Phew! It has been a whirlwind past two weeks. My husband has had some trainings for work and since they were all here in Utah the kids and I went along with him. Last week the training was down in Vernal, Utah (South Eastern Utah) and this week the training was in Logan, Utah (Northern Utah), so I feel like we have driven the whole length of the State this week!
I had never been to Vernal, Utah and so I was really excited to go. Especially because going to Dinosaur National Monument has been on my “bucket list” since I was a little girl. I remember watching a “Reading Rainbow” episode where they went to the see the dinosaur bones, still preserved in the mountain, and I was fascinated. So needless to say, I was just as excited as the kids when we entered the quarry and saw walls full of REAL dinosaur bones. It was incredible.
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| This is a “log jam” of bones that washed down a river and were preserved |
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| Asher giving a dinosaur impression |
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| The kids and I touching REAL dinosaur bones |
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| Dino children– the skull behind Asher is a real dino skull |
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I think one of the things I was most impressed with was how huge the bones and the quarry wall were. They said there were bones from more than 1,500 dinosaurs in there! Yet I was even more impressed when I saw the diagram that is behind Rose in this picture. The white shows the original dinosaur quarry, which was discovered in 1909 and the red shows what is left of the original quarry. I guess over the last 100 years all the rock and bones in the white area was removed (most of it before 1940) and shipped to museums around the world. So many of the dinosaur skeletons that you see in museums came from this quarry in Vernal, Utah! I thought that was cool.
Since school has started there was hardly anyone there and the peace and the solitude was so healing to my heart. The land is brimming full of ancient history– from dinosaurs to the remnants of the ancient Fremont culture— and it made me think alot about my place in the history of the world.
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| Asher and Rose making lizard faces by some of the lizard petroglyphs left behind my the ancient Fremont people |
I am really excited about a new blog I am helping with called “With Real Intent.” The blog is designed to be a space where faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (well, and I guess anyone else who is interested) can discuss pragmatic issues surrounding our LDS faith, with a focus on
increasing personal faith, strengthening families, and effectively
engaging in our communities.
The line-up of permabloggers is REALLY fantastic (go check them out) and I am a bit flattered that they asked me to contribute. The website launched last week and I have been so impressed with the content and posts. If you are looking for something a bit different than the ordinary “bloggernacle” fare I think you will really like this website. I would love to have you come join us and discuss our faith “with real intent.”
All summer Asher has been begging us to take him out to Antelope Island (the large island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake). He has been really into pirates and so when he realized that there was a real island not far from where we live he was captivated. All summer we have been hearing him talk about “Cannibal Island” and later “Cantaloupe Island”and how he was going to sail there on a sail boat. There are very few trees on the island and so Jon and I told him that once it cooled down we would drive out there (there is land bridge) and see the island. As soon as we had our first cold day Asher reminded us of our promise and so last Saturday we drove out there.
I have lived in Utah for almost 10 years and this was my first time to the Great Salt Lake. Every time I had ever asked a Utahan to take me out there they always replied with, “Oh, you don’t want to go out there. It is stinky and there are gross bugs.” So I had never been till now.
I have decided that most Utahans just have a really bad attitude about the Great Salt Lake because it was beautiful. Granted, October is one of the best times to go out there because all the brine flies die, but I just think that most Utahans don’t realize what a beautiful treasure the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island are. Jon and I have swam in the Dead Sea and swimming in the Great Salt Lake was just as fun in comparison– I mean you can float with both your hands and your feet out of the water! It is awesome! I wish that I had gotten more pictures, but my camera died not long after we got there. I guess you will just have to go out there and see for yourself if you are ever in Utah in the Fall or Spring!
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| Asher pretending to die of thirst on the Salt Flat |
I just have to share this wonderful blog badge that Michael, the creator of “From the Dust” made for my blog.
Isn’t that great! You are welcome to use it for whatever you want (you would just need to link it to my website if you wanted it to be a link back here). If you go to his blog you can see another one he made for my blog too. He also has a plain one that you could use for whatever you want.
I mentioned before how much I love his depiction of Saraih and so I was captivated by this beautiful piece of art work he made for me!
