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Dinosaur Prints

I had the good fortune to take a step back in time 215 million years.  My brother-in-law and his son work for a construction company and were working near the Luck Stone quarry in Culpeper, VA. http://www.luckstone.com/content/culpeper Years ago as the quarry was mining stone dinosaur prints were found in a reddish colored layer of stone.  Some of the prints were cut out and now are displayed in the Smithsonian Institute.  As luck would have it we were allowed to not only go into the quarry to see the prints, but we were able to make several plaster casts of them.

It was very cool to drive into the plant and see the equipment and then down into the quarry.  I don't often drive into a big pit! 

The quarry is still active and water seeps into it so there are some pretty big water pumps that constantly pump it out.  After a lot of rain the pumps may not keep pace and the prints will be under water.  This is a view of the quarry from the bottom. 

We looked around at the prints for awhile and then started mixing the plaster to make the casts.  We made a total of 4 casts and believe it or not each one came out in one piece.  The prints themselves are about 6 or 7 inches long so the casts came out to be around 9 inches long and 7 inches wide. 

This isn't the best picture but you can see the 3 toes.  It was a very cool experience and the print is in a prime location in my home.

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