When he was told that he could find real dinosaur fossils here in Arizona, he was ready to jump in and start digging. 

“My favorite dinosaurs are Tyrannosaurs Rex and Triceratops,” said Noah, 5, who has been dealing with leukemia for the past few years. “I want to see the fossils and bones.”

Noah was not disappointed. His wish to go on a dinosaur dig took him to Northern Arizona and a little into New Mexico thanks to Doug and Hazel Wolfe of the Zuni Basin Paleontological Project and Sherman Mohler of the Southwest Paleontological Society.

As dinosaur specialists, they are working to dig up any and all fossilized remains of the large reptiles that are here in the state. 

“We are going to move the dirt away from the bones and then bring them into the laboratory to test them and see what we have to see if there is more digging needed,” said Doug Wolfe, who lead Noah, his three brothers and his mom and dad on a dinosaur dig in the desert. 

The family was able to see fossils of all kinds in the Northern Arizona/New Mexico areas with Wolfe as their guide. Noah dug a fossil out with Wolfe and used his brush all over the desert as he looked for fossilized dinosaur poop and animal bones. He wasn’t able to run around and scare his brothers with dinosaur bones, like he thought he would do, but he still had a great day. 

“He was so excited about this he could barely sleep,” said Jazmin, Noah’s mom. “He had to wear his dinosaur shirt to make sure he was ready.”

She said that she wasn’t surprised about Noah’s wish but she was surprised the wish included the family actually digging and looking for real fossils. 

“He is having such a good time, it’s going to be a great memory,” said Jazmin. 

In addition to the fossils, Noah was also treated to a full collection of small bones and fossils from the Zuni team, as well as patches and pins for him to wear on his new digging vest and hat. 

“I wish to see all the dinosaurs,” said Noah. “I love them all.”