Author Kelly Milner Halls’ book tells the tale of the only dinosaur ever to be found in Washington state

There has only been one dinosaur fossil found in Washington state, and it’s Kelly Milner Halls’ mission to tell you all about it.

In her latest book, “A Dinosaur for Washington,” Halls takes readers on a fossil-hunting journey to the San Juan Islands, in particular, to Sucia Island.

Sucia Island is a unique place. It is one of the most northern of the San Juan Islands, and it is the only place in the state where you can find rocks from the Cretaceous period – the most recent period of time when nonavian dinosaurs were around to leave fossils behind.

The reason we haven’t found dinosaur fossils in other parts of the state comes down to geology. Here’s a hint: Have you noticed all the basalt columns in our region? That’s volcanic rock, and there’s plenty more where that came from.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the Pacific Northwest was home to one of the largest basaltic lava floods to occur on Earth’s surface.

The lava floods happened between 6 and 17 million years ago, covering any existing dinosaur fossils in what would become solid igneous rock.

“Washington state was the first place I’d ever been that didn’t have dinosaur fossils and we didn’t because we were under prehistoric ocean, and then volcanoes came,” Halls said.

“So even though there might have been prehistoric marine reptiles and dinosaurs that fell in the water after they died, we’ll never see them because we have up to 3 miles of volcanic rock above those soil samples.”

It was a public school librarian in Seattle who broke the news to Halls about the rare discovery of dinosaur fossils in the state.

A self-described “dinosaur freak,” Halls thought this news was too cool to not store away in her “idea box.”

Halls’ opportunity to tell the story came when a Seattle-based publishing company asked Halls if she had any ideas for some Washington-specific stories. The book was developed over the course of three years and it was released in 2024.

“It is very Washington-specific, but it’s also (for) any kid who ever dreams of finding a fossil. Because it basically tracks beginning to end where they found it, who found it, and how you can go see it at the Burke Museum in Seattle,” Halls said.

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is housed at the University of Washington campus, and its Fossils Uncovered gallery is home to one of the only displays of real dinosaur fossils in the Evergreen State.

Once Halls received the assignment to tell this story in a book for young learners, she dove into the research. After poring over every article she could find on the subject, one thing stood out to her – hardly anyone mentioned who had found the fossil, usually only describing the two fossil hunters as “volunteers.” It wasn’t until she found an academic paper on the discovery that she was able to find a footnote that listed their names: Jim Goedert and David Starr.

Using a good ol’ Google search, Halls found Starr through a fossil club. Once connected with Starr and Goedert, Halls heard their side of the story and learn more about how a hobby search for ammonite fossils turned into a major discovery.

It was in 2010 that Goedert and Starr found a peculiar softball-sized piece of fossilized bone.

It was the only trace that day, but when they returned in 2012, an even larger piece of bone was found in plain sight at the base of a cliff. The two pieces fit, and that’s when they knew it was a substantial find.

For Halls, her fascination with dinosaurs goes back much further.

“I have loved dinosaurs since I was 8, and most kids outgrow it, but I never did,” Halls said.

Halls began her career as a journalist and started writing children’s books later on. It took her some time to find her particular niche.

“I kept looking at other books and wishing I had written that,” Halls said.

But everything changed when she decided to stick to the subjects she loved the most.

“Everything that I loved as a kid but didn’t get answers for, I could write for kids now and ask all the questions I had and try to imagine what the modern kids would ask as well,” Halls said. “So that’s what I did. And when I stopped chasing somebody else’s topic and started focusing on the things that just fascinated me when I was little, then that’s when my career completely turned around.”

Writing children’s books on dinosaurs comes with a great perk – Halls gets to travel to schools and share her passion for the subject with students.

“Every time I talk about dinosaurs at a school, there’s like 15 kids in the group who come up and say, ‘I found a dinosaur bone in my backyard.’ And it probably wasn’t. It was probably a rabbit, or deer, or a cow or something, but they’re excited,” Halls said.

In the book, Halls provides guidance about how people of all backgrounds and knowledge levels can go on their own fossil hunt. She explains which areas require permits, goes through the types of equipment you might need, lists places in the Western U.S. where people can dig for fossils and provides further resources for those who want to learn more.

“I wanted them to know that the adventure is open to all of us,” Halls said.

“A Dinosaur for Washington” is available at Auntie’s Bookstore as well as other book retailers. You can learn more about Halls’ work at wonderofweird.com.