Table of Contents 1.     Badlands National Park 2.     Black Hills 3.     Bear Butte State Park 4.     Devils Tower, Wyoming 5.     Spearfish Canyon 6.     Black Hills Petrified Forest 7.     Museum of Geology 8.     Chapel in the Hills 9.     Gold “Black Hills or Bust” 10.  Caves 11.  Mt. Rushmore National Monument 12.  Custer State Park 13.  Black Hills Museum of Natural History, Hills City 14.  Mammoth Hot Springs, Hot Springs 15.  Buffalo 16.  Buffalo Gap 17.  Fossil Cycad National Monument in the Black Hills 18.  Ponderosa Pine 19.  Prairie Dogs 20.  Fossil 21.  Pronghorn Antelope 22.  Other Resources Badlands National Park The badlands national park is just off I-90 with a 32 mile loop through revealed layers of clay, sand, and volcanic ash laid down during the Flood of Noah’s day. The French explorers called this area, “bad lands to cross” and so it is! Starting at the East entrance East entrance to the Park and Big Badlands overlook This gives you a big view of the badlands. A quick look will show that the Badlands were deposited in layers. Notice the layers are horizontal. Follow one strata line and then follow another. There is no evidence of weathering or erosion on boundaries between layers, the contact between layers is “knife-edge” sharp. If this were laid down over slowly over millions of years there should be soil layers at each layer. Also if these layers were laid down slowly over millions of years, the creatures should have mixed the soil and it should appear homogenous. As it is these layers reveal they were laid down quickly in a flooding event. Scientific research shows that flowing water lays down sediments in layers. The Badlands testify to a worldwide Flood as mentioned in the Bible. Door and Window Parking area The Door trail is so named for a break in the wall. This marks the upper prairie from the lower prairie. This thick ridge is over 100 miles long and called “The Wall”. The city of Wall and Wall Drug take its name from this ridge. Ben Reifel Visitor Center A small visitor center to helps you understand the park better. Notice the eroded badlands around you. Pick a strata line and follow it from butte to pinnacle. Now read above Notice the horizontal bands of sediment. Horse evolution exhibit Creation scientists have examined 19 fossil horse species. Statistical analyses revealed they belong to the same “horse kind”. Horses range from the small miniature horses to the large Clydesdale. (Thumbelina is a miniature horse that is 17 inches tall.) Horses vary from having 17-19 ribs. Some are born with one toe and others with more. All are just a variety of the horse kind. The same can be said of the variety we find within the dogs, from poodle to Great Dane. Horses were created on Day 6 of creation week some 6,000 years ago. Noah took 2 horse kinds on the Ark, a male and female. The ones that we find in the fossil record are the ones that did not get on the Ark. After the Flood, the 2 horses left the Ark were fruitful and multiplied over the earth. (Museum Guide: a Bible-based Handbook to the Museum. 2006. Answers in Genesis. p. 83.) Fossil Exhibit Trail In the Badlands we find in the lower grayish-black sedimentary rock called the Pierre Shale, clams, crabs, snails and baculites (squid like creature with a long shell tightly coiled at one end). Notice the lower stratum has marine fossils. What are ocean creatures doing in South Dakota? They were caught in a world-wide flood. These fossilized creatures were caught in black mud which compressed and turned into rock (shale). This 2,000 foot thick band of rock is known as Pierre Shale. When asked of the ranger about the clams, “Do you find them mostly open or close”? Closed clams. Close clams mean they were buried alive and then died. When clams die naturally, their muscle relaxes opening the shell. Most the time on beaches you will find separate halves of the shells. With both halves still together means the clam must have been buried deeply and fast. Living clams can dig them themselves out of many feet of sand. Finding fossilized clams with closed shells testifies to rapid, deep, burial such as would be found in the Genesis Flood. In the next two layers, Eocene and Oligocene epochs fossilized mammals are found. Saber tooth cats, miniature camels, horses the size of a collie dog, deer the size of a house cat and gigantic rhinoceros like beasts called titanotheres. Tintanothere means Giant (Titan) creature (Theres). Pigs (oredonts), the size of a large dog, are the most common mammal fossil found in the park. No dinosaur fossils have been found in the park. An excellent display of fossils found in the Badlands is on display at the Museum of Geology School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City. White River Valley Overlook Notice the strata lines. no evidence of weathering or erosion on boundaries between layers sharp “knife-edge” contact between layers lack of bioturbation lack of soil layers Bigfoot Pass Overlook Notice the strata lines. See above Notice the horizontal bands of sediment Also, these layers of sediments are underneath the upper prairie. A lot of erosion had to happen to reveal what we see. Where are the eroded sediments? Washed clean away. Burns Basin overlook and Homestead Overlook : Notice the strata lines. Scientific experiments show that flowing water separates sediments into layers. Conata Basin Overlook:  Notice the strata lines. How does soft, loose sediment turn into solid rock? It’s the same way we make concrete, after all concrete is just artificial rock. The concrete company breaks up bigger rocks into smaller rocks and adds cement (limestone/clay) and water. Cement mineral crystals grow around the rock and we have concrete. The two most common cementing agents are calcium carbonate (the lime in limestone) and silica (silica rock cement in this form are like little packs of silica gel that get packed with electronics, they rapidly absorb water and form crystals.) During the Flood, the earth was one big cement mixer. ( The Fossil Book by Gary and Mary Parker, 2005, p. 7-8.) Yellow Mounds Overlook: the sign says these are the remains of 87 soils, some are red, yellow and purple. Pinnacles Overlook: Today we see layers of varied colors sweep across the landscape These layers were laid down by the Flood. Scientific experiments have found that flowing waters laid down sediments in varied layers. Then, massive amounts of water eroded the landscape revealing these strata layers which are evidence of a worldwide Flood. Here in the Badlands erosion has reveal the history of the Flood of Noah that is usually kept hidden. How did the Badlands form? During the year long Flood during Noah’s day, the earth experienced catastrophic restructuring. In Genesis the “fountains of the great deep” burst forth and poured water onto the earth’s surface for 150 days (5 months). At the same time, “the floodgates of heaven” opened and torrential global rains fell. These waters eventually covered “ all the high hills under the whole heaven.” So that all the air-breathing, land dwelling creatures died. Only Noah, his family and those creatures he took on the Ark were saved. This world wide catastrophe lasted over a year (370 days). As the Flood waters swept across the continents, it ripped up the earth depositing it in a different place. Add to these earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and the moon’s gravitational pull on these waters and you have violent watery storm. The earth was truly being washed clean of its wickedness. Towards the end of the Flood, the waters rushed off the land masses and into the oceans. As “ mountains rose up and valleys when down” Psalm 104:8, water in sheets would erode the land, soon the waters would become channalized eroding the land more deeply. Noah, his family and animals left the ark to experience a new world. The rainbow in the sky was and is a promise to us that the world will never be destroyed by a world-wide flood again. What we see at the Badlands is the layers of strata that were laid down during this year long flood. Flood waters had swept across the continents laying down sand, clay, and volcanic ash. On every continent is the world is found extensive areas layers of sedimentary rock. Caught in these waters would have been the creatures not on the Ark Countless billions of fossils of plants and animals are found in extensive fossil graveyards world-wide. The geological column is a record of what got caught and died in the Flood not an order of green slime evolving into a human. Look out over the badlands notice the horizontal layers. These sharply defined layers. The Badlands give evidence of a worldwide flood. When viewing the Badlands notice the horizontal bands or layers of sediment. These sedimentary rock layers are made of tiny grains of sand, silt, mud, and clay that have been cemented together into sedimentary rocks. The worldwide Flood would have been a horrific year long event. As the “fountains of the great deep burst open”, tsunamis would have swept over the continents, bringing with them marine creatures. Add to this, “the floodgates of heaven opened”. This watery cataclysm would be accompanied with tremendous earthquakes and erupting volcanoes. This global watery cataclysm would result in the destruction of every animal and plant on the face of the earth, only those safely in the Ark survived. The earth was going through great upheavals. The land was being ground into sediments. Today 75% of the land surfaces are sedimentary rocks, rocks that had been ground up and laid down in violent global Flood. At the end of the Flood, the mountains rose up and valleys went low causing the waters to rush off the continents and into the oceans. These waters would have run off in sheets and caused erosion and in places like the Badlands we are privileged to see these laid down layers from the Flood revealed. Notice the horizontal bands of sediment , each band can be traced to the next butte, pinnacle or peak, showing one continuous band. The strata are in horizontal bands. We find no evidence between the strata (bands) of weathering or erosion. If each band had been laid down over millions of years, shouldn’t those years of weathering and erosion be revealed in the horizontal layers? What we find between the boundaries of sedimentary layers is a  flat, featureless, knife-edge boundary . These flat, featureless boundaries are hallmarks of continuous deposition or lying down of the year long Genesis Flood. Notice each layer of strata, the light and the dark, have totally different rock types lying one on top of the other, each layer has a very distinct “knife-edge” line between them. The existence of sharp “knife-edge” contact between the strata could not happen over millions of years otherwise we should see erosional features. These layers show evidence of being laid down quickly. How were these layers laid down during the Flood? Flowing waters separates sediments into layers. Take a jar and fill it with gravel, sand, and clay, now add water. Shake it up and watch the layers form in a short time. This is but a small experiment as compared to a global flood. Moving waters sort out particles thus forming layers. Layers show lack of bioturbation. Bioturbation refers to biological life mixing up the soils. Sediments that have been laid down in hurricanes quickly become mixed up by worms, clams, and plants, disturbing the layers. One study of Hurricane Carla in 1961 showed that it laid down a recognizable layer; within 20 years this layer could hardly be found, the critters and plants had mixed these sediments. If the sediments had been laid down in the badlands over millions of years, these layers would not be so pronounced; bioturbation would have mixed the layers to almost a homogenous layer. Each layer shows lack of a top soil. If the land had continuously supported life over hundreds of millions of year, the soil should be visible. Extent of Sedimentary Rocks The limestone outcrops in the Black Hills extends to the Redwall Limestone seen in the Grand Canyon to The Grand Teton Range where it is called the Madison Limestone. The limestone then extends into the Canadian Rockies. This limestone can be traced over large areas of the United States. We do not observe such extensive layers being laid down today. Today’s sedimentation is limited; for such a vast area to be covered required some catastrophic event of biblical proportions for it to be produced. Geological evidence for strata laid down in a Flood no evidence of weathering or erosion on boundaries between layers sharp “knife-edge” contact between layers lack of bioturbation lack of soil layers Fossils: The world wide flood would have produced, as Ken Ham says, “billions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the world”. 