In the summer of 2023, one of the hottest on record, B.J. Hollars and his nine-year-old daughter Ellie embarked on a two-thousand-mile road trip to complete the Montana Dinosaur Trail, a fourteen-stop trail consisting of museums, state parks, and dinosaur dig sites throughout a state known for its Mesozoic-era fossil record. Throughout their two-week journey, they dig fossils, learn from amateur and professional paleontologists, and forge a bond even stronger than the dinosaurs they love. Join B.J. and Ellie on a road trip that spans not just miles but millennia. With every stop, they deepen their understanding of dinosaurs, extinction, and what the fossil record might teach us about how best to preserve our planetary home. Together, father and daughter strive to answer the vital question of our age: Can we humans evolve fast enough to ensure our own survival? Charming, thought-provoking, and full of discovery, Dinosaur Dreams is a time-traveling adventure that reminds us of what truly matters: the bonds we forge, the world we inherit, and the future we fight to protect.
B.J. Hollars is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He is the author or editor of more than fifteen books, including Go West, Young Man: A Father and Son Rediscover America on the Oregon Trail (Bison, 2021) and Midwestern Strange: Hunting Monsters, Martians, and the Weird in Flyover Country (Nebraska, 2019).
Acknowledgments Author's Note Cast of Characters Prologue 1. A Bone to Pick 2. Embrace the Evolution 3. Dollars for Dinos 4. Tires Make Good Neighbors 5. Where the Deer and the Dinosaurs Play 6. Of Mammoths and Men 7. Maternal Instinct 8. Hit the Road for Jack 9. Leonardo and Matilda 10. Amateur Hour 11. Of Faith and Fossils 12. Take Me Home, Country Road Epilogue Notes on the Sources Bibliography
"Dinosaur Dreams invites us to be the welcomed third passenger with Ellie and B.J. on their paleontological adventure. Along the way, the concepts, people, and sites we're introduced to-not to mention some incredibly cool dinosaurs!-will deepen anyone's appreciation for paleontology."-Emily Graslie, host of PBS's Prehistoric Road Trip "Dinosaur Dreams is the perfect serotonin boost for the modern era. A dive into the history and lesser-known politics of paleontology through the lens of a father-daughter road trip. With humor and vulnerability, this book celebrates the connections we forge on the open road and our shared fascination with dinosaurs."-Joseph Frederickson, lead paleontologist and manager of Natural Sciences Collections at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis "One of my core memories had a profound effect on the trajectory of my career in paleontology, and it was a road trip to Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park with my dad in the late 1990s. With both of us being paleo nerds, we bonded over this incredible site. Fast-forward a decade or so, and a field trip during my undergraduate years took me once again to Ashfall. Then to 2006, when I loaded up my mom's car and drove to Ashfall myself to spend the summer immersed in paleontology, on my way to becoming the paleontologist I am today. All this to say that even just one road trip with a trusted adult can have lasting effects on a kid, let alone experiencing the whole Montana Dinosaur Trail! Dinosaur Dreams is a wonderful reflection of this, creating memories by exploring the recent and ancient history of our planet."-Kallie Moore, cohost of PBS Eons
