First the good news: Ute pass is now open and so is the museum. Please stop by and visit!
The bad news: The fire was pretty bad. 18,000 acres burned and 350 homes lost, along with 2 deaths. The fire impacted me personally by coming down the mountain and burning within just a few blocks of my home. I was certain for a while that the house was lost but the firefighters saved it in the end. I'm just back from a week evacuated out of the state.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rmQZA5cgxyAgQP8hRAs7-GFadHbc-VFbLXYgSg6nQf5XKLGS8yBcvGiCaF3xOvZlzpiwsPpI_xCZB_0ji4HHliLbZRnHzPmHhMBJzy23fXYIrv1Xn7f2doTOL_9_TP3jXKqtBK9rtP7g/s320/SC+2012+trip+1+002.JPG) |
I'll need some help identifying this turtle once it is prepared |
Previous to that, however, Jacob and I (and for a little while Mike too) were in South Dakota scouting for new dinosaur skeletons on a 2-week trip. We left most of the material in the ground for now, however we will probably recover many of the 7 dinosaurs that we located at a later date. A smattering of photos below for your enjoyment!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2-HL0pv5xcmekdfvCXm79fHeGYvKNvVDWZ_5TBReYu2UrC90nv9VnxICwS5gXbuxOskP-R8ecMz_-R5GnWQKO-uIl11E9BkW0UB7JDkwkJsu5cql_82agA82brV48BHgbuNMm08-QdmY/s320/SC+2012+trip+1+015.JPG) |
Big old pile of Triceratops bones |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaTvXX5Q6MTU1A3BmZSnFNiyaFpCPDXxD6SnIBdd8ty_ihpyYX4mmYOvyM9d_a3aGsFz0-9vfPwBiZvL6JSUkgv4rW8diUjE3s8_OzP87XnwxKr1c8ua-z4BDhHeqfwKl7Gg7QrZuY4gH8/s320/SC+2012+trip+1+021.JPG) |
Jacob working on a Triceratops on top of a butte |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Vhtw72MP7blZ1-GlnT87YPvjaBT6Y7DTw0vie758dgobKxM5fqbgPDMVETNKR985whk1YEvcu4BqN3FRaJe_mE3T-SW7A2m67-XHJst6rlOTLRVIuA7BW18cTB9bXWyB78JYSOirpfvS/s320/SC+2012+trip+1+030.JPG) |
Articulated scales on a mostly articulated gar |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2NaaFRTEDwnn6WGN5q0ZBD_sFXnxFHyU6IClqfeUlTEwBsCrfBlAWyn6nEvgHwOsJd6lSKjVs_JL3esL8HLGVeFqAf56PgVJmQvbYUqca1QL0skwUG_A0gsDQ0ghcbc1KA3TM-vnLnNO/s320/SC+2012+trip+1+040.JPG) |
Triceratops site discovered on our last day. Jacket is one brow horn. |
You have my empathies--major wildfires came within 1/4 mile of my house, too, in 2005! (And the Waldo Canyon fire made it less than a mile from the house I grew up in in Colorado Springs, too...) Glad to hear you and your house are safe!
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