95% of all know fossils are marine invertebrates. These creatures would have been the first to be caught in this epic flooding event. As the storms, tidal surges and tsunamis continued more and more of the land would become flooded burying plants and creatures. Those to be trapped and buried first were the marine creatures then those living closest to the shore (amphibians), and finally those farther in land, like the reptiles and finally the mammals. The surging flood waters covering these land creatures would have also brought in sea creatures. That is why in the Badlands of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, fossils finds are clams, snails, crocodiles, alligators, turtles and Champosaurus gigas  a 10 foot long crocodile-like creature. Volcanoes, the Flood and Bentonite Clay ..........The park layers are full of volcanic ash. Volcanic ash would have been spewing out from hundreds of volcanoes during the Flood and after the Flood as the earth began to settle down. Volcanic ash weathers and decomposes into bentonite clay. Bentonite clay is mined worldwide. In the northern high plains hundreds of bentonite beds exist. Because it absorbs water wonderfully it is used in such industries as drilling wells, lining landfills, and kitty litter. These clays when wet expand and become very sticky and slick. In the Badlands area great amounts of volcanic ash were deposited over an extensive area. Notice the thick whitish-gray layers of bentonite clay, which used to be volcanic ash! When exposed on the surface and dried out they appear crumbly. Black Hills Black hills are not hills but mountains. They are smaller than the Rockies but higher than the Appalachians. From a distance they look black, this is from the spruce and pine covered slopes. Why are they called black when it is thickly covered in evergreens? Very simply from a distance these pine covered slopes look black from a distance. The Black hills is in a vast sea of prairie grasses. The Black Hills area is approximately 120 miles long and 50 miles wide. There are eighteen peaks that rise to an elevation greater than 7,000 feet. How were the Black Hills formed? The Flood of Noah’s day (2348 B.C.) laid down sedimentary layers. Towards the end of the Flood, the mountains rose up and the valleys went low. With the Black Hills, magma below the earth pushed up like a fist. This exposed the granite basement rocks in the center of the black hills. A 7,000 foot dome of granite rock rose, forming the Black Hills. The layers of limestone, sandstone, and other sediments were tilted as a result. The green in the picture is limestone. The purple is the granite basement rocks now exposed. Bear Butte State Park Bear Butte State Park is designated as a National Natural Landmark sacred to the Native Americans. But did you know that during the 1990’s on the walls of this state park there was an account of “Noah” and the Flood? There are more than 360 Flood accounts from around the world. One is even remembered at Bear Butte State Park in South Dakota (near Sturgis). There used to be posted on the walls the Mandan Indian Flood legend. Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah (Noah) escaped a world- wide flood in a dug-out canoe. “Noah” and these animals were saved and landed on Bear Butte. A dove was sent out from the canoe, and it came back with a willow branch. Then, the animals left the dug out canoe two by two. Doesn’t this sound like Noah’s Flood from the Bible? How did this show up in South Dakota? The ancestors of the Mandan Indians brought this history with them when they spread out from the tower of Babel. Some people will say this story is from when the Christian missionaries visited the Mandan Indians. If this were true, would they not have told about Jesus Christ? There are some 360 flood accounts from around the world. This would be expected if an awful world catastrophe, as described in the Bible, had actually happened. These ancient people would tell their children and grandchildren. These Flood accounts were brought with them as they left the Tower of Babel some 106 years after the Flood. The story would become increasingly distorted with time but the essence of the true, actual, historical event would remain. As you ascend Bear Butte, some 1400 feet above the prairie, viewing four states, you can see the reason the Mandan Indians choose this sight for “Noah” landing and the animals coming off two by two. Inspired Evidence,  Julie Von Vett and Bruce Malone, June 7, 2011 Have you considered .............that there is evidence of a worldwide flood in the historical records of many people groups from around the world. For example, the Toltec Indians of ancient Mexico record that a few men escaped the great Flood that covered the highest mountains in a closed chest. This first world lasted 1,716 years (The Biblical account has the pre-flood world lasting 1,656 years). The Toltec histories recount that after the Flood, a great tower was built and then the languages were confused. (Tower of Babel: Genesis 11). The Toltec language was spoken by 7 friends and their wives. They crossed great waters, lived in caves, and wandered 104 years until they arrived in southern Mexico. This was 520 after the great Flood. This is just one of some 360 Flood stories from around the world. Dinosaurs by Design , Duane Gish, 1992, p.74. Devils Tower, Wyoming Just outside the Black hills in northeastern Wyoming stands a spectacular erosional remnant, Devils Tower. It is nearly a vertical igneous body some 900 feet tall towering over the grasslands. The circumference at the base is one mile. Devils Tower is possibly the remains of a volcanic neck or a plug of magma that never reached the surface. How was this formed? Magma was pushed upward through sedimentary layers and into place underground. At that time, the land surface would have been 3,000 feet higher, which would be 1,800 feet higher than the top of the tower! The thick magma had to have solidified before  the surrounding materials were eroded, otherwise the plug shape would not have been retained. Long columns grace the sides of the tower, most are five-sided. These columns are called columnar jointing. Columns are formed when the magma is cooled quickly causing it to contract, forming cracks. As it continually cooled, the cracks enlarged forming columns. Most columnar jointing is five or six-sided, however three to seven sides can be found. The lengths of these columns at Devils Tower show that it was one pool of magma, not a series of small flows on top of each other. Columns form perpendicular to the cooling surface, in this case, the cooling surface was horizontal, leading to vertical fractures. How was Devils Tower exposed? The land would have been cut flat to the level of the top of the tower and the surrounding high hills and then a wide valley was cut revealing Devils Tower. Now let’s put on our biblical glasses with the Genesis Flood in mind. Sedimentary layers were laid down in the Flood. Toward the end of the Flood, Devils Tower magma was pushed into place. Then other mountains rose up and valley went down (Psalms) and the waters rushed off the continents in sheets flowing to the oceans. These sheets of water thousands of miles wide would have cut wide flat landscapes; originally the land above the tower was 1,800 feet higher. The sheet flow would have cooled Devils Tower from the top, causing the cracks, producing the vertical columns. As the floodwater decreased, the water flow would have divided into large channels and continued to erode the landscape. One of these channels cut the wide valley around the tower. These sediments are not found down slope in some huge flood plain area; they have been swept clean. The tower did not erode because it is composed of hard volcanic rock. Devils Tower is a remnant of catastrophic erosion that took place at the end of the Flood. Why Devil’s Tower cannot be millions of years old..... The tower exists, if millions of years old, it would most likely have eroded completely away. Devils Tower could not be millions of years old, for it would have totally disappeared in a million years from the freeze-thaw cycle. Water from storms fill the cracks in the columns and then freeze during the cold months, enlarging the cracks causing the columns to crumble to the ground. Devil’s Tower should have been destroyed in less than 100,000 years because of the freeze-thaw weathering. Notice there is a modest amount of talus (fallen rock debris) at the base of the tower. Devils Tower is thousands of years old (The Flood took place about 4,300 years ago), not millions. The erosion had to be rapid for the tower is steep, if the water flow have been slow, the tower would have been much smaller at its base. As it is, Devils Tower is almost vertical. We can better understand the tall erosional remnants like Devil’s Tower, in the landforms we see today when we view then with biblical glasses. In the late stages of the flood, the water rushed off the continent in sheets. As the flood water subsided, they would have flowed in wide channels, eroding the landscape leaving remnants like Devil’s Tower. “Devils Tower can be Explained by Floodwaters Runoff”, Michael Oard, Journal of Creation August 2009, p. 124-127 “Devils Tower and Bible Glasses”, Tas Walker, Creation, June 2002, 20-23 http://creation.com/devils-tower-explained Drawing flood by design  p. 62 not http://www.unmuseum.org/devtowergeo.htm http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/wog/devils-tower -As you travel down the hill from the tower, look for a gravel road on your right that leads to the Joyner Ridge trailhead, this offers another incredible view especially an hour prior to sunset. Spearfish Canyon Hwy 14A This is a beautiful 20 mile drive through a gorge with Spearfish Creek at the bottom and 1,000 foot high white limestone cliffs on every side. During the Flood sediments were laid down, one of theses sediments was limestone. Towards the end of the Flood, the mountains rose up and in this case under the Black Hills, volcanic magma pushed up like the fist of your hand. It did not push all the way through to the surface; just enough to have the Black Hills look like an island in a sea of grasslands. Waters rushed off the surface, some carving out canyons, in this case carving through the limestone and creating Spearfish Canyon. This canyon is not millions of years old, just thousands (Flood 3458 BC or about 4,300 years ago). Evolutionary geologists will tell you this canyon was carved out by this little creek over 5 millions years. If this were so, why are the canyon cliffs so vertical? There are numerous gorgeous falls along this canyon. Bridal Falls is part of the igneous intrusion that occurred when the mountain rose up at the end of the Flood. As you drive through this canyon be amazed at the amount of limestone that was laid down during this year long Flood of Noah’s Day. In Spearfish Canyon at Roughlock Falls the rare American Dipper or Water ouzel can be seen. American Dipper A small bird that loves to dip when beside a fast-flowing river is called the little dipper or water ouzel. This little bird not only flies but swims. He even strolls on the bottom of the stream turning rocks over with his beak and feet to find his food. He does not have webbed feet so he uses his wings as oars to move through the water. He uses his air sacs to rise to the surface and compresses the air out of these sacs to submerge. The dipper’s