I would very much recommend watching the video he posted of him speed painting it and talking about some of Saraiah’s history — it is fascinating, the painting and the history!
My little nursling is getting so big. It sort of breaks my heart that he isn’t a little baby any more. I just had to capture one of my favorite things he does lately. Whenever Asher and Rose go out to play I try to leave the door open so I can hear them. He always crawls over to the door by where they are playing and pulls himself up to watch. He will spend 10-20 minutes just watching and “talking” to them through the screen. It is so adorable how much he looks up to his brother and sister. It won’t be long before he is out there running around with them!
And just one more, because they are so cute. And yes, that is how Rose smiles. now a days… werid I know, but it is what it is!
Have a wonderful weekend and a great General Conference!
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Re: evolution and creation, Steven Peck had a gorgeous poem on By Common Consent a few months ago: http://bycommonconsent.com/2012/05/30/my-turn-on-earth/
Here's my thoughts on how dinosaurs and the creation fit together. We know that our earth was formed from other "earths" and matter. I believe that there were dinosaurs on other planets and when our earth was formed the dinousaur bones weren't sorted out. 🙂 Another idea could be that those "days" when the earth was created were long enough for a dinosaurs to live and die. I don't think dinosaurs were roaming around when Adam and Eve left the garden. But that's just my thought, take it for what it's worth. 🙂 I love your blog!
I read a lot of the Bible, esp. the OT, figuratively, not literally. I don't think a lot of it was written to be literal anyway, especially stories like the Creation. I believe God created the earth, but I also have studied and understand evolution and find no need to reconcile anything. Besides, I think God using evolution, which is intricate and fascinating and adheres to the laws of nature, to create life is just so much more beautiful that just picturing him saying "poof: let there be dinosaurs". The earth is billions of years old–there has been plenty of time for dinosaurs and many other forms of life to exist, then become extinct. I don't feel the need to do mental gymnastics and create unlikely explanation for things when scientific evidence is pretty clear. 🙂
We also don't know how long Adam and Eve were in the Garden in a state of innocence and immortality before they ate the fruit. It could have been thousands if years earth time, where the earth existed and dinosaurs lived, but they were separated from them, enclosed safely in the Garden. Perhaps even the mysterious destructive event scientists talk about ("we don't know what killed the dinosaurs"), coincided with The Fall, in preparation for Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden into the world. It is also possible that the "creative periods" description we have in the scriptures is a figurative way of explaining complex creative processes to minds with limited understanding. Perhaps creation happened a bit differently than the day 1: sun, day 2: water, day 3: dry land and plants, day 4: stars and moon, etc. It just occurred to me that the order of creation described in the scriptures might even be symbolic! I will have to ponder that! We also don't know how long these "days" really were, whether its a thousand years or even longer or if they were even all seven the same length. I find it very interesting that the scriptures use the language "cause the waters to bring forth abundantly the moving creature," because scientists believe that the first creatures started in the water, and then land animals evolved from them. It is very possible that The Lord used thousands of years of evolution to "bring forth" the diverse creatures that Adam gave names to when he was created.
Hey, I am excited that you visited my hometown! We live in Vernal/Dinosaur land and have been to the quarry so many times my children actually moan if we have to go again. : ) I still remember visiting when I was 12, and thinking all the hills could possibly be dinosaurs. Cool that you came here. I like your Friday Fun list and might join in. Do you do it every Friday?
Susan,
That is fun we were in your area. It is so beautiful… and you have an awesome city park. My kids loved it. I agree with you about the hills looking like dinosaurs… it is was so cool! yOu could almost imagine them moving 🙂
And I try to do the Five thing every Friday but sometimes I miss it, but if you did it on a week when I didn't you could always link to it the next week o so I could get to know you!
In regards to the dinosaurs/creation thing, I highly recommend reading the book "Reflections of a Scientist" by Henry Eyring. (That's President Eyring's father.) I LOVED that book. Henry was an incredible scientist and a faithful saint and for him, science and religion come together in a beautiful way. The way he writes and words things is incredible and even though he's a brilliant guy- it's very readable for the average person.
Oh, that has been on my list to read for awhile. I guess I will have to pick it up for sure now!
That's crazy that you were right there! I was driving up for general conference. 🙂