I've been back from India/Nepal for almost three weeks. It was a grand ol time but you know what? The need to travel can never be satisfied.
Earlier this week dad told me he was going to Salt Lake City for the weekend to meet up with some buddies and go hunt for fossils. I was invited (or I heavily hinted how I wanted to go and kinda invited myself, who knows). I applied for a job a few weeks ago and had an interview last Monday. They said I would hear back soon if I got it or not. I told myself if I got the job I wouldn't go to SLC but if I didn't get it then a trip would be a nice way to feel better about my crap life. By Thursday I still hadn't heard from the job so I decided to go anyway.
Yay! A new update to Callapillar Travels!
So Thursday night I dicked around all day until midnight then I packed some stuff. Dad and I were coming back to Helena Sunday night so I only needed 2 outfits. I brought 4. We're driving so I could have brought 8 outfits. When I fly, I pack light. when I drive, I don't give a hoot. I mostly brought loose clothing because it should be mid to high 90's all weekend. I went to sleep around 1.
And woke up Friday morning at 6. Some assholes were playing the devils music (country) outside my bedroom window. I got up and ate some breakfast, packed some snacks for the road, and killed time before going to dads at 9. At dads we hung out for another hour before officially hitting the road at 10.
It would a 6 or 7 hour drive to Salt Lake City. At first it was fun and exciting but then it got boring and there was not much to look at outside.
Dad and I ate power bars and grapes and talked about religion and evolution. The interstate we were driving on was closed for some dumb reason and we had to drive through town and that was a time sucker.
We stopped at an army surplus store in Idaho around 2:30. I needed to get some gloves for the dig tomorrow. I found some for like $2 that fit then dad got a helmet and some MREs.
Then it was more driving. I fell asleep at one point. Sometime who knows when we drove into Utah! The traffic started to pick up and it was looking more like a proper city.
I saw a sign that said "COSMO CONTAINS PORN" and below it a website called CosmopolitanHurtsChildren.com or whatever. I thought it was funny. I'm in LDS territory now motherfuckers.
We drove through Salt Lake and into a town right next to it, about 20 minutes south. Then we drove through a very nice neighborhood. Did some more driving. Took some more turns. And we were at dad's friend Tim's place!
His house is gorgeous. He and his wife Lana are both really nice and we had a cold beer waiting for us. We all hung out and talked while they put the final touches on dinner. We were having tacos. I had 2 tacos and drank a whole beer.
Then we sat outside on the porch as the sun went down. I took a few snapchats to let people know I'm up to fun things without having to actually talk to them.
We talked about me living in Salt Lake and the job opportunities. I could dig it. From the balcony we could see fireworks going off in the valley. It was a beautiful view.
Around 10 pm dad and I gathered our luggage from the truck and Tim showed us to our rooms. My room has a king bed with 10 pillows! I counted.
I did some blogging but will combine today with tomorrow. I went to bed at midnight.
Around 3 I woke up confused, thinking I was in Montana and wondering why my bed had gotten so big. After a few minutes I remembered I was in Utah and went back to sleep-
-to wake up at 6. I took a quick shower and dad, Tim, and I were on the road by 7. Good for us.
We stopped at a place called Kneaders to get breakfast and coffee. I had an egg and cheese croissant sandwich and an iced latte. It was all very good.
We were going to dig fossils in Wyoming. It was about a 2 hour drive. Tim and I talked politics and he slowly chiseled away at my liberal identity. Every day I stray further and further away from the light that is Democrats. We talked about refugees, universal healthcare, racism, and the gay community. It was actually a fun conversation. We were both respectful.
So the drive to Wyoming was enjoyable. We got to the fossil site around 10:30.
You could pay for an hour, 4 hours, or 8 hours. We paid for 4 and dad paid for mine. It was expensive, like $75 a person. The guy running the place gave us a rock hammer and chisel. I put on some sunscreen, my hat and sunglasses, and got to work.
You can pretty much wander wherever. There was maybe 10 to 20 other people there and I never felt crowded. It was spacious. I started my excavation to the far left but eventually started moving right (just like my political views hahahaha).