eyes have a special lens curvature for underwater vision AND nasal flaps in his nostrils to close when diving, who wants water up his nose. Evolutionists will say this bird evolved, why would he have to evolve all this underwater equipment when he could just as easily gotten his food off the ground? Our heavenly Father just loves to show His creativeness! “All Your works shall praise You, O LORD,” ~ Psalm 145:10 Black Hills Petrified Forest Black Hills Petrified Forest Fee Piedmont SD (near Rapid City) Travel west on I-90 from Rapid City and take exit 46 east about one mile to a privately owned petrified forest. According to Arthur Manning book Petrified Wood in the USA , this is one of the top 10 petrified wood sites in the USA. Some of the logs are large, over 100 feet long. This is also the sight were they found the brontosaurus, today called an apatosaurus . This is a small mom and pop operation. . The self-guided tour begins with a short evolutionary movie on the formation of the Black Hills. Then you meander through the woods to view some 25 stations  of petrified wood. Petrified wood pieces lie where they were found. How did these pieces of wood petrify if sediment slowly covered it over millions of years, would not it have rotted away before it was completely covered? Tree today do not die and become petrified instead they rot away. It takes very special conditions for a piece of wood to petrify. Petrified wood Evolution would want you to believe that it takes millions of years for wood to petrify or turn to stone. It doesn’t take a long time for wood to petrify. It takes the right chemical conditions for wood to become petrified. For example, a farmer’s fence posts below the ground dating from the mid-1800’s, were found totally petrified! The top portion had rotted away while those in the ground had petrified! A piece of wood was dangled in Yellowstone’s silica hot springs for a year and was found to be substantially petrified! Petrified wood can be found at the chapel of Santa Maria de Salute in Venice, Italy. This massive stone block chapel was built in 1630 to celebrate the end of the Plague. The city of Venice is built on water saturated sand and clay, so the chapel’s foundation was reinforced with 180,000 wooden pilings. How have these wooden pilings remained firm for some 400 years? They are petrified! The once wooden pilings have turned to stone!3 It does not take a long time to petrify, just the right conditions. Petrified wood is not as rare as you may think. In fact it is an abundant fossil and found worldwide. To make petrified wood, wood needs to be buried in oxygen-poor sediment. Water then percolates through the ground bringing with it minerals. Cell by cell, the original wood is completely dissolved away and replaced. The ideal environment for wood to become petrified is burial by volcanic ash. This provides the needed minerals and hot water for the wood to petrify. The color of the petrified wood depends on the minerals in the water. Arizona’s petrified wood is famous for its yellows and reds (from the iron minerals) and green and blues (from the copper). The petrified wood of the Dakotas are usually very light brown or cream colored. The Flood of Noah’s day would have had the right conditions in order for wood to petrify; the trees had to be buried quickly before decomposing. Living trees that die and fall in the forest will decompose from fungus, bacteria and other creatures. Flood waters would have percolated down into the soil extracting minerals and depositing them in the wood. Petrified wood is abundant and worldwide, yet it rarely occurs today because of the special conditions required. What event in history would have worldwide deep burial of wood in a water saturated ground? The Flood of Noah’s time provides the answer. So the next time you pick up a piece of petrified wood, realize you are holding a piece of evidence for a worldwide flood, the Flood of Noah’s day. 1. Ham, Ken, ed. 2010. The New Answers Book 3 . Master Books: Green Forest, AR. p.96. 2. Morris, Dr. John. 2002. Geology. Master Books: Green Forest, AR. p.71. 3. Snelling, Dr. Andrew. September 1995. “Instant Petrified Wood”. Creation Magazine , p. 38-40. Museum of Geology 501 E. St. Joseph St, S.D. School of Mines Rapid City, 57701 Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm, Saturday: 9am-6pm, Sunday: 12pm-5pm This museum is open free to the public. Some of the best local fossils of dinosaurs, giant fish, and mammals are exhibited here. Also, there are meteorites, a fluorescent minerals room, and models of famous diamonds and gold nuggets. Have you considered ……….how a dinosaur fossil is made. A fossil is a rock. It takes very special conditions to make a rock or fossil. Think about this, what happens to a dead animal? Scavengers eat it; bugs and bacteria cause it to rot and decay, eventually leaving no remains behind. It takes very special conditions in order to make a fossil. Here is the general fossil recipe: Fast coverage  by sediment. So, scavengers and bacteria don’t eat it. Deep coverage  by sediment so no oxygen is present to start decay. Lots and lots of water  so the minerals can seep into the bone and turn it into stone. What event in history had fast, deep coverage with lots of water? The Flood of Noah’s time. Every time a dinosaur fossil is dug up, it is a reminder of this Flood. Fossils remind us of God’s judgment and God’s mercy. God’s judgment in that He destroyed the entire world with a worldwide flood because it was so wicked. When you look around this room at all these fossils realize that all these creatures were caught in the Flood and died. God’s mercy in that He saved Noah and his family on the Ark. Every time a dinosaur bone or fossil is dug up, it reminds us of God’s judgment and God’s mercy; fossilized dinosaur bones are really missionaries to the world. Have you considered ………..diamonds. Evolutionists have never bothered to check to see if diamonds had carbon 14; they assumed diamonds to be at least a billion years old. Some creation scientists were curious, so they took 12 diamonds and prepared them for carbon 14 analysis. To their amazement, every diamond was found to have carbon 14! Diamonds, according to evolutionist should not have any C-14. Carbon 14 has a half life of 5,730 years. Meaning that every 5,730 years only ½ the C-14 remains having decayed to nitrogen, so after 57,300 years or ten ½ lives there should hardly be any C-14 left. Anything over 250,000 years should contain absolutely no C-14. Diamonds still contain C-14 that means they are not billions of years old. Diamonds are young! So how do diamonds fit into the Flood model? During the Flood some 4,300 years ago, there were violent volcanic eruptions; this would have brought the diamond up in pipes from more than 100 miles down below. Diamonds are the hardest known substance, so C-14 leaching in would have been impossible. Yet, C-14 was found in diamonds. This means that C-14 had to be present in the diamonds when they were formed before they reached the surface. Diamonds are not billions of years old but young. Diamonds are a creationist best friend! ( Museum Guide: a Bible-base Handbook to Natural History Museums , 2007, p.199) Chapel in the Hills Free 3788 Chapel Lane, Rapid City Open 7 a.m. until dusk daily from May 1 through September 30. Vespers (worship) services begin at 8 p.m. each evening from mid-June through late Aug. What do churches and dragons have in common? Both are true. This little stave chapel built in 1969 is a replica of the Borgund Church in Norway which was built about 1200 AD. While the rest of Europe was building towering cathedrals out of stone during the medieval times, Norwegians were building churches out of wood. Stave churches had mighty wooden corner posts (staves) and the walls were made of planks placed vertically. The stave churches were then ornately decorated with carvings, many times with dragon motifs. When visiting this church look to the roof and see the carved dragons. Dragons on a church, sounds fanciful? Do you know that the Bible mentions dragons? The translators did not call them dragons, they could not figure out what kind of creature was being mentioned, so they just transliterated the Hebrew word. Here is a partial description of Leviathan in Job 41: “his strong scales are his pride” (v.15), “His sneezes flash forth light” (v.18), “Out of his mouth go burning touches; sparks of fire leap forth. Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals and a flame goes forth from his mouth”. (v.18-21), “when he raises himself up, the mighty fear” (v.25). Sounds like a fire breathing dragon doesn’t it? Dragon legends are numerous around the world. The Chinese are famous for their dragon stories and have always displayed dragons prominently on their pottery, carvings, and embroidery. Some old books record that the Chinese kings used “dragons” for pulling royal chariots on special occasions. One family even kept “dragons” and raised the offspring. European accounts speak of knights fighting dragons like England’s story of St. George who slew a dragon and saved a village from further harm. The Vikings built ships with carved dragon heads on the prows. The emblem on the Flag of Wales (Great Britain) is a dragon. Dragons were real creatures; only today we would call them dinosaurs. The word dinosaur was invented in 1841. Are dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible? YES, not the exact word but the description. In Job 40: 15-19 it speaks of a Behemoth, “Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscle of his belly! His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thigh are close-knit. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron. He ranks first among the works of God.” This awesome creature was huge a gigantic beast! Even the behemoth’s tail was huge and strong; God compared the tail to the ancient world’s largest and most spectacular trees - the gigantic cedars. Yes, dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible, but with different words. Where did dragons/dinosaurs come from? God created all the land animals including the dinosaurs on day number six of creation week (Genesis 1:20-25). The swimming creatures were made on day number five, which would have included the swimming reptiles like the plesiosaurs. What happened to most the dinosaurs? They were killed in the worldwide Flood of Noah’s day. We dig them up as fossils today. Did any of the dinosaurs go on the Ark? Yes, Noah took animals that had the breatheof life in its nostrils. Creation scientists calculate that Noah had about 50 kinds of dinosaurs or about 100 dinosaurs on the Ark. Did they get off the Ark? Yes. We find accounts of dinosaurs in dragon legends from around the world What has happened to the dinosaurs that got off the Ark? Most have gone extinct through environmental changes, for the world after the Flood was quite different, also people began killing them. What do churches and dragons/dinosaurs have in common?  Both are true . So as you look at the church’s roof notice the dragon/dinosaur heads, know that people and dinosaurs did live at the same time. These Norwegian’s personally saw or knew of these living dragons/dinosaurs. (Taylor, Paul S. The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible. 1987. Chariot Books, David C. Cook Publishing Co: Elgin, IL. Ham, Ken.1998. The Great Dinosaur Mystery Solved! Master Books: Green Forest, AR) Gold “Black Hills or Bust” Word leaked out that “ther’ were gold in them ther’ hills”. The year 1876 proved to be a full blown gold rush to the Black Hills. At first gold was panned for in the streams, as that played out, mines were opened. One of the most famous mines was Homestake mine. This mine produced gold decade after decade. Homestake Mine: the complexity of the gold ore was not fully understood until it was mapped out. The gold ore lay sandwiched between two very thick rock units. As Roadside Geology of South Dakota  states, “All the rocks are of sedimentary origin, deposited in an ancient, shallow sea (p.226)....”Repeated folding and shearing of the entire sequence left the outcrop of the thin Homestake formation (the gold ore is here) resembling a piece of old-fashioned ribbon candy. Folding left the rocks tightly wrinkled...