When we left Rocky Mountain National Park, we wanted to
get close to Dinosaur National Monument before stopping
for the night. Unfortunately, we didn't realize how
full accomodations would be. Glen looked up possibilities
online and called around. He found us the last room in
The Terrace, a mom-and-pop operation in
Dinosaur, Colorado.
The kids were thrilled with our 2-room suite. A bed for
everyone! And only $65!
The insides were much nicer than we had suspected from the
outside. The manager told me that she and her husband
had run this motel for 42 years.
We started at the canyon visitor center.
And then we drove to the quarry visitor center in another
section of the park. The Quarry is built around a
natural bed of dinosaur fossils. Sadly, the building had
recently settled and cracked and been deemed unsafe, so it was closed
to visitors for the time being. We were told to try the
Museum in Vernal to see real dinosaur bones. In the
meantime, there were other things to see and do.
We picked up a copy of the Tilted Rock Auto Tour
pamphlet and proceeded to look at the things that
caught our interest. This rock formation is called
"Elephant Toes".
The Green River runs through the park.
This stop was billed as a place where people had tried
to dredge for placer gold. It didn't pay, so they
abandoned their equipment.
It was an excellent spot to wade around a bit, though.
The park is also known for Indian Petraglyphs.
Can you spot the lizard in the center of this picture?
The last couple miles of road were well-graded gravel.
This women lived a 19th-century life-style in the
20th century. She died in the 1960s after suffering
a broken hip when her horse knocked her down.
She homesteaded this area.
Josie's source of water.
Water rights are a perennial issue.
Corn is still cultivated in the river bottom. Do deer
eat corn or is this one's presence here a coincidence?
Coming down to the river, you can see part of the campground.
We picnicked in the campground.
The chipmunks were more than friendly. They also looked
well-fed.
We finished before this storm hit.
We sat in the car in the parking lot and watched the hail.
This is a piece caught in the wipers.
When the rain stopped, we
walked down to the river at the boat ramp.
This is
where they pull out the rafts from trips people have taken
down the Green River.
There were a lot of mud birdnests clinging to the cliff above
the water.
Another storm was blowing in: time to quit.
Alan's island. He has plans to make a 51st state when he
grows up.
More driving in the rain as we wrap up our park experience.
On to the town of Vernal.
Vernal is home to the Utah Field House Museum.
This map shows the different ages of rock revealed
in the local mountains. It is a unique area for
fossil finding, in addition to possessing great
natural beauty.
This Sauropod femur is huge compared to Roger's.
There are several exhibits designed specifically for
touching, including this dinosaur bone.
This was most impressive to me, a whole wall covered in rock
tiles with fossilized leaves.
There was also a small display of Indian artifacts from the
more recent past. Alan was noting that these pots may have
been made from the same type of clay that he had just been
digging out of the river in the park.
Mammoths lived here, too, at a different point in time.
Perhaps the best part for Roger and Alan was the
Dinosaur Garden. There were a lot of models; I'm just
including a few here.
Roger, especially, enjoyed posing to match the models.
Diplodocus and 'diplodocus'.
