150th Anniversary of the Driving of the Golden Spike

Trains at Promontory

150 years ago today, here in what is now the State of Utah, USA, they completed the transcontinental railroad and celebrated by driving in a golden spike!   This is a very desolate desert-y place.  It was a huge accomplishment.  I heard a historian on TV  today say that it would be like the USA getting to the Moon, (that happened in my childhood).  I guess it will be like Man getting to Mars in my children's generation.  

The railroad was a connection of Oakland California to the railroads in the East. . . starting at Omaha, Nebraska.   There were three railroad companies that participated in the construction.  First the Western Pacific built 132 miles or 212 km of track from Oakland, California (or Alameda) to Sacramento, California.  Next the Central Pacific built 690 miles or 1,110 km of track from Sacramento to Promontory Summit in Utah.  The Union Pacific built 1,085 miles or 1,746 km of track from near Omaha, Nebraska. . . (it was actually Council Bluff, Nebraska), to Promontory Summit.  They had an easier time of it because they did not have to build through as many mountains.  

There is a forgotten set of facts about this railroad.  First is how it affected the Native Americans.  Although it did many great things, the railroad led to an easy way for European Americans or White Americans to come out and hunt buffalo or American Bison.  This devastated the Native American tribes.  

Another forgotten fact is that the Central Pacific was built mostly by Chinese immigrants and most of the Union Pacific was built by Irish Immigrants.  Former slaves also helped in the construction.  All three of these groups were often treated terribly in America.  In fact, the Irish were treated terribly in Great Britain for years.   The Chinese are not even seen in the famous photo of the trains coming together.

When the contruction got close to Utah the Mormons helped.  Mormons are those of us who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The prophet and president of the church did not come to the celebrations because the railroads had been negligent in paying their workers.  Brigham Young was also upset that the railroad did not come thruough Salt Lake City.  

Another interesting fact is that the railroads ended up paying by giving supplies to construct a railroad spur down to Salt Lake City.  Eventually a railroad was constructed through Salt Lake City clear up North and clear down to Los Angeles California.  I rode on the last Union Pacific passenger train that went through my small town in Southern Utah.  That was in the mid or late 1960's.  

I learned that the Trans-Siberian Railroad is much longer and it was completed in 1904.  It is goes from Moscow to Nadhodka, a port city on the Pacific Oean.  It is intersting that for them the Pacific Ocean is to the East instead of to the West.  

NOTE:  This drawing, in printable form, is found under the buttons up top labeled either "All Printables" or "Vehicles".  Also, I just drew the train engines and one coal tender car and a small part of another coal tender car.  I did not draw the people at the celebration.  

Diluvicursor an Australian Dinosaur

Diluvicursor

In keeping with our upcoming tripo to Australia, I am drawing living and exticnt animals from that southern continent.  This is an ostrich-like dinosaur called Diluvicursor.  It lived in Australia in the Cretaceous Period.  It was a herbivore so it ate plants.  It is quite possible that it had feathers on at least part of its body to keep warm.   Australia was a wet climate in the Mid-Cretaceous.  It was kind of a wet area. . . where Diluvicursor lived anyway.  

Although I did not draw it, the vertebrae of a Spinosaur was found in the same area as Diluvicursor.  Spinosaurs ate fish from rivers.  So it is thought that Diluvicursor lived in a flood plain area with lots of rivers, pond, etc.   The name of the dinosar I posted above with the picture is from the Latin "Diluvi" which means "flood". . . and "cursor" which means "runner". . . So Diluvicursor ran from the floods.  Diluvi also means deluge or very hard rain.  

Diluvicursor was not a huge dinosaur but it was not tiny either.  It is thought to have been about 7 1/2 feet longa or 2.3 meters long.  It probably was around 4-5 feet tall.  That would be around 1.2 to 1.5 meters long.  

The continent of Australia and the continent of Antarctica were connected back in the Mid-Cretaceous Period and the landscape was dominated by cycads, ferns and conifers.  Technically cycads ARE conifers, but they LOOK like palm trees.  But cycads make seeds in cones.  .   . like pretty much all conifers do.  

NOTE:  The printable verion of the dinosaur drawings are found under the "Paleontology" button up top.   New drawings are at the bottom of the page.  The drawing can also be found under the  "All Printables" button.  Again, scroll down to the bottom of the page for new drawings.  

I decided to add some older drawings of Spinosaurs . . . since at least one species of them lived with Diluvicursor.   These drawings are older so they are not at the bottom of the lists of printables. . . they are further up the lists.  

Spinosaurus hunting with Young

Baryonyx fishing at a River

Jesus heals the Man born Blind and Teaches about Forgiveness

Jesus heals the Man born Blind

NOTE:  My Sunday School lesson today included this story and the story of the woman caught in adultery.  So, I am going to repost the drawing called Jesus teaches about Forgiveness too. 

