EPISODE 357 HOW DID THESE MARINE FOSSILS GET TO TOP OF ROCKY MOUNTAINS?
alan skeoch
June 4, 2021
“OK boys, we have Now driven more than halfway across Canada and it is time
to find out why.”
“Awwww, dad, you sound too much like a school teacher….this is summer holidays.”
“Your are right….I am going to shut up. Let’s go mountain climbing.”
“Sounds great.”
“How about right here…we will just park the truck and climb to the snow line…way up there.”
“Can you and mom do that…and the dogs.”
“You bet.”
And so we climbed through a Talus slope …broken rock … held in place for now but not forever. And away above us was the snow line. Steep enough to lose footing.
No one anywhere around and far below was the Jasper highway…more and more distant with each footfall. The boys tumbled in the snow followed
by Tara, our coonhound, and Maxie .. a stray we rescued as it was about to be shot. just the right amount of danger.
The slope of the mountain was about 45 degrees. It was a wonder that we did not trigger
an avalanche.
“Dad, looks what we found!”
“What?”
“Piles and piles of fossils….rocks are loaded with them.”
“You must be kidding…”
“Look…look….”
“Well, I’ll be damned. You are right…fossils….”
“How did they get here, dad?”
“weird…I thought fossils like these were sea creattures…things that lived at the bottom
of the sea.”
“How did they get up here, dad…up on the top of the Rocky mountains?”
“I have no idea…maybe some tourists…”
“Don’t be silly, dad…how did these fossils get up here?”
“Must be some explanation.”
“Dad, how did they get there?”
“I thought this was our summer holidays, boys.? Cut the school teacher stuff…”
“Dad, we are going to find out.”
“When you do, be sure and tell me.”
“I wonder what these fossils looked like when they were alive?”
“Find that out for me too…Meanwhile let’s have some fun.”
“Fun?”
“A snowball fight in the middle of August…”
(And I winged a nice round snowball at the boys.)
Those of you reading this story must know all the answers. Maybe
one or two of you can even identify the fossils.
alan skeoch