Back then, dinosaurs weren't quite as popular a subject as they are today. My spouse read every book on dinosaurs available at the local library. There was no Internet in the 1960's to supplement those books.
His hope was to major in paleontology in college, but the college he could afford (his parents didn't do much to support his desire for higher education and he sometimes had to work several jobs during the year and during breaks) didn't have that major. So, his life took different directions.
One of those directions led us to Arkansas in the early 1980's, where we lived for five years.
Fast forward to 2017 when Arkansas voted to have a state dinosaur, Arkansaurus fridayi.
Now, ironically, it appears that dinosaurs may have once lived near the land we owned. Dinosaur fossils were recently discovered about 50 miles from where we lived.
It was interesting enough to find out that Confederate soldiers camped, during the Civil War, near our land, in a small town called Cane Hill (now known as Canehill.) But living near where dinosaurs once roamed was a thrill to my spouse when I told him.
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| Buckyball, Crystal Bridges, Bentonville, AR 2013 |
When we returned to Arkansas for a brief visit in 2013, we visited the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. In case you are wondering, its most famous acquisition may be the Norman Rockwell work "Rosie the Riveter".
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| Portion of outdoor art trail, Crystal Bridges, August 2013 |
Imagine that - as of February, 2017, Arkansas has a state dinosaur, and my spouse learned about a dinosaur new to him. With all his reading, he was not familiar with Arkansaurus fridayi.
Traveling through time and space - we just never imagined how far back in time this Challenge would take us.
Wow. That's exciting. living on a land where dinosaurs might have once run free :-) I loved to research on dinosaurs when I was younger, but after a while, the names got confusing.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so fascinating!!! Owning a land that had dinosaurs years ago is thrilling!
ReplyDeleteCheers
BoisterousBee
Our son had a fascination with dinosaurs all through his school days - as a consequence I think I knew the names of most of the more common ones - hadn't heard about the Arkansaurus though :)
ReplyDeleteLeanne | cresting the hill
Hmmm. I wonder what the dinosaur skeptics have to say about recent discovery of fossils since they insist it is all a hoax.
ReplyDeleteOMG! How awesome to have a state dinosaur!!
ReplyDeleteGotta love Weird Al, that video was hysterical.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember the dinosaurs at the 1964 World's Fair?
How cool is that? :) Be sure to drop by for a look at the letter “D” (dogs)in my A2Z series, Art Sketching through the Alphabet! Happy a2zing, my friend!
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered what it would be like to have walked with dinosaurs.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever found a dinosaur part in your backyard? Would be a thrilling find rt? :)
ReplyDeleteD for dog
Somehow, I find it appropriate that Arkansas would decide it needed a state dinosaur. (They wanted to divert attention from their government?)
ReplyDeleteHow cool, to live in a land where dinosaurs once roamed. Thanks for sharing, and I hope your husband gets to live some of his dreams as he learns more and more. Build a Better Blog
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know states had official state dinosaurs! I just tried to look up my state's dinosaur, and it looks like we don't have one. Yet. I may need to write a letter to my state legislator.
ReplyDeletehaha... you really need to be gloating on that... not to mention ribbing your spouse too with "you claim to love dinosaurs and you didnt know there was one right under your feet!" :D
ReplyDeleteGodyears.net
Wow! Talking about land with some history! Wonderful!
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(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ Good luck on the rest of your A to Z challenge
Sylvia @ The Creative Life
This is so thrilling Alana - some dinosaurs would have been running and hunting at that very place!
ReplyDeleteTwinkling Tina Cooks
Tina Basu
Hi. I left a comment this morning but it hasn't come through. Could you check your spam folder?
ReplyDeleteSorry for the problem. I have my blog on moderation due to spam, and I don't have access to my blog until after I get home from work in the late afternoon. Your comment was in moderation. But, I've also found that Blogger sometimes eats comments - and I don't know why that happens.
DeleteIt might not start with a D, but it's a great song!
ReplyDeleteJohn Holton
A to Z Challenge Co-Host
I kind of thought dinosaurs were everywhere back in the day. Unless the land was underwater back then. But it's about the fossils, and those aren't everywhere, are they?
ReplyDeleteWho knew! And I even lived in Arkansas for about eight years! (Crystal Bridges came along as I was moving away, so I never visited.)
ReplyDelete@dSavannahCreate from
dSavannahRambles
(not writing for #AtoZ this year)
My oldest one lived and breathe dinosaurs. Not so much my younger one.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Dinosaurs have fascinated one and all. My son was crazy about reading and watching all about dinos as a kid, so I can understand your husband's passion for these big creatures.
ReplyDeleteArkansas has a state dinosaur... wow, that's wonderful I hand not heard about Arkansaurus fridayi till I read this post :)
I tried imagining how it would have been if Dinosaurs lived till this day... seemed so scary. and to think they were limited to certain places gives solace though!
ReplyDeleteLaunching SIM Organics This April
*Menaka Bharathi *
*SimpleIndianMom*
I remember going to a Dinosaur museum when I was young. They were displaying Elephant size moving Dinosaurs and I remember being so scared thinking they were real :P
ReplyDeleteFun post! I didn't know Weird Al had so much range, although I knew he was a great humorist. Love the video!
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