The story of the man born blind is an amazinag story found in the Holy Bible in John, chapter 9.  The man had been born blind.  He was young enough that his parents were still alive.  People knew this young man so they KNEW that he was blind.  Jesus was walking by and His disciples asked if they man or his parents sinned and that was why he was born blind.   

Jesus made it clear that the neither the man or his parents sinned.  Then He, Jesus, healed the man.  Jesus made a clay with His spittle and annointed the blind man's eyes and told him to go wash in the pool at Siloam.   The man obeyd and his sight returned.  

People marveled and this was quite the sensation.  The Scribes and Pharasees were angry because Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath.  There were some of the leaders who sided with Jesus and believed on Him.  They said that a wicked man could not do such miracles.  

The now healed man and his parents were brought before the leaders and the parents feared the leaders so they said that their son was of age, let him speak for himself.  This young man was SO brave.  He stood up to the corrupt leaders and they essentially excommunicated him.  Then Jesus came and found him and told him that He, Jesus, was the Son of God, and the man believed.  

I want to note that some people seek to explain away the miracles of Jesus.  Years ago I went to a presentation on the Miracles of Jesus.  I though it was a presentation by a Christian believer. . . I was wrong.  It was  by a man who I realized was evil. . . in my opinion.  He sought to explain away the miracles of Jesus.   This presenter, I guess, believed that Jesus was just a man and that he had knowledge not the Power of God.  The man said that Jesus knew that the "blind" man just had his eyes stuck together by secretions.  Thus Jesus put clay on the man's eyes and when the man washed his eyes they were able to open.  This argument is rediculous to me because the man was born blind.  You can't tell me that his parents never washed his face and his eyes.  It actually amazes me how far nonbelievers will go to deny a miracle.  The fact is, Jesus did have the power of God because He was the Son of God.  

Jesus teaches about Forgiveness

The corrupt leaders of Jerusalem wanted to entrap Jesus.  They knew that only Romans could authroize an execution.  So they brought a woman who was caught in adultery to Jesus and pointed out that the Law of Moses said to stone an adulteress.  

Jesus was unfazed.  He started to write in the dust and ignored them.  Then he stood and said, "He that is without sin let him first cast a stone at her."   It is not in the Bible, but there are some traditions that Jesus was writng the names of the accusers and or their sins.  In any case, the accusers withdrew one by one, starting at the eldest down to the youngest.  

Then Jesus asked the woman where her accusers were.  She said "No man Lord."  Jesus then told her to "Go thy way and sin no more."  In the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible we learn that the woman became a believer.  The Joseph Smith Translation says, tacked on to the end of John 8:11, 

            "...And the woman glorified God from that hour, and believed on his name."  

NOTE:  The top drawing is new so it is found by clicking on "All Printables" or "Religious" and scrolling down to the bottom of the list.  Under the Religion page it will be at the bottom of the New Testament list.  The "Jesus teaches about Forgiveness" drawing is further up the lists because it is not a new drawing.  I also want to mention that the drawing of the woman caught in adultery is drawn from some amazing statues at Thanksgiving Point's Ashton Gardens in Lehi, Utah.  They are part of a display of the Life of Christ called "Light of the World."  The sculptor is Angela Johnson.  

Some of the statues of Light of the World

Imperobator

Imperobator on the Prowl

Imperobator was a Theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period.  It lived in what is now Antarctica.  Antarctica was warmer then.  In fact, there were cycads and ferns along with the conifer forests.  In this drawing the ferns are on the ground and there are cycad trees in the forest.  The trees that look like palm trees are actually cycads.  The cycad is actually a type of conifer. . . their seeds are in cones.  But I will admit, a cydad LOOKS a lot like a palm tree.  

Some paleontologists think that Imperobatoar was about the size of a Utahraptor, but it was not a raptor.  Notice that it lacked a large  killer sickle claw on each foot.  But make no mistake, it was still a killer.  So Imperobator may have grown up to 23 feet or 7 meters long and weighed up to 4,400 lbs. or around 2,000 kg.  This size is in  dispute. . . so maybe Imperobator was only 10 feet or 3 meters long. . . that still is a good sized killer dinosaur.

I am not aware or the eye socket size, but since it DID live in Antarctica it may have had larger eyes to gather light in the long dark winters.  The drawing should be colored as a scene at night, notice the moon and a few stars and maybe a planet, (like Venus).  The small Arctic predatory Theropod called Troodon also had rather large light gathering eyes. 

NOTE:  The printable versions are found by clicking on the buttons at the top of the page.  Click on either . . . All Printables . . . . . . . or . . . . . . . Paleontology.   New drawings are at the bottom of the lists.  

