A Good Day

It's been a good day.  I had the arts & crafts program today (5 - 10 yr olds).  I had an idea that I thought would be fun, and before trying it out, I ran it by my boss.  I got a tepid response from her and was a little disappointed.  I decided to try it anyway.  The activity was to use a small, shallow cardboard flat, add a layer of soil, and use rocks to lay out a dinosaur skeleton.  We haven't had any dinosaur discoveries or excavations in our parks, but probably only because no one has looked.  There are dinosaur finds all over Alaska.  There was a big study on the North Slope, and some tracks were found in Denali NP.  Here at this park we interpret Ice Age animals, so why shouldn't we mention dinosaurs?  Also, there are NPS paleontologists employed at other parks, so it would be a job possibility for these kids.  Well, for some reason, she was skeptical.  I'm glad I did the program anyway.  The kids learned a lot, and they loved it!  I took some pictures, but they're on the computer at work.  I'll try to post one of their dinosaur bone yards tomorrow.  My boss also really enjoyed the program; it made me feel pretty good to get that confirmation.  I thank God every time something like this happens because I've always wondered how I've ended up in this profession; it always seems to me I'm out of my league.

After work, my neighbor & Tele (her dog) wanted to get out of town a ways, so we rode 4-wheelers down the beach and made a picnic of it.  Another beautiful evening...sun bouncing all over the water, the regular rhythm of the waves....

Of course, it's a good thing I can readily tune out noises here in town because my neighbors have a new trampoline.  Here are the girls bouncing around on it tonight (regular visitors to our programs at the Heritage Center).  I called down to them at 10:00 & took their picture.  They were just getting warmed up then and wanted to show me all their tricks.  It's now 11:15, and if tonight goes like the last few, they'll be at it for a while longer.  I could close the windows, but I can bear noise more than I can a stuffy room.  It is, indeed getting warmer.  I didn't check the temp today, but it was probably in the 50s, and I was sweating like a dog while running around with the kids during my program!  How did I ever survive in FL & TX?