Day 11 July 25, 2013

We leave fair gounds, Wellpinit, Spokane. We are giving the opportunity to continue blogging at Wellipint High school since most of us do not have internet access and can not blog.
   We take off from Fair grounds about 11:30 a.m. and head for Stonerose in Republic, Washington to look for fossils. Travis and Daniel gave us some facts about fossils before we went outside to look for them. Fossils are carbon compressed. fossils with minerals are stained by water. Fossils in the area date back to 48 to 50 years old ancient lake bed.
     Typically people have found fossils with leafs, insects, ginkgo, fish at Stonerose. In that site there are currently 12 researchers studying fossils. Most fossils are found in sediment rocks. When scientists find fossil, it must be very carefully freed from the rock or other material that it’s trapped in. Sometimes scientists use picks and shovels to get rid of the larger rocks around the fossil. They might even use explosives if they need to, but they have to be very careful not to damage the fossil itself. They also use trowels, hammers, brushes, and dental tools to remove fossils, especially small fossils. I did not know how difficult it was to excavate a fossil. My partner Cristian Rojas and I  gave it a try.We decided to go up hill because Daniel told us that a lot of insects and leafs have been found there. I did not even know where to begin hammering??? I went for the edges I thought it would be easier but it crumpled up. So I began looking for rocks that were laying around on the sides. I successfully found one. Slowly I began using my tools to open up a layer of rock. My partner and I managed to open up the rock but we found nothing. Other students found pine needles and one other found a halve leaf. It was a great site to visit and learn and observe about the fossils found by visitors. Though I did not find a fossil it was a great experience.
Later in the evening we went to Grand Coulee Dam. At the dam we seen a laser light show. Coulee dam is one of the biggest dam in the world that provides electricity. First time I have since the dam I was WOWED. I seen the front of the dam and was amazed then we droved passed it and I saw how steep the water was.