On the left was a lot of broken rocks. I walked around not really sure what to do but having fun looking at things. Tim came over and showed me what types of rocks to look for. You want big pieces with layers to chip into. Sometimes you can see fossils from the side. He showed me what fish poop and scales look like. It was barely 15 minutes in before I found my first fossil!
I told myself if I found one fossil, just one, I would be so happy. And I found one! Only 15 minutes in! It's a beautiful fossil and I love it.
Then I found another!
And another,
Seriously I didn't realize how low I set my expectations. All we did was find fossils.
I slowly started making my way right where you could chip away at parts of the rock walls instead of going through chipped away parts like I had been. Tim would cut off big chunks the size of a torso and throw them down. Then I would start splitting them, usually down the center. then splitting those pieces down the center. Sometimes you found something interesting, sometimes there was nothing.
I found the top half of a big looking fish. It's bottom half was on another rock that broke in half. The guy running the place came over and helped me dig him out of his rocky grave. He said it was a freshwater piranha. It had a visible eye and teeth! I took a picture and put it on snapchat.
It was hot out but not uncomfortably so. If I stood up too fast I got really lightheaded so I took a break around 11 or noon to put on more sunscreen and drink water. I've been having a lot of fun. There were a couple families there, some had really small children and some had young teens. Then there were professional diggers who had been coming to this site for a week. It was a really cool atmosphere.
BACK TO DIGGING!
I found several fish, lots of scales, and a ton of poop. Around 2 I was starting to hit exhaustion. I took a 15 minute break then got to digging again for the last ten minutes. I found one more fish!
We were done at 2:30. We loaded up all three of our treasures into dad's truck and left.
We had lunch at a place in town called... I don't remember. I had a grilled chicken sandwich, it was good.
We got back to Tim's house at 5 I think. Everyone was filthy and caked in dust. I took a shower and noticed the back of my left kneecap got sunburnt. Dang it! It was the only part of me to get burnt so not bad for 4 hours in the sun.
I went upstairs where Lana, Tim, and Dad were. Another couple was there but I don't remember their names. Drinks were being had! Safe to say, Lana and Tim aren't mormons.
Lana made me a moscow mule! We hung out for about an hour or so then the other couple left and we sat down and had steaks and vegetables for dinner. It was delicious. I didn't take a picture because that would have been so weird. We also had a mascarpone and strawberry pie for dessert.
We sat around and talked. It was really nice. Tim was telling us about an area where you can dig for geos and I thought that was dope. He showed me some of the geos he had found and they're legit. Then he gave them to me which was so sweet! I'm really excited about them.
We were all pretty tired and went to bed at 9. I stayed up to finish this blog and went to bed around 10. But I had trouble sleeping for whatever reason. I finally crashed around 2 or 3.
I could end the blog here and I intended to last night, but dad and I did some fun things driving back so might as well make this entire trip into one post!
Up at 7. I packed up my stuff, made the bed, and hung out with everyone upstairs. We had fruit and cinnamon muffins for breakfast. then it was time to say goodbye to Lana and Tim. They're very nice people, I enjoyed my time hanging out with them.
Dad and I hit the road at 8:30. We had a long road ahead of us.
I saw my "Cosmo Contains Porn" billboard one last time on our way out. Dad and I we originally going to go to a national monument in Idaho called Craters of the Moon but it would have set us back at least 4 hours so we decided against it. Another trip, maybe.
Instead we stopped at a place called Hells Half Acre which has a lot of super old volcanic rock and a pretty hiking trail to walk around.
Dad collected some sage and I took some rocks.
Then back to the truck. Driving down to SLC we saw a cool bridge we wanted to check out but decided to do it on the way back. Well coming back we couldn't find the bridge! Neither of us remembered what state it was in either. We figured we had passed it a long time ago and simply missed it. Kind of a bummer. But then we saw it up ahead! Dad pulled over and we walked across the bridge and took pictures.
Then we drove some more. I took a little nap once we got passed Butte Montana. FINALLY we were back in Helena. Hurray! Dad and I went to the carwash and washed off the truck. It was filthy dirty from driving to the quarry. We got home around 5. Maybe tomorrow dad and I will go through the fossils and clean them up.
REFLECTION!
