Jordan and Kaitlyn were hiking on the rainbow ravine trail with their families. As they were walking along, Kaitlyn pointed to Jordan's feet. Are you sure you want to take those brand new tennis shoes out here? She asked. Jordan laughed and said, They're going to get dirty one day. come on, let's go. Jordan and kailyn took off running. They raced to a small canyon. They were colourful bands of sandstone alongside the trail. Jordan and kailyn turned a corner and stopped so they could catch the breath. kailyn realised that both their families were out of sight. Jordan and kailyn climbed into the dry, empty canyon. They turned a corner and looked up. The steep cliffs were bright orange. Large boulders jutted out from the sides of the cliffs. "Hello" jardan called out. helloooooo hellooooo the canyon echoed back. It's spooky here, kailyn said. I wonder if anything has ever lived here. I think so, Jordan answered. Millions of years ago, places like this had lots of plants and animals. There might even be fossils here. Jordan and kailyn looked at the ground. They searched around for signs of ancient life. Rock ,rock ,rocks ,Jordan said, turning over several stones. Not one fossilised bone, Kailyn said ,tossing a rock up the canyon. But look at your feet. Jordan looked at this new shoes. They were covered in sand and dirt. Oh, well ,he said. Kailyn And Jordan climbed a small hill above the trail. they kept searching for fossils. A few minute later, Jordan saw his dad looking up at them. Hello up there, his dad shouted. It's time to come back. Kailyn's mum added. Kailyn turned over one more rock. Nope. Nothing, she said.Jordan grabbed a handful of dirt and let it sift through his hand. The dirt landed right on his new shoes. Kaitlyn and Jordan walked back to the trail. On the way back, they passed a group of hikers. A ranger was taking the group on a guided walk. the ranger stopped to talk to the group, just as Kaitlyn and Jordan passed by. Millions of years ago, the ranger explained, there was lots of life up here. But you would never know it now. Jordan looked at Kaitlyn. See? That's what I told you he smiled. In fact, the ranger continued. we have found fossils up here of large and small dinosaurs. Jordan and kaitlyn stepped closer to listen. Not all fossils are of animals, the ranger said. There are sea shell and plant fossils up here , too. But fossils are usually hard to find. There's too much dirt to search through. When most plants and animals die, they break down and become part of the soil. We should go, Jordan, Kaitlyn said. Jordan nodded, and he and Kaitlyn ran to catch up with their families. Hi there you're back, said Kaitlyn's mum, smiling. Did you have a good around? Asked Jordan's dad. Yes, we did, Jordan answered. Why did we have to come back so quickly? Because we want to set up camp before dark, Dad replied. We could have found a fossils though, Kaitlyn said. Maybe we can come back and join a paleontological dig, Jordan's dad suggested. I'd really like that, Jordan said. Jordan and Kaitlyn waited to get into the back seat of the car Kaitlyn opened the door. You're not going to get in there with all that dirt on your shoes, are you? Kaitlyn asked Jordan. Jordan looked at his new shoes. They were filthy. He could feel the dirt inside them. Jordan thought for a minute, then he grabbed a paper cup from the back seat of the car. Kaitlyn watched as he took off his shoes and shook the dirt out of both of them into the paper cup.