Trippin in Rocktober

 Yes... We Went to Vernal...

 

Gonna be honest... not my #1 choice for a get away... 

but it worked

I don't remember the Vernal temple from pictures... 

and this is prob. why...

 

We also went to the Dinosaur museum... it was a speed trip... 

think 20-30 min. tops

 Our 2 min. tram ride...

 But we did get to see some Ancient Animal Skeletons... 

which was awesome

I love how this old newspaper read... 

not Fossils... 

Ancient Animals' Skeletons... 

it's sounds so much more mysterious! 

 

 

 Man.. it's so bright in here... I need my shades...

 pretty big one... I wonder if Dinosaurs get to be resurrected... 

hmm..   ?  ?  ?   anyone... anyone...

 Hmm... that's what I thought.

 

 here is a pic of the outside... the newly re done structure. 

 

 And a picture looking out from the new building

 

 My favorite part of the excursion was the pictures the kids posted of dinosaurs... 

I love love love them.

 especially the talking dinosaurs... totally made my day!

Sucks to be this guy!

This claw reminds me of Fairview, Utah... 

My brother found a T rex tooth while we were fishing 

in the Fairview lakes (think 1989) they were draining 

the ponds for some reason and we were just wasting time

while my dad was fishing... he found a big big "claw" 

Turns out ... it was a T rex tooth... 

BYU swiftly confiscated it and put it in their museum. 

if you wanna see it... it's by the LaVell Edwards stadium. 

OK here's my question... Why are all Dinosaurs depicted

with their mouths open all the time ?

 Seriously... yo

u'd think they would have all gone extinct 

because they got sore throats and couldn't eat anymore. 

Am I the only person to have thought of this... 

screw the asteroid/meteor theory... they died of sore throats!

 Again, mouths open...

 again...

 ok - well this guy is actually eating so it's ok

 I wanted these books... but we didnt have time - maybe I can find them on Ebay.

I was a little bummed that we couldn't go see the petroglyphs

 but it made me feel better to take pictures of fake ones. 

you do what you gotta do .

Tiahuanaco, Bolivia

Puma Punku

These structures are arguably the oldest and most baffling ruins on the face of the earth.

It is highly unlikely that any of the stones in Puma Punku were cut using ancient stone cutting techniques, at least not those that we are aware of. The stones are made up of granite, and diorite, and the only stone that is harder that those two, is the diamond. If the people who built this place cut these stones using stone cutting techniques, then they would had to have used diamond tools. If they didn't use diamonds to cut these stones, then what did they use?

Not only were these stones really hard to cut, but they are also extremely heavy. One of these stone ruins weighs in at about 800 tons! There is one more significant thing to mention regarding the ruins of Puma Punku. Not only were these stones cut somehow, but they were finely cut. The cuts on these stones are perfectly straight. The holes cored into these stones are perfect, and all of equal depth. Who Did All This???The simple answer; we have absolutely no idea who did all this, or even how they could have done it.

Xunantunich and Lamani

So I've decided that I'm going to share some of my favorite places on my blog. The first is in Belize. Xunantunich. If you say it fast enough it sounds like TunaSandwich... ha ha .. a little tour guide humor. Anyway- The core of Xunantunich consists of 6 plazas surrounded by 26+ temples and palaces. One of it's structures El Castillo (pictured first) is the second tallest structure in Belize. We got to climb up to the top- but here's the catch... it was during a storm and we allknow lightning strikes High Places... So we had to take off our shoes so we wouldn't be as good of conductors in case we did get hit by a bolt or two. It was very eerie to have the hair all over your body stand on end when the charge was so close.

Before we climbed up to the top of the complex we were given an opportunity to experience the accoustic qualities of the plaza. One of the young adults from our tour read a portion of King Benjamins speech from the top of the castle while we were gathered at the bottom. It was almost like I was transported back to the days of the Nephites and Lamanites. It was surreal to say the least. It was one of many experiences that made the Book of Mormon come alive for me. It's interesting how that happens the more and more you read it.

Lamani-

My brother and I went there in 2001 to explore the ancient Mayan ruins. It was one of the best trips of my life (it would have only been slightly better if Cole hadn't made friends with the Howler Monkeys who wanted to eat me. That child made the exact noises as those dirty tree dwellers (it's not a quiet noise either- for those of you who know my brother he can be loud)... so they became interested in us... and followed us all the way back to the boats). We made it out ok but it was pretty scary for a few min. there.

boats on the left... angry guy who wanted me to not take pictures on the right.