Dinosaurs and other Saurs (6)

 Tuesday 27 August 2024

Today was a digging day and I spent my time with Judy on the washing machine and sorting tables again. Lots of sunscreen and long sleeves made the day bearable and of course all the water flying around kept the air cooler. Apparently it was 37C today.

Mud on the glasses make seeing tiny bones difficult.

Mud everywhere

Breaks for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea (smokos) under the big marquee provided a break from the work.

Today we had to drive home the long way because the property manager had moved lots of cattle ito the areas we'd been driving through ready to be trucked out tomorrow so all the gates were closed.

Dinner was followed by a talk by Matt White, one of the palaeontologists leading the dig. It was about a crocodile find in the area.

Wednesday 28 August 2024

Another dig day with me spending most of my day on washing and sorting again.

I did find an exciting tiny (1/2cm) "limby bit", probably from a turtle.

Back to the shearers' quarters for dinner cooked by Matt because our cook is sick.

Thursday 29 August 2024

Today was a no-dig day. Instead we headed in convoy to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum. Each time I have visited the museum there is more to see. 

We were treated to morning tea on arrival then taken by shuttle bus to the Trackway display.

The Trackway is actually a fossilised set of tracks in mud of various types of Saurs and is about 50m long. When found exposed in a creek bed it was a rush to remove it before the next heavy rains came as it would have been tumbled out of order or just washed away.

Winton is a designated dark sky area and there is now a new observatory providing fabulous viewing of the night sky. However, even the paddocks around the quarters are fabulous for star gazing and star photography.

We then walked through Dinosaur Canyon but it was an extremely hot walk on concrete and I even borrowed on of the umbrellas for shade.

Back to the entry for a welcome lunch by which time it was 37C and things for me went downhill quickly after that. A hot walk over to the labs, a hot walk through the labs with very few seats. 

Trevor prepping a fossil.

Then to the cool tea room for a biscuit and coffee when things went even downhill even more steeply with a fire drill and more standing out in the sun. Then came the announcement that Les (our cook) has Covid. Options were presented and refunds and alternate accommodation offered, transport home etc. But most of us decided that we needed to return to the dig quarters to get our stuff so we'd see what tomorrow brings.

On the way home we saw a Jabiru, a Brolga and a Bustard!!

Jabiru in the distance, Egret in the foreground.

For dinner our new cook (Linda) came and worked with some of the staff dig team to sort and clean the kitchen and provide dinner - a fab BBQ with steak that was "melt in your mouth" and salad.

Adele's talk after dinner about Australian Pterosaurs was great but I collapsed into bed as soon as it finished.