(228)” How do you fold rock? Would it not break and fracture? It only can be folded when still pliable. The layers were laid down during the Flood and folded. The miners referred to these sharply folded areas of the crests and valleys as ledges. They went on to number these ledges, the valleys with odd numbers and the crests with even numbers. Gold can be formed in an instant... Scientists have discovered that gold veins can be produced in an instant (a few tenths of a second) and not over deep time. Veins of gold are produced when hot fluids flowing through cracks deep in the earth’s crust depressurize rapidly causing the minerals and metals to fall out of the hot fluid solution. The “flash deposition” of gold is a result of earthquakes opening up cracks. Gold can be found in these fault jogs - the sideways zigzag cracks that are connected to main fault lines in rocks. Earthquakes can make gold veins in an instant as the pressure changes causing the precious metals to be flash deposited. Gold does not take millions of years. During the Flood of Noah’s day there would have been intense earthquake activity, which would have produced gold in an flash. The world desires gold, yet gold pales in comparison to God’s Word which is “more precious than gold, than much pure gold” (Psalm 19:10). (“Gold Veins produced “in an instant”. 2013. Creation Magazine. 35(3)7.) Surface Tour of a gold mine Homestake Mine in Lead: Surface tours of a gold mine that yielded more gold than any other mine in America, about 250,000 ounces of pure gold annually. Gold Mine tours 1. Big Thunder Gold Mine, Keystone 2. Broken Boot Gold Mine, Deadwood Pan for Gold You can learn to pan for gold today. Find gold panning lesson at Black Hills Mining Museum in Lead, Broken Boot Gold Mine in Deadwood, Big Thunder Gold Mine in Keystone or Custer State Park . A summer afternoon is the perfect time to pan for gold! Museum of Geology at the South Dakota school of mines and technology: replicas of famous of gold nuggets. Devotional: In Malachi 3:2b-3, it states, “For he will be like a refiner’s fire... He will sit as a refiner.. and refine them like gold and silver.” The Bible says that God will refine us like a goldsmith. Very few pieces of gold come out of the ground in a pure state; they have impurities running through and around it. In the past, refiners would refine gold with a very hot fire; this caused the gold to melt. Once melted, the impurities would rise to the top and the refiner would skim them off. The refiner continually monitored the heat for if the heat is just the slightest degree exceeded, the gold is injured. How would the refiner know when the gold was pure? He would see his face reflected in the molten gold. We are that piece of impure gold that needs to be refined under the refiner’s watchful eye. The heat from the fire is not too great yet it needs to be hot enough for the impurities to separate. “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” Job 23:10 Old time hymn: “How firm a foundation”- one verse "When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply. The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine. When going through trials, remember you are the gold being refined to remove impurities. Caves Beautiful Rushmore Cave, Keystone Beautiful Wonderland Cave, Nemo Back Hills Caverns, Rapid City Crystal Cave Park, Rapid City Jewel Cave National Monument, Custer- pay for tour only, no need for a national park pass Wind Cave National Park, Hot Springs- pay for tour only, no need for a national park pass Notice the list of commercial caves able to be visited. Circling the Black hills is a belt of limestone caves. Great tectonic forces caused magma to be pushed up, revealing the granite basement rocks. The limestone that encircles this granite is gently tipped. Jewel Cave National Monument with 142 miles of mapped passages is known for its calcite crystal formations of dogtooth spar and nailhead spar. Wind Cave National Park has 128 miles of passages with the rare crystal formations of boxwork. The other Black Hills caves offer other cave formations such as stalagmites, columns, flowstone, frostwork, and cave popcorn. Caves How are caves formed? Erosion does not happen only on the surface; it can happen underground too. Groundwater can erode rock, especially limestone resulting in caves. Once the cave is formed the decorating begins, dripping water from the ceiling may leave a deposit forming an icicle-like structure hanging down (stalactite). This water may drip down to the floor leaving a deposit and forming a stalagmite. When groundwater dissolves limestone, it must eventually redeposit it. Since cave formations are formed drop by drop, it is often assumed that it took million of years for these formations to form. However, in the basement of the Lincoln Memorial and other places there are both stalactites and stalagmites; these did not take millions of years to develop, just the right conditions. Biblical view: Have you considered the origin of caves? Most caves are limestone caves. They are usually found in nearly pure limestone layers hundreds of feet thick. There are two stages of cave formation: 1. the cave itself, 2. the decorating of the caves (stalactites, stalagmites...). The Flood of Noah’s day would have laid down these nearly pure layers of limestone. At the end of the Flood, “the mountains rose, the valleys sank (tectonic activities)” ~Psalm 104:8. These tectonic activities would have caused many cracks in the limestone which would have allowed waters to drain through them. These were no ordinary waters but waters rich in acid, acids from volcanic activity, decaying dead animals and vegetation from the Flood, which would have quickly eaten away limestone forming the cave tunnels. Now stage two: decorating the caves, these decorations were formed by waters loaded with limestone. Just after the Flood, the ground would have been much wetter, due to the Flood waters and the post-Flood Ice Age. Limestone rich waters dripped from the cave ceilings and evaporated, leaving behind a variety of cave decorations. Since that time, the water supplies have decreased, and the growth of cave decorations has slowed. When we put on our Biblical glasses, we can see where caves formation and decoration fit in. Limestone cave formations began with the Flood of Noah’s day some 4,300 years ago. Oard, Michael J., Tara Wolfe & Chris Turbuck. Exploring Geology with Mr. Hibb . Creation Book Publishers: Powder Springs, Georgia. p.61-63. Jewel Cave: Jewel Cave does not have the “normal” cave formations of stalactites and stalagmites but an abundant of sparkling jewels of calcite crystals. When visiting this cave you may feel like you are walking around in a geode. These calcite crystals are known as cave spar. Cave spar is any relatively clear cave mineral with large crystal faces. At Jewel cave this mineral is calcite, the stuff of limestone. The growth of spar rather than other cave formations such as stalactites and stalagmites requires a barely saturated solution left in a quiet stable environment over some time. This allows the crystals to grow. Some calcite crystals can be large; a cave in Romania has crystals that are 30 inches in length. The Chicly Bowl Cave in Arkansas has a calcite spar crystal about 5 feet long. Calcite crystals are the most common spar crystals found in caves, another spar mineral that is common is gypsum. Gypsum is found in sheet rock. Gypsum spar crystals have been found in the caves near Naica, Mexico. These spar crystals made of gypsum are 50 feet long. Investigation of this pocket of crystals has been hampered by 150 degree F temperatures and 100% relative humidity. The Rock Rustlers News 2008 Minnesota Mineral Club, Inc.  newsletter, February 2008, “Cave Spar”, Dr. Bill Cordua, p.10. Wind Cave  has few stalactites and stalagmites but has the unusual formation called boxwork. Boxwork is thin honeycomb-shaped structures made of calcite (a mineral from limestone). Boxwork resulted from veined limestone. Mt. Rushmore National Monument Four 60 foot granite faces were carved by Gutzon Borglum. Carving began in 1927 and ended in 1941; it took 14 years and 400 men to complete. With the use of pneumatic drills and dynamite these four massive heads were carved out of a granite mountaintop. Highly skilled workers used dynamite to remove 90% of the 450,000 tons of granite. These highly skilled workers could blast to within inches of the finished surface. Then drillers used air powered tools to drill holes closely spaced together and removed the remaining rock between the holes with using hammers and chisels. Finally pneumatic drills were used to smooth out the surface, leaving the four colossal heads we see today. To go from the sculptor’s models to the large scale granite rock took complicated mathematics. Also, to prevent loss of life, Borglum developed special harness for the workers. Four presidents were chosen: George Washington was the “father of our country” and our first president. Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence. Theodore Roosevelt built the Panama Canal. Abraham Lincoln was president during the Civil War and was able to hold the Union together while abolishing slavery. When you look at these four faces in the mountain, you can tell immediately that they were made by an intelligent designer. No one would believe that the four presidents’ heads were the result of millions of years of erosion. We know it was designed and when we see a design, we know there must be a designer and in this case it was Gutzon Borglum. In the same way, consider the eye…. The eye is irreducibly complex, all the pieces needed to be present or the eye would not be able to see. From the very beginning you would need the cornea, lens, retina, correct fluid pressure within the eye, optic nerve and the brain to interpret it. This is just a small list of the pieces that are needed in order to see. Evolution says that the eye evolved over millions of years, with each piece evolving as the eye needed it. How could blind chance create a seeing eye? It can not! The eye is irreducibly complex. All the pieces needed to be present at the beginning or the eye would not be able to work. The eye is very much like a camera. In fact, the camera was patterned after the eye. Camera makers proudly put their name on their product. If we say there is a camera maker, does it not stand to reason that the more complex human camera, the eye, must also has a Maker? The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made them both. Proverbs 20:12 So as you gaze upon Mt. Rushmore with your eyes , realize that both Mt. Rushmore and your eyes were designed and created by a designer; the former by Gutzon Borglum the later by God. Custer State Park This is a huge state park! It has three scenic roadways. The Wildlife loop , 18 miles of road in which you will probably see bison and burros (you may feed the burros, so bring some carrots/apples...). This park is home to some 1,300 bison. Each fall they host the Buffalo Roundup, where you can see buffalo thunder across the grasslands as park staff and local cowboys round up the herd in order to sort, vaccinate and sell. Other wildlife seen on this loop is pronghorn antelope and prairie dogs. Iron Mountain road  takes you through wonderful scenery and tunnels that frame Mount Rushmore. Be sure to start at the south end so you are able to see Mr. Rushmore framed beautifully in the tunnel! Worth the drive! Needles highway  (14 miles) takes you to towering granite spires and Needle’s eye. Wonderful drive! Custer Park also offers gold panning. See Gold Black Hills Museum of Natural History, Hills City Hill City, 117 Main Street This museum is a fantastic museum of real dinosaur skeletons. These are the folks that dug up the famous t-rex called Sue that is seen in the Field Museum in Chicago. You can’t see Sue but you can view Stan another t-rex. This museum is treasure trove of fossils, well