That night, I dreamed about a clutch of light-blue eggs with brown speckles, nestled safe in a scoop of soft soil, bark, and pine needles. It felt like I was guarding that nest for days—until I woke up to morning light shining in my eyes. I was back in Dr. Jacob’s house, lying in a …
Deinonychus antirrhopus Deinonychus antirrhopus was a velociraptorine dinosaur that, during the early Cretaceous, prowled the two continents that now make up North America. When the first Deinonychus fossils were discovered in 1969, paleontologist John Ostrum immediately recognized that the flexible wrist bones, long legs, scythe claws, and stiff tail suggested “an animal of great agility …
Pine’s battle scars closed up after his first triple cheeseburger, which he ate lying down in the back of Dr. Jacobs’ Dodge. The second burger, and the cheese curds on the side, were just for fun. We drove back to Dr. Jacobs’ ranch, and once he got a chance to change into a ProRodeo T-shirt …
Dr. Jacobs drove right by a no trespassing sign to get to the old limestone quarry where Mom and Dad had spotted the raptor. In the middle of the bench seat, I ping-ponged between her and Pine as we bounced along a dirt road made for bulldozers. Doing my best to keep my phone up …
When I opened the door to the hotel suite, Mom gasped. “You’re soaked.” I didn’t even respond. Just ducked my head to grab my suitcase, swiveled straight into the bathroom, and locked myself in before she could jump down my throat. After getting dragged into the pool, clothes and all, I needed to dry off …
Mom called Dr. Jacobs and put her on speaker phone to join our round table. When I described the feather I’d just watched disintegrate in front of my eyes, she was so silent I thought she might be holding her breath. “Do you know what that might belong to?” Mom asked. “I can’t say for …
We skipped breakfast and went straight into getaway mode. I loaded my suitcase into the back of the 4Runner and waited outside, occasionally glancing over my shoulder to make sure the odd truck passing on the main road wasn’t Dixon’s mom—or a black-and-white cop car. After she basically broke into our house for a business …
“Get dressed,” Mom said, shaking me out of sleep. “We’re leaving.” I rubbed my eyes and found her sitting on the edge of my bed, her hand on my arm. It was so early the attic was still dark. Mom had spent the night on my floor, but her sleeping bag was all rolled up …
Mom leaned against the kitchen counter with a hand over her mouth like she was deep in thought. But the stiffness of her shoulders gave away her shock. Pine sat on the floor, propped up against the refrigerator, wearing my grandpa’s sweatpants and a patchwork quilt pulled over his head like a hood. We’d let …
Happy birthday, Dinosaur Valley! October 8th, 2022 marks Dinosaur Valley State Park’s golden anniversary. To celebrate, I visited Glen Rose and put up flyers for Cecelia and the Living Fossils. I’m taking Dinosaur Valley’s 50th as a holiday to catch up on writing. Right now, the chapter you read on Sunday is the chapter I write …