Sad, but all too true.
The slow and steady progression of the tour group as they made their way toward her discouraged her rather than excited her like normal. Oh, what was wrong with her today?
It wasn’t good for her to dwell on such things. Verse eight in Philippians chapter four came to mind. She definitely hadn’t been focused on what was pure, true, or of good report.
This was what happened when she didn’t get enough sleep because she was imagining herself finding a skeleton of great proportions out on the Meyer ranch.
No. That wasn’t true. It was what happened when she didn’t take the time to study the Word or to pray.
The enthusiasm she’d held for her work here had waned last weekend. And she wasn’t sure why. Other than missing the comforts of home, the city, and her family. Even more than that, she missed Devin. She could discuss anything with him and all would be right with the world.
And then there was that church last Sunday. What a horrid experience. No wonder she’d felt out of place. Without those who supported her, or her and Devin’s constant conversations, she hadn’t been able to hash out her thoughts.
At least he was coming to visit. That would be wonderful!
The new group assembled closer to her, and a hush fell over them. She put on her best smile.
“Welcome to Dinosaur National Monument. On behalf of the Carnegie Quarry, allow me to share with you our excitement to have you here to see the progress.”
She dove into her explanation of the history of the quarry, what kinds of bones they’d found so far, and what they hoped to accomplish.
A man in the rear of the group raised his hand.
“Yes, sir. Do you have a question?”
“I have to admit that this fascinates me. Would you tell us a bit more about how you transport all these fossils?”
She clasped her hands in front of her. “Excellent question. We make crates out of lumber, depending on the size of the fossil, line them with hay, and transport the crates via wagon and then the railroad to their final destination.”
“But you must have to prep the bones somehow? Or do they just get cushioned in the crates?”
“Let me give you the basics.” She did love it when the sightseers enjoyed the details. She was extremely curious herself. “Once the fossils are clean of debris, we coat them in gum arabic. This makes them stronger—we don’t want to break any priceless, fragile fossils in their long journey. That wouldn’t be good.” She made an exaggerated scared face and some of the crowd laughed.
“Then we paste tissue paper along the bone segments to prevent the next layer of plaster-soaked burlap from sticking. If the bones are extra-long—which, because these are dinosaurs, that happens regularly”—another silly face followed by the audience’s laughter—“we essentially make a very large splint for them inside that plaster-soaked burlap layer to help stabilize them for travel.”
Another man in the front raised his hand. “How do the people on the other end figure out the puzzle of how to put it together? Or do one of you go with each shipment of bones?”
“Even if we went with the bones, I’m not sure we would remember everything accurately for each skeleton. That’s why the bones are sketched and photographed before we even dig them out of the ground. We do a crude bit of assembling here to see what we’ve got. While every dig team probably has their own way of doing things, most of the time, each piece is numbered on the sketches and then in the crates. It helps to reduce the guessing on the other end, but as you probably know from newspaper articles over the years, mistakes are often made. Sometimes it can’t be helped when so many different animals are found at one dig site. We try to do the best we can when we first discover the bones and also do our best to rectify any mistakes as quickly as possible.”
“Is there perhaps a better way to do it? Seems like it could get confusing if a lot of fossils are shipped at once.” This camefrom the young, stylishly dressed woman at the front of the crowd.
Several other hands raised. Eliza nodded. “It can be. Especially since it’s rare that complete—or I should say, almost complete—skeletons are found. Sometimes it takes many years before we understand the whole beast. For instance, a lot of times, skulls aren’t found with the body. It might be a long time before we find another specimen with an intact skull so we know exactly how the animal looked.”
Another man, off to the side, lifted his hand. “How do you know it’s a fossil and not just a bone-shaped rock or something else?”
Eliza giggled. “You want to hear a fun test?” She pulled a small fossil out of her jacket pocket and leaned down to pick up a rock. “Obviously, we have scientific testing we use on each fossil after it’s found to validate what it is, but on first sight, there is something we do that you might find a bit odd.”
Everyone’s eyes were riveted on her.
“Did you know that if you lick a fossil it will stick to your tongue, but if you lick a rock, it won’t stick?” Eliza suppressed a giggle as people drew back in disgust.
“But be warned if she asks you to try it”—a warm voice somewhere behind the group sent tingles up her spine—“getting the fossil off your tongue afterward might be a bit of an issue. Don’t ask me how I know.” The tall, familiar figure stepped around the sightseers.
“Devin!” She dashed to him and jumped into his arms.
six
“There will never be another so faithful and true. None like her can charm away pain.”