worth the stop! Have you considered .......... how a dinosaur fossil is made. A fossil is a rock. It takes very special conditions to make a rock or fossil. Think about this, what happens to a dead animal? Scavengers eat it; bugs and bacteria cause it to rot and decay, eventually leaving no remains behind. It takes very special conditions in order to make a fossil. Here is the general fossil recipe: Fast coverage  by sediment. So, scavengers and bacteria don’t eat it. Deep coverage  by sediment so no oxygen is present to start decay. Lots and lots of water  so the minerals can seep into the bone and turn it into stone. What event in history had fast, deep coverage with lots of water? The Flood of Noah’s time. Every time a dinosaur fossil is dug up, it is a reminder of the Genesis Flood. Fossils remind us of God’s judgment and God’s mercy. God’s judgment in that He destroyed the entire world with a worldwide flood because it was so wicked. God’s mercy in that He saved Noah and his family on the Ark. Every time a dinosaur bone is dug up, it reminds us of God’s judgment and God’s mercy; fossilized dinosaur bones are really missionaries to the world. Did you know dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible? They were not called dinosaurs but dragons. As you stand in front of an Apatosaurus (long neck dinosaur) read from Job 40:6-24. See Stave Church reading. Mammoth Hot Springs, Hot Springs www.mammothsite.com   This indoor air-conditioned active excavation site features over 60 mammoths displayed where they were found and Ice Age exhibit hall displaying a walk-in mammoth bone shelter, giant short-faced bear, an American lion and Lyuba the baby mammoth. Mammoth bones were accidentally found in 1974 as a bulldozer operator was preparing the site for a new housing project. Since then more than 50 Columbian and woolly mammoths have been found, many were left in the ground just as they were found so that you can see a working dig site in action. Usually when we think of mammoths we think of the Ice Age. So, how do mammoths and the Ice Age fit into the Biblical framework? Two factors result in an ice age: 1. Increased snowfall and 2. Cooler summers. With more snowfall and less of it melting during the summer due to cooler temperatures, snow would build up and compress into ice. But what conditions would create increased snowfall and cooler summers? The Flood of Noah’s day. When “the fountains of the deep burst open” and flooded the earth, this would have warmed the ocean waters greatly, couple this with much volcanic activity. The volcanic dust would have filled the sky and blocked out the sun’s warming rays causing the land mass to be cool enough so the snow would not melt. The warmer oceans would cause lots of evaporation and winds would carry the moisture onto the cold continents. The cold continents would cause the moist air to condense and fall as snow. Snow on the ground would not melt during the summer. Each year the snow would build up. Just after the Flood, ice sheets would have formed quickly around the world in the higher latitudes such as Greenland and North America. At its height, the ice sheets would have only covered 1/3 of earth’s landmass. The southern edge of one of the ice sheets would have been in South Dakota. As the earth settled down and the volcanoes stopped erupting, the volcanic dust would dissipate out of the air, eventually the sun would shine on those ice sheets and the snow would melt. Creation scientists have calculated the Ice Age to last for 700 years, 500 years to build up and 200 years to melt down. What causes an ice age? Very special conditions. An ice age needs lots and lots of warm water and cooler continents . What event in history would have these two ingredients? The Flood of Noah’s time. What are mammoths? Mammoths are essentially hairy elephants with a large shoulder hump, a sloping back, small ears, short tail and possessing curved tusks up to 11 feet long. Mammoths are of the elephant kind. Noah took 2 of each kind on board the ark. After the elephant kind left the ark, they repopulated the earth. As their numbers increased, some moved into Africa and became the African elephants, some into India and became the Indian elephants. The four basic elephants are African, Indian, mammoth, mastodon. Mammoths can be broken down further into woolly mammoth, steppe mammoth, Imperial mammoth, and Columbian mammoth. Just as we have a variety of dogs from Great Dane to poodle, we have variety within the elephant kind. Many of the mammoths into Siberia crossed the land bridge (today the Bering Strait) and traveled south into the United States. Many have wondered what froze the woolly mammoths in Siberia and Alaska. Their frozen remains are estimated to be in the millions. After the flood of Noah’s day, the far north would have been much warmer. The Arctic Ocean would have been very warm due to the fountains of the deep bursting forth and the multitude of volcanic eruptions. This warmth brought abundant rains and vegetation to the mammoths’ region and a subsequent mammoth population explosion. In the later stages of the Ice Age, the climate started to change, vegetation decreased, causing the mammoths to starve. In Siberia in 1977, a frozen baby mammoth was dug up showing severe signs of starvation. Many of the mammoths starved to death and died, leaving behind millions upon millions of bones. As the earth warmed, glacial ice melted. In Siberia, great rivers flowed northward causing erosion and deposition. Many woolly mammoth remains were buried in muck and gravel. Then the northern regions gradually became frozen and have remained so ever since. Other bones and emaciated mammoths were covered by gigantic dust storms that were result of the climate drying out and temperature changes. Many of the mammoths and other animals are found buried in wind-blown silt (loess). Oard, Michael. 2004. Frozen in Time: The Woolly Mammoth, the Ice Age and the Bible.  Master Books: Green Forest, AR. DeYoung, Donald. 1992. Weather and the Bible. Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, MI. p.118-119. In the United States, south of the great ice sheet, animals thrived, for this was a well watered place with much vegetation. That is why we find remains of camels, llamas, giant short-faced bear, and mammoths. At the end of the one and only Ice Age (about 3,500 years ago), large animals went extinct, such as giant sloths and saber-toothed tigers. In fact, worldwide, 70% of all large mammals over 100 pounds disappeared. Many large carrion birds also disappeared. Why? When we put on our Biblical glasses, we find that as the oceans cooled to today’s temperature, evaporation, and precipitation onto the continents would have been less. Also, at the end of the Ice Age, the volcanic dust would have dissipated out of the skies and some of the land masses would have become warmer and some like Siberia would have become colder. The climate was changing. The earth was drying out. Many of the once well-watered parts of the earth were drying out (like Australia, Sahara, Southwestern USA), reducing the food supply for large mammals. Without enough food, mass death resulted. Once the large plant eating mammals died, the large carrion eating birds would also be reduced in number. The end of the Ice Age resulted in the mass extinction of many animals. What was the Great Plains like during the Ice Age like? Take a look at what we find at Mammoth Hot Springs. Mammoth Hot Springs is like a time capsule of that period. Paleontologists have uncovered the bones of camels, llamas, giant short-face bear, wolves, coyotes, Columbian mammoths and woolly mammoths plus more creatures. At the end of the Ice Age, the Great Plains was drying out. Here at Mammoth Hot Springs, thirsty Ice Age animals would have gathered at the watering hole. This watering hole proved to be a death trap as these animals could not get a footing on the steep-sided pond as they tried to get out. As you look upon these mammoths, an Ice Age animal, think of how the Flood (2348 B.C.) caused the one and only Ice Age. Recommend books: Life in the Great Ice Age by Michael Oard. Uncovering the Mysterious Woolly Mammoth: Life at the End of the Great Ice Age,  by Michael and Beverly Oard. More technical book Frozen in Time: The Woolly Mammoth, Ice Age, and the Bible  by Michael Oard. Buffalo Annual Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival, www.custerstatepark.info Custer State Park, Custer Has one of the largest herds of buffalo anywhere, nearly 1,600. The Wildlife Loop road is prime buffalo range. Bison roundup. This two day even is held the first Monday after the last weekend in September. The herd thunders over hills, charging through ravines to a huge holding area. This event is called “Feel the Thunder”. The bison are herded into chutes, branded, vaccinated and culled out. After the roundup, the 950 that are culled are returned to roam the park. Have you considered ............. the buffalo (bison) survive the heat of summer and the deep freeze of winters. Why aren’t there white bison? White reflects the sun’s summer heat which would make it a good summer color for bison. During the winter, the white would cause the bison to blend with the snow and not be easily hunted by wolves. But white bison are rare. White bison do not multiple but dwindle and disappear. Bison have dark coats. During the winter, it absorbs the sunlight, giving it heat. Bison are just like elk and deer, during the winter they loose their appetite, producing less heat. Food is scarcer in the winter. Experiments have found they eat 30 % less food in February and March than in April and May, even when abundant food was provided. The bison need to stay warm in winter so they have dark coats. Their hair provides wonderful insulation. When an infrared device was used for a winter census, the elk and moose were clearly seen, but the bison hardly showed up. The bison appeared as crescents. The crescents were the bellies of the bison. The bison’s skin side was its body temperature while just fractions of an inch away the outer layer was below freezing. Humans loved the buffalo robe, it was highly prized; it kept them warm even in the most frigid of winter days. Every square inch of a bison’s skin is covered with ten times more hair than that of a cow. Summers brought extreme heat, so bison would shed their winter coats. The constant winds on the prairies would blow away some of the heat. But still the sun is hot and the dark coat absorbs heat. Bison don’t sweat. However, they breathe. They lose their heat by evaporating water in their lungs. For evaporative cooling to work well, lots of water is needed. The bison was designed to survive on the prairie with its extremes of hot and cold. Lott, Dale F. 2002. American Bison.  