Flamingo From Riverbanks Zoo

Flamingo from Riverbanks Zoo

We have seen famingos in the wild, in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.  They were beautiful and very pink.   Flamingos are pink because of the algae that they eat.  They put that huge bill into the water and filter out the micorscopic algae etc.  Some of that algae turns their feathers pink.  But the flamingos at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina are eating more algae than their wild relatives. . . so their feathers are kind of a cross between pink and a brilliant red-orange.   

I already though of flamingos as one of the most beautiful birds.   .    .  but when I saw the ones in the Columbia Riverbanks Zoo I was enchanted.  They are truly gorgeous.  I am including one of the photos I took so you can see what I mean.  Plus you can use the photo to color the drawing accurately if you choose to do so.  I also should mention that these have got to be the hardest bird to draw correctly.  There were a lot of flamingos at the zoo, but I chose to just draw one.  

Flamingo from Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, South Carolina

(I took this photo last week when we went to this zoo.)

NOTE:  The printable versions of drawings are found by clicking on the buttons up top labled:

All Printables . . . . . or. . . . .Animals.

The new drawings are always found at the bottom of the correct list.  

Kookaburra in Gum Tree

Kookaburra in Gum Tree

Kookaburra are a type of king fisher bird that is native to Australia.  They are 42 cm or 11-17 inches long.  They have a loud call that sounds like a loud laugh.  They live in many different environments... even the urban areas.  Even though they are a type of king fisher. . . they are not neccesarily around water a lot.  They eat a very carniverous diet . . . including:  other birds (especially the young), mice, snakes, lizards, insects, and of course fish.  They even have been seen catching goldfish from outdoor ponds.  

Kookaburra photo from Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, South Carolina

(I took this photo last week.  It was my primary source for my drawing.

You could use this as a reference if you want to color the drawing accuratrely.  .   . 

however, I will admit that the Kookaburra is not very colorful.)

Kookaburra from Adelaide Zoo in Adelaide , South Australia
(My wife took this photo in 1985.  This was before we had ever met.
She had gone to Australia on vacation.
WE are getting to go to Australia together this summer!)

NOTE:  Printable versions of this drawing are found  by clicking on the button at the top of the page labeled "Animals"   .   .   .   OR .   .   . you could click on "All Printables"   New drawings are found at the bottom of the correct list. 

There is a song from my childhood.  Even though I grew up in Utah, USA, we sang this song in 5th and 6th grade chior.  As I mentioned above, the kookaburra has a distinctive laugh that is mentioned in the song.   The song title is the first line of the lyrics:  

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,

Merry merry king of the bush is he.

Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra,

Gay your life must be!

Brother of Jared sees the Finger of the Lord

Brother of Jared sees the Finger of the Lord

In the Book of Mormon there is a story about a great prophet named the Brother of Jared.   His name was so long that they used the term "Brother of Jared" in order to avoid carving such a long name.  Joseph Smith revealed that his name was actually Mohonrioriancamr.   

Anyway, the Brother of Jared and Jared, his brother and their friends and all their families came from the Tower of Babel.  They traveled overland a long ways until they came to the ocean.  Here they were commanded to build some barges to take the people across the great waters (ocean) to the promised land (New World or Western Hemisphere).  The barges were shaped a bit like an almond.   The Brother of Jared knew that they would have trouble using candles or oil lamps because the barges were totally enclosed.  So when the Brother of Jared asked the Lord what to do the Lord asked him what he though he should do.  

Then the Brother of Jared obviously thought it out and he used some obvious blacksmithing skills to molten out 16 small clear stones and he prayed and asked the Lord to touch them so that they would glow and provide light for the people in the barges.  

Then to the Brother of Jared's surprise the Lord, who had been talking to him from a cloud, reached out his finger to touch each of the 16 clear stones.   .    .  and the stones started to glow.  The Brother of Jared was shocked because he did not know that God had a hand and fingers etc.  In fact the Brother of Jared did not know that God had a body.  

The God was Jehovah or Jesus Christ in his pre-earth life form.  He next revealed all of himself to the Brother of Jared and explained that he, Jesus, would take upon Himself a body of flesh and blood but right then He had His Spirt Body.  

Jesus Christ was our eldest brother in the Pre-mortal Life.  He volunteered to pay the eternal price for our sins to make repentance possible for us.  Because of this (His Atonement) we can return cleansed from all our sins into the presence of our Heavenly Father one day.  In fact, if we repent, and keep God's commandments, we will one day be living with both our Heavenly Parents and our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, and our spouse and family.   We members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints call that place The Celestial Kingdom.

NOTE:  My nephew, Kolby,  helped me out by drawing the finger and hand of the Lord.  I was having a hard time with it.  I definitely need to work on improving my drawing of hands and feet.
The printable versions of this drawing are found by clicking on the buttons up top labeled:
    All Printabes . . . . . . . or  . . . . . . .  Religious.   Remember to scroll down to the bottom of the correct list because all new drawings are at the bottom of the lists.