T. K. Arispe

My friend Ashley Hall is moving on from Museum of the Rockies and won't be co-hosting Virtual Fossil Fridays anymore! I'm sure Maggie Jo will continue to do a wonderful job hosting, but I'm going to miss seeing Ashley every week too. I drew her a couple of things to express my appreciation for everything she's done for science outreach at MOR during her time there.

She asked me to draw a picture of her riding a Parasaurolophus (her favorite dino), so I had to remember a lot of things I forgot about horseback riding from when I would go to visit my equestrian aunt as a kid. (Horses kinda terrify me with their extreme jumpiness and their ability to sense your lack of confidence. Carnivores are more my speed.) I also included her cat Samhain because I always look for excuses to include cats in things. :)

 

And then I drew her as an actual Parasaurolophus because why not. She used to work at the Page Museum at Rancho La Brea*, so I drew her with Smilodon, one of the tar pits' iconic species. Love that place. I hope I get to visit it again someday.

Thanks for everything, Ashley! I'm secretly hoping she organizes another chapter of Virtual Fossil Fridays in her new location. Double the paleontology, double the fun!

*For those not in the know, "la brea" is literally Spanish for "the tar". So when you say "La Brea Tar Pits" you are saying "the the tar tar pits". Let's be less cavalier with our linguistics, shall we?

This message has been paid for by the Coalition Against Tautological Place Names.