p.53-56. Bison and the Indians Bison were designed by God to provide the Indians the ability to survive on the vast plains of North America. These animals supplied thousands of Indians with food, clothing, and shelter. Every part of the bison was put to use. Meat: used fresh or dried. In the autumn the meat has the best flavor. Indian would hunt and kill many bison in the autumn in order to cut and dry it into strips; this dried meant was call pemmican (jerky). Hides: For durable clothing and tepees. Stomachs, bladder content for holding nuts, berries and pemmican Tallow: used for waterproofing Hooves used to making glue Dried dung: fuel for fires Tail: for quiver for arrows. Literally from tongue to the tip of the tail, virtually every part was designed to be used by the plain Indians. God provides us with what we need; God provided the plains Indians with a unique animal called the bison. Once abundant beyond comprehension on the Great Plains, they nearly went extinct. In the early 1800’s, an estimated 40 million bison roamed the plains of North America. One hundred years later, only a few hundred bison remained having been slaughtered by the tens of hundreds. These animals were slaughtered for their hides with the carcasses left to rot. The West was covered with the decaying bones of thousands upon thousands of slaughtered buffalo. Yet of all the millions that were slaughtered do we find any of their bones left? No, they have decomposed over the years. It takes very special conditions for a bone to turn into a fossil. Those special conditions would have been present at the time of the Flood of Noah’s time. During the 1800’s it was estimated that 40 million buffalo or American bison once roamed the vast plains of North America, within 100 years there were fewer than 1,000 left. Bison have a sharp sense of smell and excellent hearing, with their eyesight being poor. They can run at top speeds of 35 mph for an hour and can also swim. These giant beasts chew the cud by grazing as they migrate. Wolves and coyotes are there only two enemies, except for man which slaughtered them during the 1800’s for their hides only. The early settlers left the caresses to rot. The West was literally covered with the decaying bones of thousands upon thousands of slaughtered bison. Yet of the millions that were slaughtered do we find any of the bones left? NO, they have decomposed over the years. Evolutionists would like us to believe that a fossil that is hard as rock is made by an animal dieing and then slowly being covered with sediment. If this were true we should have lots of bison bones fossilized. In reality, it takes very special conditions for a bone to turn into a fossil. It needs fast, quick coverage of sediment so no air would be present (no decomposition) and lots of water. The water brings the minerals from the sediment to the bones and chances it into stone. What event in history would have lots of water and critters being covered with vast amounts of sediment? The Flood of Noah’s day. Fortunately today the bison are making a comeback and are flourishing on the plains of North America again. https://answersingenesis.org/kids/mammals/american-bison/ Buffalo Gap SD 79 Water and wind gaps are common and have been found worldwide, yet they are a mystery to many scientists to how they were formed. A wind or water gap is a shallow notch in the upper part of a mountain ridge. The notch is an erosional notch and not one caused from faulting. We find such a gap at Buffalo Gap on SD 79 near the Hot Spring’s mammoth site. This dry gap was a favorite access route to the Black Hills. It is just a notch between ridges/hills/mountains. Many places around the Black Hills have water gaps. Geology of SD, mentions near Fort Meade at Sturgis, “The road wanders through the foothills, cuts through the next water gap to the south and joins I-90...” p.163. OR p.220, “The few main streams that cross the Red Valley, which leave the Back Hills through gaps in the Cretaceous hogback.” How do gaps fit in with the Flood? As the Genesis Flood water rushed off the continent they were like a sheet which we called sheet erosion. Then as the waters became less, they began to channelize. These energetic waters would have cut gaps directly into the stationary or rising ridges. Once an initial notch was formed, the waters sped through the notch creating the gap we see today. Today, if a river runs through the gap it is called a water gap; if only wind blows through the gap it is called a wind gap. All over the world we find water and wind gaps, but of course we would the Flood was a powerful event! Oard, Mike. 2008. Flood by Design. Master Books: Green Forest, AR. p.95, 98-100. Fossil Cycad National Monument in the Black Hills One of the world’s largest concentrations of fossil cycads was found here. Literally hundreds of fossil cycads, a small palm looking like plant was found here! That’s why it was made a monument. However so many collectors removed the fossil cycads that it is not longer a place to visit and the National Monument was decommissioned. Lesson to be learned: Do not remove stuff from national parks and monuments; leave them for future generations to appreciate. Location: on Hwy 18 between Hot Springs and Edmonton on the north side between country road 185 and 18S. (Manning, Arthur. 2002. Petrified Wood in the USA . p.74-75) Ponderosa Pine Have you considered the ponderosa pine? It is the dominate tree throughout the Black Hills towering some 180 feet high. It is able to survive a forest fire in a unique way. You can recognize a mature ponderosa pine by its bark; its thick yellow to orange plate-like bark looks like puzzle pieces. When the bark is on fire during a forest fire, these plates pop off. The tree actually sheds the fire! How did this pine know how to do this? The Ponderosa pine did not get together with other ponderosa pines and talk about the threat of forest fires and what to do about it. Pine trees can not think. God in His wisdom designed these pines to survive a fire in this manner. When we see design we know there must be a designer and that designer is God. -Wind Cave National Park has a self guide trial that help you explore the ponderosa pine forest. Trail booklets are available at the visitor center or trailhead. Prairie Dogs When visiting Wind cave, Custer state park, the Badlands, or Devil’s Tower be sure to visit the prairie dog town. Chances are you will hear the chirping, whistling, and barking. Prairie dogs are social animals and communicate with each other using calls and body language. If you wait long enough you might see them standing erect and whistling. These prairie dogs are warning the other that their home may be under attack by coyote, hawk, snake, or ferret. Surveillance is increased for the prairie dog by reducing the grass height around the burrows to about 6 inches. Prairie dogs are not dogs but are rodents in the squirrel family. They live underground in tunnels and chambers. They come out during the day to forage on grasses, seeds, and roots. They live in towns, many with hundreds of prairie dogs. Most the time these towns cover less than half a square mile however, some towns have been enormous. One town in Texas extended 100 miles in one direction 250 miles in the other; 400 million prairie dogs were estimated to live in this one town. Living in these burrows, one would think that the air would become stall. However upon closer observation, we see that the burrow shape creates ventilation. Prairie dogs build their mounds in such a way that air moves. Typically there are two openings. When a breeze crosses the mounds, air enters the burrow through the lower mound and leaves through the higher mound. God has created prairie dogs with the instinct to build one mound higher than the other mound. This creates a draft or chimney effect which draws fresh air into the tunnel and allows it to circulate throughout. So during the summer, the tunnels have “air conditioning”. When the temperatures exceed 100 F. on the outside with the soil surface temperature reaching about 113 degrees F. the burrow temperature one foot below was a comfortable 74 degrees. During the winter, the snow covers the “chimney”, not allowing the cold air to enter the tunnels. Fossil Have you considered ..........how a dinosaur fossil is made. A fossil is a rock. It takes very special conditions to make a rock or fossil. Think about this, what happens to a dead animal? Scavengers eat it; bugs and bacteria cause it to rot and decay, eventually leaving no remains behind. It takes very special conditions in order to make a fossil. Here is the general fossil recipe: Fast coverage  by sediment. So, scavengers and bacteria don’t eat it. Deep coverage  by sediment so no oxygen is present to start decay. Lots and lots of water  so the minerals can seep into the bone and turn it into stone. What event in history had fast, deep coverage with lots of water? The Flood of Noah’s time. Every time a dinosaur fossil is dug up, it is a reminder of this Flood. Fossils remind us of God’s judgment and God’s mercy. God’s judgment in that He destroyed the entire world with a worldwide flood because it was so wicked. God’s mercy in that He saved Noah and his family on the Ark. Every time a dinosaur bone is dug up, it reminds us of God’s judgment and God’s mercy; fossilized dinosaur bones are really missionaries to the world. Pronghorn Antelope Pronghorn Antelope is North American fastest mammal; from a stand still it can explosively accelerate to a speed of 60 mph and then cruise at 45 mph for many miles. This dual design of speed and endurance is unusual in the mammal kingdom. For example, cheetahs are great sprinters but only for a quarter of a mile and then they are exhausted. Or think about the Olympic runner, those that run the100 or 200 meter dash, these athletes are usually heavily muscled in their torsos and thighs. The long distances runners- 400, 800 meters….- however, are longer limbed and scrawnier. Notice the body types for sprinters and distant runners, there is an optimal body type. Notice the pronghorn it is both a speedster and distance runner fit in one body. With this much running…muscles heat up. Antelope run hard for long distances causing heat to build up which can be dangerous to the brain. So how does a pronghorn antelope not overheat its brain? A Pronghorn is able to keep cool because it possesses two heat exchangers in its head. As the muscles create heat, the heated hot blood moves its way through the major artery to the brain. Suddenly, the major artery branches out into smaller channels forming a network. Meanwhile, the cool venous blood, which has picked up its coolness from the ears and nose, forms a network around and near the arterial network. Now the venous blood picks up the hotness and cools the arterial network. The newly cooled blood is sent to the brain and an antelope is able to keep a cool head in the heat of the run. Did these heat exchangers happen by accident and chance? How many antelopes died from boiling their brains out before evolution accidentally evolved these heat exchangers? When you see a heat exchanger you know there must be a heat exchanger maker and that heat exchanger maker is God. From the very beginning God created the pronghorn antelope to run and to run fast and long. He needed to protect them from overheating and so created and placed within them this heat exchanger. ( Built for Speed: A year in the life of pronghorn, John A. Byers , 2003, p. 4-5, 14-15.) Other Resources   Mammoths : Video: Awesome Science Explore Mammoth Hot Springs with Noah Justice    Badlands National Park Badlands National Park: Flood Features and Fossils https://www.icr.org/article/badlands-national-park-flood   Hot Springs & Badlands  – Folded Rock, Fossil Graveyard, and a Global Flood? | The Creation Podcast: Episode 91 https://www.icr.org/article/creation-podcast-episode-91   The Black Hills of South Dakota https://answersingenesis.org/creation-vacations/black-hills-south-dakota/   Theodore Roosevelt National Park : Testimony to the Receding Flood https://www.icr.org/article/theodore-roosevelt-national-park-testimony

Julie’s Creation Vacation places Grand Canyon now has creation tours on the rim and rafting: http://www.canyonministries.org/rim-information/ Mt. St. Helens has creation tours: Mt. St. Helens Creat ion Center: http://www.mshcreationcenter.org/7ws1/visit/excursions/ Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Co. has creation to urs: Glen Eyrie “Rock tour” http://www.gleneyrie.org/Visit-the-Castle/Rock-Tour Creation Encounters have tours. I just went on the Big Horn Basin tour, all I can say is fantastic! : http://www.creationencounter.com/tours/ Books and DVD’s I recommend: Grand Canyon the Puzzle of the Plateau excellent DVD Creation Explorers: Tracking the flood (in reference to the Missoula flood. If you are touring the Columbia Gorge this is a must see!)-a DVD. True North Series: your guide to the Grand Canyon True North Series: your guide to the Yellowstone True North Series: your guide to the Zion and Bryce by Vail, Oard, Bokovoy, Hergenrather Awesome Science 30 minute DVDs: Explore national parks with Noah Justice. These are the parks they have DVD’s on: Grand Canyon, Mt. St. Helens, Arches & Natural Bridges, Yellowstone, Mesa Verde & Chaco Ruins, Yosemite & Zion, Gla cier, Dinosaur National Monument, Rocky Mt. National Park, Meteor Crater & Petrified Forest, Mammoth Site in S.D..