This was a good trip! Fun people, fun places, fun things. Tim and Lana are great, my dad is awesome, and I liked Utah. I REALLY liked digging for fossils. That was such a fun experience. I would do this trip again. I think it would be great to come back to Utah and do some exploring in the city. I'm happy I got to do this!
Earlier this week dad told me he was going to Salt Lake City for the weekend to meet up with some buddies and go hunt for fossils. I was invited (or I heavily hinted how I wanted to go and kinda invited myself, who knows). I applied for a job a few weeks ago and had an interview last Monday. They said I would hear back soon if I got it or not. I told myself if I got the job I wouldn't go to SLC but if I didn't get it then a trip would be a nice way to feel better about my crap life. By Thursday I still hadn't heard from the job so I decided to go anyway.
Yay! A new update to Callapillar Travels!
So Thursday night I dicked around all day until midnight then I packed some stuff. Dad and I were coming back to Helena Sunday night so I only needed 2 outfits. I brought 4. We're driving so I could have brought 8 outfits. When I fly, I pack light. when I drive, I don't give a hoot. I mostly brought loose clothing because it should be mid to high 90's all weekend. I went to sleep around 1.
And woke up Friday morning at 6. Some assholes were playing the devils music (country) outside my bedroom window. I got up and ate some breakfast, packed some snacks for the road, and killed time before going to dads at 9. At dads we hung out for another hour before officially hitting the road at 10.
It would a 6 or 7 hour drive to Salt Lake City. At first it was fun and exciting but then it got boring and there was not much to look at outside.
Mmm.
Dad and I ate power bars and grapes and talked about religion and evolution. The interstate we were driving on was closed for some dumb reason and we had to drive through town and that was a time sucker.
We stopped at an army surplus store in Idaho around 2:30. I needed to get some gloves for the dig tomorrow. I found some for like $2 that fit then dad got a helmet and some MREs.
Army swag
Then it was more driving. I fell asleep at one point. Sometime who knows when we drove into Utah! The traffic started to pick up and it was looking more like a proper city.
Mormon country
I saw a sign that said "COSMO CONTAINS PORN" and below it a website called CosmopolitanHurtsChildren.com or whatever. I thought it was funny. I'm in LDS territory now motherfuckers.
We drove through Salt Lake and into a town right next to it, about 20 minutes south. Then we drove through a very nice neighborhood. Did some more driving. Took some more turns. And we were at dad's friend Tim's place!
His house is gorgeous. He and his wife Lana are both really nice and we had a cold beer waiting for us. We all hung out and talked while they put the final touches on dinner. We were having tacos. I had 2 tacos and drank a whole beer.
Then we sat outside on the porch as the sun went down. I took a few snapchats to let people know I'm up to fun things without having to actually talk to them.
The art of humble brag
Around 10 pm dad and I gathered our luggage from the truck and Tim showed us to our rooms. My room has a king bed with 10 pillows! I counted.
I did some blogging but will combine today with tomorrow. I went to bed at midnight.
Around 3 I woke up confused, thinking I was in Montana and wondering why my bed had gotten so big. After a few minutes I remembered I was in Utah and went back to sleep-
-to wake up at 6. I took a quick shower and dad, Tim, and I were on the road by 7. Good for us.
We stopped at a place called Kneaders to get breakfast and coffee. I had an egg and cheese croissant sandwich and an iced latte. It was all very good.
Breakfast
We were going to dig fossils in Wyoming. It was about a 2 hour drive. Tim and I talked politics and he slowly chiseled away at my liberal identity. Every day I stray further and further away from the light that is Democrats. We talked about refugees, universal healthcare, racism, and the gay community. It was actually a fun conversation. We were both respectful.
So the drive to Wyoming was enjoyable. We got to the fossil site around 10:30.
The quarry
You could pay for an hour, 4 hours, or 8 hours. We paid for 4 and dad paid for mine. It was expensive, like $75 a person. The guy running the place gave us a rock hammer and chisel. I put on some sunscreen, my hat and sunglasses, and got to work.
You can pretty much wander wherever. There was maybe 10 to 20 other people there and I never felt crowded. It was spacious. I started my excavation to the far left but eventually started moving right (just like my political views hahahaha).
