once we return to the hotel (home base is
Delta Best Western) it’s free time – some families hang at
the hotel pool with members of the group, grab local eats
or catch a local movie…your
choice.
The typical day starts anywhere between
6:30 and 8AM and ends at about 3-5PM (just a guesstimate,
depends on final
itinerary)
Each family will take home a 12” x 12”
box of their fossil finds ($35 UPS fee if you elect to have
us ship for
you).
Last time kids ranged in age from
5-15. Our 3 kids will be there again! Some
families came as complete units, some as partials (mom
& son, dad & son, mom &
daughter).
Thank you Weisberg Family for the great photos and
being absolutely wonderful on the Dinosaur's Rock Utah
Fossil Dig.
Temperature should be in the 80’s during
the day – it’s dry heat (we had 90’s in Aug ’80 and it was
totally
do-able).
Additional expenses
include:
-Hotel
we use is Days Inn (formerly Best Western) Delta -
$81
per nite (Dinosaurs Rock Rate)- includes
Breakfast – It has an outdoor pool, wi-fi, laundry
facilities.
-Daily
dinner (Delta is a small town with inexpensive,
family-friendly restaurants, supermarkets, fast food
options)
-Travel
to/from Delta, Utah (airfare if needed) – it is 110
miles from Salt Lake
City
-Vehicle
rental – we highly recommend a 4-wheel drive vehicle --
some of the places we go are off-road – it’s the
“real deal” - we visit places no tour bus can
reach!
We don’t get involved in arranging
flights/hotel reservations simply because each family has
unique travel needs in terms of timing and where they want
to visit before/after the dig tour. Our expertise is
in fossils & minerals! But, I personally love to
research travel ideas and personally planned our extended 8
day stay in ’08 and am happy to assist by sharing ideas and
travel resources with
you.
I wanted to thank you for the amazing time that we had. We
have not yet stopped talking about it. The kids keep asking
if we can go again next year!
Our box of wonderful keepsakes arrived last week and they
are as beautiful to us as they were when we found them. We
have great memories of the trip and hope to see you all
again sometime. Thank you again for everything. You are a
wonderful family and we are glad to have taken part in the
Dinosaurs Rock experience!
Thanks for everything. We can only imagine how much work
went into putting the trip together.
Check out Scenes from one of our Fossil Digs in
Utah...
DAY 1 DINOSAUR BONE
HUNTING
Jurassic Dinosaurs of
Utah
The Morrison Formation
Allosaurus, Utah's State
Fossil, was the dominant predator of North
America during the Late Jurassic. It is known
from numerous skeletons, ranging from 10 to 40
feet in length, from the Cleveland-Lloyd
Dinosaur Quarry in east-central Utah. Mounted
skeletons, cast from Cleveland-Lloyd Allosaurs,
are displayed in over three dozen museums
around the world. With sharper teeth and a more
graceful build, Allosaurus rivals
Tyrannosaurus rex as the supreme
meat-eater of the Mesozoic.
Day 1 started out with a drive through the most
beautiful country and
through 6 miles of dirt road to reach our Dinosaur Dig - here
we are before we start.
Walking and searching the ground for
Dinosaur Bones.
Walking through areas where
dinosaurs once
roamed.
A Discovery!!
Brushing away at some real fossil
dinosaur
bone.
Our guide Craig describing what to look for
when identifying a dinosaur
bone.
We learned about how fossils are
formed.
Uncovering a genuine dinosaur rib
bone
Dinosaur rib being
examined
Prepping a dinosaur bone with "super glue" to
prevent breakage.
Our group searched everywhere and we found some
really cool fossils.
A vast area to hunt for dinosaur
bone.
Collecting Petrified Wood and Dinosaur
Bone
Off to see Permian amphibian tracks but driving
on dirt roads made it hard to see sometimes but
was very exciting.
Permian Amphibian Tracks
just off the side of the
road.
Gorgeous red shear cliffs surrounded us on our
beautiful drive this first
day.
Rest time at the lake after a hard day
collecting Dinosaur Bones and other
fossils.
Everyone Wins With Our Daily Raffle for Cool
Fossils and Minerals.
Lakeside scary story
telling!!
Skipping rocks at the
lake.
Navaho Tacos were a real treat for a hungry
group.
Everyone
loved the food on this Fossil
Dig.
DAY 2 HUNTING TRILOBITES
What is a
trilobite?
A trilobite is form of invertebrate marine life that lived
more than 500 million years ago, but are now extinct. These
hard-shelled prehistoric critters roamed the sea floor and
coral reefs in search of food. Because of their great
diversity and often perfect preservation in fine-grained
rock, they are one of the most popular fossils among
collectors. The fossils are found in a limestone shale.
This shale splits easily into flat sheets, revealing the
trilobite fossils. Fossilized trilobites lay nearly flat
along the splitting planes of the shale.
All the kids made friends very easily and worked
together
to find some great fossils to keep and take
home.
Digging for Trilobites in 500 Million Year Old
Limestone Shale.
This area of Utah
was once under a shallow sea of water and now
is 6000 ft above sea level carrying a wide
variety of really cool Trilobite
Fossils.
Parents had a great time discovering
Trilobites as well.
The 500 Million
year old shale was easy to split and find
trilobites.
Rock hammers and
protective eyeware were necessary to be safe
when we cracked open these
rocks.