The Painted Desert: Fossils in Flooded Mud Flats https://www.icr.org/article/the-painted-desert-fossils-in-flooded-mud-flats Grand Canyon National Park: Video: Awesome Science Explore Grand Canyon with Noah Justice Petrified Forest National Park & Meteor Crater (Arizona) Video: Awesome Science Petrified Forest National Park & Meteor Crater with Noah Justice

Welcome to the Twin Cities Creation Science Association, which exists to present evidence for creation and a young earth. Check out our events and resources now! Inspired Evidence: Only One Reality By Julie Von Vett & Bruce Malone Available at TCCSA, Amazon, Christianbook, and SearchForTheTruth.net Read More Our Upcoming Events... BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL! Errors in ©2024 Science Books! Tue, Sep 16 University of Northwestern - St. Paul with Brian Lauer Details Lucy, you got some 'splainin to do Tue, Oct 21 University of Northwestern - St. Paul with Chris Rupe Details New Age - Next Phase in Evolution? Tue, Nov 18 University of Northwestern - St. Paul with Dr. Ross Olson Details Featured Videos YouTube Channel Rumble Channel TCCSA NEWS Announcements, posters, newsletters, and printer-friendly calendars of upcoming events. Announcements Poster Printable Calendars Newsletters RESOURCES View our list of articles, books, letters, reviews, debates, creation speakers, and other organizations. Articles All Resources Speakers Recommended Reading

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Discover our history. Several individual stories weave together into the history of TCCSA and this is an attempt to integrate them into an understandable chronology. Our Story History of Twin Cities Creation Science Association as told to Ross Olson Several individual stories weave together into the history of TCCSA and this is an attempt to integrate them into an understandable chronology. Consider it a work in progress and if you have information that will help to flesh out the narrative, please contact the author, whether it be corrections, additions or criticisms. Bill Overn's Story Bill grew up in a family that understood the young earth creation story. His father was a strong creationist and science professor who was constantly giving young Bill material on the topic. Bill also attended Concordia Lutheran High School in St. Paul which had a biology teacher who was very alert to the evidence against evolution and, for instance, posted news articles about the discovery of the "living fossil" Coelacanth and pointed out how this discredited the usual geologic timetable. After a stint as an electronics officer in the South Pacific, Bill was a student at the University of Minnesota when a providential meeting took place. He was picked up as a hitch hiker in 1947 by Dr. Henry Morris, who was then on the faculty at the University. Dr. Morris asked Bill about his spiritual status and gave him the book "That Ye May Believe," which was his earliest book on creation although at that time he seemed to embrace the "Gap Theory." Bill had not been open about his creationist beliefs before that time, thinking that if objective and honest scientists accepted evolution, then there must be a considerable body of evidence for it. He was convicted of this when reading the book and further, just after finishing the book, received a phone call from the Chairwoman of Gamma Delta, the Missouri Synod student organization wondering if he could give a couple of talks on the relationship of the Bible and Science. Bill recalls that before that time, he would not have done it, but the Lord's timing was impeccable. At one of those talks was a pastor who asked Bill to speak at his church. Further contacts and word of mouth publicity lead to a regular speaking ministry that involved many churches in the area and beyond at the rate of about a talk a month which has continued into the present. After Bill had started working for Univac, in about 1963 or 1964, he was awakened at about 7:00 am on a Saturday by a phone call from Rev. Walter Lang. Walter was at that time pastoring in Caldwell Idaho but also traveling and lecturing on the Bible and Science. He had heard about Bill from people at a church where he was speaking and wanted to get acquainted. Bill recalls that neither was impressed by the other. Walter did not have scientific training and was mispronouncing words to the point that Bill did not understand what he was talking about. Walter felt Bill must be ignorant of what he considered exciting scientific developments that confirmed the Bible. Walter Lang's Story and Bible Science Association Walter did have enthusiasm and skill as a promoter, however. He saw himself as the publicity arm of the Creation Research Society. Later Walter was instrumental in convincing Henry Morris to leave his faculty position in Virginia to start the Institute for Creation Research which was initially conceived as the research division of Bible Science Association, Walter's organization. Bill could see that God was using Walter to get churches and Christians interested in creation and in stimulating the formation of local chapters as well as sponsoring conferences or conventions where people could share information and begin to network. In September 1963, after 26 years as a Lutheran Pastor, Walter Lang and his wife Valeria started publishing the Bible Science Newsletter from Grace Lutheran Church which they were serving in Caldwell Idaho. It was seen as a means of promoting creation in the churches. Beginning on the church mimeograph machine, it soon became a full time job and the Langs resigned the pastorate. In the summer of 1964, Bible Science Association was organized as a non-profit educational and religious organization. The mailings quickly grew to 5000 copies per month and book distribution was added as requests came in for those mentioned in the Newsletter. In the fall of 1964 a Creation Seminar was held in Southern California. Speakers included founding members of Creation Research Society , which had been formed in June of 1963 as a split off from the American Scientific Affiliation because of its drift into long ages and theistic evolution. ASA started in 1941 as an organization of scientists who accepted creation. The publication of John Whitcomb and Henry Morris' seminar work, "The Genesis Flood," in 1961 was a rallying point for young earth creationists who accepted a literal interpretation of the early chapters of Genesis. At the 1964 conference, having contact with members of Creation Research Society, Rev. Lang realized that Bible Science Association's role was in popularizing the scientific work of CRS and promoting the concepts of six day creation and a world-wide flood to the churches. This was seen as crucial in preventing the drift into liberalism which gradually reinterpreted Scripture and eventually even rejected the Biblical message of sin and salvation. After several changes of location due to growth of the work, the addition of mailing equipment and eventually several printing presses, Bible Science Association moved from Idaho to Minneapolis in 1978. Bill Overn took an early retirement from Univac to help. Computers began to handle the mailing lists and with Bill's expertise, pioneering versions of computerized word processing and type-setting were set up. During that time, the Bible Science Newsletter included some original scientific articles and powerful essays and commentaries by Nancy Pearcy. A Radio program was initiated and several publications put out including "Five Minutes With The Bible And Science" and the "Science Reader" series. (See Rev Lang's history of this period, now online at https://www.creationism.org/lang/Lang2DecadesCrtn/index.htm .) Creation Conventions were held in many cities and in some cases lead to the organization of local creation organizations. Eventually Bible Science Association changed leadership, eventually changing its name to Creation Moments . Rev. and Mrs. Lang started Genesis Institute, continuing to promote creation and make resources available, based in the Twin Cites until moving to Seattle in 1997 to be closer to their children. After Valaria's death, Walter has continued his work and serves on the board of Creation Association of Puget Sound. Bob Helfinstine's Story Bob had been interested in creation from childhood. His father was a machinist and an amateur geologist who made hammers for rock collecting expeditions. He believed in long ages and that was Bob's leaning. He had heard about flood theory, attributing for most if not all geologic deposits to the Genesis Flood. But he wondered about the Frozen Mammoths of the arctic regions. If they were flood deposits, what were all the layers of rock underneath. When in Sweden from 1972 to 1973, on loan from Honeywell to Saab Aircraft, he took along a number of books on post flood catastrophes and later read Velikovsky's works with great interest. On return to Minneapolis in April 1973, he worked with Peter Larson who was involved in the planning that lead to the formation of TCCSA. He invited Bob to come to a meeting but noted Bob's long age leanings. After Bob put in about 1000 hours of his spare time - which was always in short supply in those days - in researching post flood catastrophes, Peter asked him to present it to TCCSA. Eventually Bob was asked to join the Board and has been on it ever since. His second talk, in 1975, was "A Correlation of Joel, Amos and Isaiah with the Catastrophic Event of their Times." His strongest interest remained the area of post-flood catastrophes and their contribution to the geologic record. Bob served as President of TCCSA early on and then as treasurer from 1986 to 1995 and again as president from 1995 through 2001. Peter Larson's Story Peter Larson recalls his first interest in creation arising from a fellow employee at Honeywell mentioning the Creation Research Society. Peter subsequently subscribed to the Creation Research Quarterly and saw in it an ad for the 1972 Creation Convention in Milwaukee. He called Walter Lang in Caldwell Idaho to get details and drove there with Ron Constable. Highlights of the Convention were talks by Henry Morris and George Mulfinger. There was also a lot of informal fellowship and networking that went on in addition to the formal presentations. It was about that time that Peter met Bill Overn. In January or February of 1973, Peter recalls meeting with a group called together by Katherine Sorenson. He subsequently became part of the group planning for the development of a local creationist organization. He did not recall mentioning this to Bob Helfinstine but it must have flowed out naturally because Bob remembers it distinctly. Peter developed an interest in Continental Drift and gave a talk on the subject that also explored correlation with the "division of the earth" that took place in the days of Peleg. David Fruehauf's Story David had heard the creation story in Sunday School as a child and youth in a conservative Lutheran church, but when he went to college at Kent State University in the late 1950's he began to be bombarded with evolution. He majored in philosophy and mathematics as a pre-seminary student and was targeted by the agnostic professors for ridicule, usually by asking him what he believed about origins. Because of this he was motivated to study the subject, finding Rehwenkle's "The Flood" and Klotz' "Genes, Genesis and Evolution" but few other resources. He was allowed to write papers and give talks on the evidence for creation. When Whitcomb and Morris' book, "The Genesis Flood" came out it was a giant step forward in its depth and scientific detail. In the early 1960's, David moved to Minnesota to attend seminary and subsequently met Walter Lang and Bill Overn. Seminary had to be set aside to begin working as a math teacher to support a growing family, although he continued church work as a part-time youth pastor. David was very interested in the formation of TCCSA and although he did not feel he had adequate scientific qualifications, served as the first president for one term "because nobody else wanted it." When his family changed churches, he was encouraged by Vision of Glory Lutheran Church in Plymouth to speak on the topic of creation. Because the presentations were well-received, they grew into a 6 hour seminar which was the core of what turned out to be a 12 year lecturing ministry. When the invitations stopped, David saw it as a signal that others with stronger scientific credentials were filling the gap. But it was this experience and his contacts in public school teaching that allowed him to later spearhead a creation inservice -- featuring Don Chittick -- sponsored by the Robbinsdale School District, and also to give creation presentations to science classes until that was stopped by a science coordinator who opposed "teaching religion in the science classes." After taking early retirement from public education, David completed Seminary requirements and was ordained as a pastor in the Lutheran church - Missouri Synod. Formation of Twin Cities Creation Science Association Soon after his meeting with Walter Lang, Bill Overn was invited to Idaho and given contacts in states adjoining Minnesota by Walter and people with whom he communicated. Bill became convinced that a local chapter of Bible Science Association was needed in Minnesota and made it known that he would be willing to work on it if there were another volunteer who would come forward. In summer of 1972 at the Creation Convention in Milwaukee, sponsored by Walter Lang. Bill contacted interested people he had met at his lectures, and a van load drove from Minneapolis to Milwaukee. At the conference Bill was pleased to see his former pastor, Hans Theiste. They were shown a rough cut of the film, "Footprints in Stone," produced by Films for Christ. Shortly after that conference, Fred Schmugge, who was a childhood friend of Bill, called and volunteered to help organize a creationist organization. He was a minister who also worked as a tech writer in another division of Univac. He had gotten interested in creation after hearing a talk by Henry Morris on the earth's magnetic field. They met on a Sunday afternoon and began to lay the groundwork for what eventually became the Twin Cities Creation Science Association. A number of interested people were contacted, including Peter Larson, Dave Fruehauf, and Max Callen. They decided to sponsor a showing of the film as part of an organizational meeting for the new association. They secured space in the Minneapolis Lutheran High School and set a date for the