When we arrived at the Museum of Western Colorado's dig site, a 30 minute drive from the museum, to find a backhoe in front of the site we quickly discovered that there is more to digging for fossils than dusting off a bit of fossilized bones. While we dug, a crew of 3 workers extracted 2 large, plaster protected Apatosaurus vertebrate. Removing the fossils intact was the culmination of more than a year's work. And as the day progressed we experienced small bits of that yearlong journey. After a lesson in paleontology and local geology, buckets of tools were distributed and work areas assigned. We used a small pick and hammer to remove rock from the upper levels of the site. We broke rock in search of small bones and teeth. We cleared rocks and dusted partially exposed fossils. We made a plaster cast called a field jacket for a partially uncovered vertebrate that would remain at the dig site for the winter. We mapped the day's discoveries. We secured the dig area for the night. But it wasn't until we were seated in the truck that we realized how exhausting just one day of digging can be. We were hot and dusty but there were smiles from ear to ear.