Before starting my new postdoc position at VCU, I have decided to join Mary Schweitzer and a crew from the Museum of the Rockies (MOR) for ten days of prospecting for dinosaurs in Montana. Eight year old Doug is absolutely thrilled with this decision (and let’s be honest, so is adult Doug). This adventure started yesterday, with an uneventful day of flying from RDU to BZN, and meeting up with Mary, her postdoc Elena, undergrad student Kaitlyn and colleague Johan. We all crashed in Bozeman for the night, eager for the journey and the adventure to follow.

We woke up early to pack up and grab breakfast before heading to MOR to meet the rest of the team. I of course had to get a picture with Big Mike before we headed off into the middle of nowhere, Montana.

In front of Big Mike

After meeting the crew from MOR consisting of Bob, Scott, Richard, and Ellen, we headed out on the six hour journey northeast into the Hi-line region of Montana aiming for Malta where we would shop for supplies before heading into camp. The drive through Big Timber, the Judith Gap, Lewistown and countless other small towns was beautiful, with a lot of great views of the pimple-like, uplifted mountain ranges that dot west central Montana (such as the Crazies and the Little Rockies). Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures because I was driving.In Malta, we had to stop in at the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum to see the Jurassic World-esque dinosaurs outside and the lovely fossils inside.

After the short museum visit, we headed to the cabin we would be staying at which was another hour outside of Malta. The map below gives you an idea of the remoteness of this place.

Mary had warned me about the mosquitoes, and once we arrived, they did not disappoint. They would hover in a cloud outside of the car just begging you to get out. Which we unfortunately had to. The only other time I’ve seen mosquitoes so rabid was at Oregon inlet in NC, where they forced me to eat a leftover donut for dinner inside my tent rather than get out and cook a real meal.

The crew unloading into the cabin.

Elena is a pack master and here she is organizing our vital supply of food.

We ended the day by taking a drive down one of the county roads near some of the land we will be prospecting on. I’ll leave you with the lovely picture of a rainbow over the range land of eastern Montana. Tomorrow the real fun begins…hopefully.