DAY 3
TOPAZ GEMSTONES
GEODES
WONDERSTONE
Topaz and other minerals found at Topaz
Mountain, Juab County
Topaz Mountain
Geologic Information: Topaz, Utah's state gem,
is a semiprecious gemstone that occurs as very hard,
transparent crystals in a variety of colors.
The topaz crystals at Topaz Mountain are naturally amber
colored, but become colorless after exposure to sunlight. The
crystals formed within cavities of the Topaz Mountain Rhyolite,
a volcanic rock which erupted approximately six to seven
million years ago (Tertiary Period) from volcanic vents along
faults in the area.
Other minerals that can be found at Topaz Mountain are red
beryl, amethyst, garnet, pseudobrookite, bixbyite, opal, and
hematite.
Gemstone hunting
at Topaz Mountain
Everyone found
some really cool Topaz
Gemstones.
Really cool Topaz
Gemstones were discovered.
Another Topaz
Gemstone Successfully
Found.
These rocks didn't give up their cool gemstones
easily!
Dugway GEODES:
Dugway Geode Beds, Juab
County
by Carl Ege
Geologic information: Approximately 6
to 8 million years ago (Miocene epoch), volcanic activity
occurred in western Utah and deposited an extrusive igneous
rock called rhyolite. Trapped gasses formed cavities within
the rhyolite, and millions of years of ground-water
circulation allowed minerals to precipitate into the
cavities. The result is geodes with spherical shapes and
crystal-lined cavities.
Roughly 32,000 to 14,000 thousand years ago, a large
body of water known as Lake Bonneville covered most of
western Utah. The lake's wave activity eroded the
geode-bearing rhyolite and redeposited the geodes several
miles away in the Dugway geode bed area as lake
sediments.
Most geodes are typically hollow whereas others are
completely filled with massive, banded quartz. The most
common mineral found within the geodes is quartz in various
colors: clear (rock crystal), purple (amethyst), and pink
(rose).
We
dig about 20 ft underground to uncover really cool
Geodes.
Digging Geodes from where they
naturally formed.
Piles of Geodes on top of the ground after we dig them
up.
Digging out a big
Geode.
"I got It!" Beautiful crystal filled
Geodes.
We found
these geodes about 15 - 20 feet under
ground.
A beautiful
large geode with magnificent
crystals.
Close up view of a geode embedded in
the soft earth.
Everyone was successful at finding
really cool geodes
to keep and take home.
Wonderstone:
Wonderstone in the Vernon Hills, Tooele
County
Wonderstone found at Vernon Hills.
A striking feature of Vernon Hills wonderstone is its
intricately folded bands that create colorful designs in
cream, yellow-brown, and multiple shades of maroon.
Geologic information: The Vernon Hills
wonderstone is a welded-vitric tuff (vitric means glassy)
of rhyolitic composition. It is a volcanic rock composed
predominantly of volcanic glass particles which have been
welded or stuck together by heat and compacted by the
weight of overlying material. Alteration of the rock by
circulating ground water produced the colorful banding. The
maroon and yellow-brown colors are due to the presence of
iron oxides.
We found a
huge area where we were able to collect
some gorgeous specimens of
wonderstone.
The
Wonderstone quarry was our last stop on our
3 day Dinosaurs Rock Fossil
Adventure.
There was
plenty of really cool Wonderstone to choose
from.
DANGER?- the small
print read only when
Blasting!
Great
Wonderstone specimens to take
home.
Wonderstone -
one of the pretiest rocks we
found.
Sarah and I both had a
marvelous time on the trip. The geology and
scenery, especially on the first
(mars-like) day, were so spectacular that
they would have made the trip worthwhile
even without the fossils.
However, finding that
femur, rib bone, etc. positioned to suggest
a whole giant skeleton under the surface
was a thrill of a lifetime! The trilobites,
topaz, wonderstone, and geodes were also
fantastic, as were all the little extras:
the ancient amphibian tracks, the abandoned
mars rover training site, the unexpected
picnic by the lake. Sarah was delighted
with everything -- including your prize
raffles, the motel, and all the other
children. In fact, she loved everything so
much that she can't decide on any single
favorite moment after the femur, and wants
to go back again next year.
Three days of adventure
traveling with a child and not a single bad
moment must be some kind of record. For me,
I think the most fascinating thing was
probably seeing the geodes embedded in the
rock as round stone bubbles in their
natural state. I learned a great deal on
this trip, and even the flat tire we got on
one of the unpaved roads on Day 2 turned
out to be virtually painless, as the
guides, the two of you, and all the members
of the group were all so wonderfully kind
and helpful. So thank you once again for
designing and organizing this great
experience, and I look forward to meeting
again some time.
If you come with us on our next
Dinosaurs Rock Fossil Dig in Utah, why not extend your
time either before or after the dig with the following
fun activities:
Arches National Park in Moab offered
some really cool rock formations. The movie
"Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" was filmed
right here.
The ARCHES them selves were
ENORMOUS!!
One of many Arches.
I wouldn't feel too safe just sitting
underneath that arch!
Timpanogos Caves are really cool after
a long steep climb.
"My seven year son had a fabulous time at
his EXTREME party...I have had several mothers inform
me that it was the coolest party this
year"
Kind Regards
Tamara
"I highly recommend this program for your
camp" Doug Pierce
Pierce Country Day Camp
"The Best School Assembly All
Year!" Christine
Viola Elementary School
"Dinosaurs Rock has become a favorite event
amongst the thousands of visitors to our Holiday Lights
Program." Rachel
Libretti
Bronx Zoo