On the left was a lot of broken rocks. I walked around not really sure what to do but having fun looking at things. Tim came over and showed me what types of rocks to look for. You want big pieces with layers to chip into. Sometimes you can see fossils from the side. He showed me what fish poop and scales look like. It was barely 15 minutes in before I found my first fossil!
OH MY GOD
I told myself if I found one fossil, just one, I would be so happy. And I found one! Only 15 minutes in! It's a beautiful fossil and I love it.
Then I found another!
And another,
Seriously I didn't realize how low I set my expectations. All we did was find fossils.
I slowly started making my way right where you could chip away at parts of the rock walls instead of going through chipped away parts like I had been. Tim would cut off big chunks the size of a torso and throw them down. Then I would start splitting them, usually down the center. then splitting those pieces down the center. Sometimes you found something interesting, sometimes there was nothing.
I found the top half of a big looking fish. It's bottom half was on another rock that broke in half. The guy running the place came over and helped me dig him out of his rocky grave. He said it was a freshwater piranha. It had a visible eye and teeth! I took a picture and put it on snapchat.
In my excitement I forgot how to spell the word split
It was hot out but not uncomfortably so. If I stood up too fast I got really lightheaded so I took a break around 11 or noon to put on more sunscreen and drink water. I've been having a lot of fun. There were a couple families there, some had really small children and some had young teens. Then there were professional diggers who had been coming to this site for a week. It was a really cool atmosphere.
BACK TO DIGGING!
Padre on the prowl
We were done at 2:30. We loaded up all three of our treasures into dad's truck and left.
We had lunch at a place in town called... I don't remember. I had a grilled chicken sandwich, it was good.
We got back to Tim's house at 5 I think. Everyone was filthy and caked in dust. I took a shower and noticed the back of my left kneecap got sunburnt. Dang it! It was the only part of me to get burnt so not bad for 4 hours in the sun.
I went upstairs where Lana, Tim, and Dad were. Another couple was there but I don't remember their names. Drinks were being had! Safe to say, Lana and Tim aren't mormons.
Sister wives circa renaissance
Those are cats in their pockets do you get it
Lana made me a moscow mule! We hung out for about an hour or so then the other couple left and we sat down and had steaks and vegetables for dinner. It was delicious. I didn't take a picture because that would have been so weird. We also had a mascarpone and strawberry pie for dessert.
We sat around and talked. It was really nice. Tim was telling us about an area where you can dig for geos and I thought that was dope. He showed me some of the geos he had found and they're legit. Then he gave them to me which was so sweet! I'm really excited about them.
Geo that's been open and one that has not
We were all pretty tired and went to bed at 9. I stayed up to finish this blog and went to bed around 10. But I had trouble sleeping for whatever reason. I finally crashed around 2 or 3.
I could end the blog here and I intended to last night, but dad and I did some fun things driving back so might as well make this entire trip into one post!
Up at 7. I packed up my stuff, made the bed, and hung out with everyone upstairs. We had fruit and cinnamon muffins for breakfast. then it was time to say goodbye to Lana and Tim. They're very nice people, I enjoyed my time hanging out with them.
Dad and I hit the road at 8:30. We had a long road ahead of us.
I saw my "Cosmo Contains Porn" billboard one last time on our way out. Dad and I we originally going to go to a national monument in Idaho called Craters of the Moon but it would have set us back at least 4 hours so we decided against it. Another trip, maybe.
Instead we stopped at a place called Hells Half Acre which has a lot of super old volcanic rock and a pretty hiking trail to walk around.
We stealin'
Can I be anymore cute?
Then we drove some more. I took a little nap once we got passed Butte Montana. FINALLY we were back in Helena. Hurray! Dad and I went to the carwash and washed off the truck. It was filthy dirty from driving to the quarry. We got home around 5. Maybe tomorrow dad and I will go through the fossils and clean them up.
REFLECTION!
This was a good trip! Fun people, fun places, fun things. Tim and Lana are great, my dad is awesome, and I liked Utah. I REALLY liked digging for fossils. That was such a fun experience. I would do this trip again. I think it would be great to come back to Utah and do some exploring in the city. I'm happy I got to do this!
Pictured: a paleontologist
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