• Summer camping NW
    Lots of information about how and why this happened.Statue of Barrel bodied rhinos fighting. Mostly females at the site with a few males.The rhino barn in the distance where the dig site is located.Sign on the side.Its a National Historic Landmark.Technician digging and answering questions.3 toed horseLots of rhinosAnother 3 toed horseThis rhino might have been a meal for a beardog (another type of predator).Even ant nests were fossilizedSkeletons were very complete because they were covered quickly by ash.This shows the ash cloud.A view of the dig site from one end.Outside was the "edge" of the water hole. Pieces of elephants, turtles, etc.Explains why these fossils are left in the open.A view of the "water's edge)Phil and I by the rhino statue.7Tonight's campsite.

    Ashfall Fossil Beds

    June 19 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    It is cooler today. We were able to be up and on the road by 9:15. We stopped once in one of the nice city parks for a bathroom break. Every little town seems to have a nice park and often a little park for campers with showers, electricity, water, etc. They are all well-tended, clean, and stocked . Very nice here in Nebraska!

    We arrived at the Ashfall Fossil Beds just before noon. Its really in the middle of nowhere, but it was literally slammed today! What a nice facility. It is staffed by the University of Nebraska. It was $10 each to enter, but better than a lot of other places we've visited for more!

    The area was "discovered" in 1971 when a paleontologist found the fossilized skull of a baby barrel body rhino in a hillside. In 1977 the National Geographic Society sponsored a dig and they found hundreds of full skeletons of over 50 different species of animals.

    This was a watering hole in direct line of the volcanic cloud blast 12.5 million years ago from one of the early Yellowstone Hotspot Volcanos. It was the second Hotspot blast which originated in what is now Southern Idaho near where Phil and I used to live.

    The ash clouds first impacted birds and turtles, then medium sized mammals like camels and horses and finally rhinos were the last to die several weeks after the ashfall began. These rhinos were a lot like hippos and probably spent a lot of time in the water. The watering hole was eventually covered quickly by another 5 feet of ash. The creatures were all fossilized together in a short period of time and later covered by river sand, glacial debris, soil, etc.

    The current dig site is covered by a large barn. Technicians can dig there year round out of the weather. There were at least 3 technicians on site to answer questions. One was doing a livestream with a school class. There were also several children's activity sites with lots of hands on learning opportunities.

    We spent about 90 minutes there and then drove on to the town of O'Neil which will cut our drive tomorrow by 35 miles from what we originally planned. We are in a city park under a shady tree. Very quiet.    Read more