summer of 1973. They brainstormed a list of people who might be interested and got about 100 names from Walter Lang out of his mailing list. Peter Larson agreed to allow his name to be put up for President and others were willing to be various officers. They prayed for an attendance of at least 100 as a sign that they should continue. About 120 showed up on a very hot summer evening to a meeting room without air conditioning and the film was well received. A somewhat parliamentary meeting was held and people were asked to join. But a number of circumstances threatened to derail the process. At the end of a long hot session, Walter Lang, who had arrived from Idaho, wanted to talk to the group. He also needed airfare. There was an emotional reaction that lead several key figures to oppose becoming a local chapter of Bible Science Association (BSA). Peter Larson also felt he could not serve as President. Bill Overn was unable to serve. He felt he was too heavily committed with speaking, frequent out-of town work assignments, and duties as a Regent of Bethany Lutheran College. David Fruehauf agreed to serve as president for 6 months. Fred Schmugge served as Secretary. After about that amount of time and consideration of all the factors, Peter Larson agreed to be President, and TCCSA also did become a local chapter of BSA, noting that there were advantages to that association and that there were strong locally controlled chapters in Milwaukee, Cleveland and Seattle as well as Southern California where Robert Kohfahl began his ministry and where Nell Seagraves and her son Kelly were working to promote creation. Early History Monthly Meetings were begun and topics were taken by members of the core group as well as outside speakers who had been at national conferences and agreed to come. Peter Larson, Bill Overn, Max Callen, Dave Fruehauf, all part of the core group, and several professors from Bethany Lutheran College, Bethel College and Northwestern College and teachers from Lutheran High Schools were regular speakers. There was a great hunger for information among those interested and a paucity of resources compared to the present. There were some who heard about the organization and volunteered themselves to speak. One of those early volunteers was Bob Helfinstine who heard about the group from Peter Larson. Katherine Sorenson was very involved in organizing the activities and the International Conferences held in 1976 and 1983. Fred and Mary Seitz came to a newly-formed Evangelical Lutheran Synod Church -- Heritage Lutheran in Apple Valley -- asking "Do You believe Jesus is God?" Bill Overn, who was involved in that start, assured her that it was a fundamental Lutheran doctrine. Mary Seitz related that the new assistant pastor at the Lakeville ALC church had told the congregation that he did not believe it. This illustrated to Bill the progressive deterioration of faith that accompanies the erosion of the authority of Scripture and the importance of being "Bible believing." Mary Seitz, recognizing the importance of creation to biblical belief became a tireless worker for TCCSA, and the chief promoter for its first project. About that time, Comet Kohoutek was anticipated to be a spectacular show in the sky and interest in comets was high. George Mulfinger was invited to come up from Bob Jones University and show that the existence of comets, since they lose significant mass with each approach, indicated a young solar system. Thanks to Mary Seitz, a large attendance showed up, but Comet Kohoutek did not. Rather Kohoutek essentially proved the deterioration theory by being barely visible. A year later a teachers' conference was planned in the Robbinsdale School District and by the influence of David Freuhauf, the School Board agreed to give continuing education credit. Donald Chittick spoke, the Bible Science Newsletter was distributed and creation-friendly textbooks were made available. The planning committee purchased 100 sets of materials and prayed for 100 attendees. Exactly 100 people came, paid $30.00 tuition, and heard the case for creation. Another example of the Lord's hand in that meeting was the fact that a couple of weeks before, Dr. Chittick had been injured when his car fell off a jack and fractured one of his ribs. He was improving when he got on the plane for the Twin Cities but by the time he arrived was in a great deal of pain and unsure if he could go on with the speaking. Peter Larson called the committee to pray, and the pain was relieved. After the meetings, on the way to the airport, the pain returned. After those meetings and for the next two years, David Fruehauf presented the creation model as a guest speaker in biology classes at Cooper and Armstrong High Schools. Then, opposition by the district's science coordinator and several science teachers ended the classes. The monthly meetings continued through the years, attended by an average of 50 people, including children and adolescents. Families were interested from the very start. Often at the meetings a vote would be taken on which topic would be addressed the next month. The attendees were those sympathetic to creation or very open minded towards it with very few exceptions. Bob Shadewald, a skeptic, attended frequently, asked questions of speakers and exchanged articles with Bill Overn both pro and con a few years ago. We sadly heard of his untimely death a few months ago. Lately Tom Lawson and Bill Volna have been frequent attenders who disagree. We have yet to encounter a disruptive guest. There was a second national Creation Convention sponsored by Bible Science Association held in Milwaukee attended by several from the Twin Cities group. The idea to hold the next such event in the Twin Cities began to develop. There was a desire to draw the scientific community to the meetings and so the name was changed from a Convention to as conference. Peter Larson recalls that a few people complained about the monthly meetings being started in prayer, feeling that it might alienate non-Christian attenders. In 1976 the third national Creation Science Conference was sponsored by Bible Science Association and TCCSA. The dates were August 15-18, 1976. It was held at Northwestern College in Roseville before the Totino Fine Arts building was built and before there was air conditioning in the buildings. Bill Overn was program chairman, and speakers included Dr. Don Chittick, Dr. Clifford Burdick, Dr. Tom Barnes, Dr. Clifford Wilson, Dr. Robert Kofahl, Dr. Duane Gish and a number of others. It was at that conference that Bob Helfinstine presented his paper "A Correlation of Joel, Amos and Isaiah with the Catastrophic Event of their Times." (which had been presented at a TCCSA meeting in 1975.) Dr. Chittick made a presentation on converting biomass waste into useful fuel with a catalytic converter, and had pictures of actual applications of the process. Al Heitkamp's Story Al Heitkamp was challenged by Walter Lang in 1968 to remember that "Adam and Eve were real people." At the time, Al was a chemist, was teaching Sunday School and about to become Sunday School superintendent at his church. His interest was captured and realized that although he was a scientist, he had received no background in this area. In 1976, he awoke in the middle of the night aware of the Lord speaking to him, saying to sell his extra business and reduce his church responsibilities in order to devote more time to the cause of creation. Al became involved with TCCSA at the time of the 1976 Conference and later joined the TCCSA Board and also the Bible Science Board. At the 1983 Conference, he gave a talk on the Cretaceous Iridium layer, showing that Noah's Flood was the explanation that best fit the evidence. This concept was carried further by others in the 1992 Conference. He continues to speak and serve on the Board. The Gish Kirkwood Debate At the 1976 National Creation Conference an attempt was made to hold a debate between Dr. Duane Gish and Dr. Sam Kirkwood, a well-known biochemist at the University of Minnesota. It did not materialize at that time, but a year later, in 1977, agreement was reached with the participants and Northrup Auditorium at the University of Minnesota (seating capacity 5000) reserved. Promotional leaflets were printed up and given to churches for further distribution. Luther-Northwestern Seminary and St. Thomas College refused to allow the information on their campuses. There was no idea of how many might be coming until the committee received a phone call from the University police saying that they had received so many phone calls asking about bus parking that they would need $750.00 to cover the cost of extra manpower. It turned out that the auditorium was filled and the reaction was powerful according to questions submitted and surveys taken at that time. A video tape was made, which was a major production in those days, and generated wide interest, not the least of which was the feeling by evolutionists that creation was not easy to defeat in a confrontation. Conferences The next year TCCSA organized a debate that pitted two senior professors from the Hamline University science staff against Bill Overn and Dr. John Cunningham of Northwestern College. The head of the Hamline department of science showed up carrying a Bible, and attempted to steer the debate into that area. Modern evolutionary debaters usually are more sophisticated. In 1978 Rev. Lang moved the Bible Science Association from Idaho to Minneapolis where he felt there would be more financial support for his work. Volunteers including TCCSA members came to his aid and Mel Schwanz began to work for him as an office manager. Bill Overn eventually gave up his consulting business and went to work for BSA. TCCSA was always a separate organization but with a strong relationship to BSA. For years, a TCCSA membership included a Bible Science Association Newsletter subscription. Several TCCSA members submitted original scientific papers to the Bible Science Newsletter and Bill Overn's niece, Nancy Pearcey wrote lucid analysis pieces during the heyday of that publication. A subscription was part of the TCCSA membership package. In August 1983 a major International Creation Conference was sponsored by TCCSA. It was designed to be done in a manner equivalent to any secular scientific meeting, including both invited and submitted papers. It drew many well-known speakers and was a major boost for the Twin Cities group. Jeannene Forshee's Story Jeannene Forshee was browsing through a used book store and her eye caught a couple of creationist books. Later, she heard an announcement on the radio about a meeting at Northwestern College being put on by The Institute for Creation Research and at that meeting heard about TCCSA. She began attending regularly and was eventually asked to serve on the Board and also to edit the Newsletter. Lending Library Jeannene got the idea of a lending library since there are so many valuable resources available that can bring the message of creation even farther than the meetings, but at first the Board was not interested. She decided to pray "until the Lord changed their minds." Eventually they did agree, especially when it was clear that there would be no additional expense. A notice went out and there were two major donations. Irene Nistle gave a creation video tape library of 80 titles and there was an anonymous cash donation of $200.00. In the Spring of 1991, Jeannene began running the library out of her home as a mail order service. People paid the postage both ways and gave donations if they desired, all of which allowed the service to not only be self supporting but to regularly add new resources. The major users turned out to be home schoolers. This continued for 4 years and was beginning to outgrow Jeannene's small home. At that point, Dee McLellan, a home schooler who had heard about TCCSA through the library, got permission from her church, Grace Church of Roseville, to house the library at the church. After 6 months when it looked like the deal was off, it arose with an expanded vision to providing resources with a Christian perspective in many subject areas, one of which would be creation science. Jeannene and four other women planned the project and asked TCCSA to release the creation lending library, which they did with the proviso that if the new venture folded, those resources would return. The Christian Education Resource Center (CERC) -- now called CRC -- was born and has now grown to 5,500 titles. It is run by volunteers as a walk in lending library, funded by yearly memberships or small fees of $1.00 per resource. Further History When the film FOOTPRINTS IN STONE was popular, TCCSA had several board members showing the film to church groups and youth activities. When the controversy arose over some of the track details of the Taylor Trail, Bible Science manager Bill Overn asked TCCSA board members Bob Helfinstine, Jerry Roth and Al Heitkamp to serve on a task force along with Paul Bartz from the Bible Science staff to investigate the facts. That began a investigation in 1986 that lasted until 1993. The results of the investigation were published in 1994 in the book TEXAS TRACKS and ARTIFACTS by Bob Helfinstine and Jerry Roth. Speakers through the years included Professor Thomas Barnes on the earth's magnetic field, Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith on information theory, and Dr. David Menton on the wonderful microscopic complexity of feathers compared to their supposed evolutionary predecessor, scales. Dr. Fred Byerly spoke on biomass conversion and Dr. Steidl of Seattle on astronomy. Dr. Walter Brown made several visits with his comprehensive series "In the Beginning." Eryl Cummings related his life-long quest for Noah's ark and his interviews with over two dozen eye-witnesses of the ship, including three members of the 1917 Russian military expedition. Over 300 presentations have been made at regular meetings, plus many more at special seminars and conferences. The last International conference was held in the Twin Cities in August 1992. Among the speakers was Bob Helfinstine who presented data on lack of decay in garbage dumps and its relationship to the preserved Mammoths in arctic mud deposits. He also provided information that the majority of mammoth remains are post-flood surface deposits which is contrary to many opinions that they are a late flood deposit.. Work in progress, March 2022 version, edited to include only founding events on August 2024 Compiled by Ross Olson from multiple sources -- mainly the people themselves!