First, we overnighted near Flaming Gorge, UT and were the only ones at a National Forest desert campsite. This is what we woke up to in the morning . . .

Crossing from Wyoming into Utah we seemed to bump up against two themes: Mormons (on the radio and on display at the large and frequent temples) and dinosaurs. Yes, this is dino country and that was a blast back to Craig’s little boy years when he was (by his own admission): Dinosaur Crazy.

Dinosaur National Monument wasn’t on our original itinerary but we have this thing about tossing the map out the window and changing course. A little out of the way, but well worth the detour.

Dinosaur National Monument straddles the border of Utah and Colorado – we were visiting the park from the Utah side. It’s in a remote corner of the state; high desert with rugged rock formations, wild river canyons and mile-long vistas. It’s the only NPS park established to protect exact dinosaur remains.

The most famous geologic formation is the Morrison Formation, a virtual bounty of dinosaur fossils. Much of it is captured at the dramatic Quarry Exhibit Hall, an enclosed rock wall of an original dig that is one of the best places in the world to see and touch actual dinosaur bones in place. What a great idea – they found a huge cache of fossils and bones and built the exhibit around it.

Craig drove Rigby and the van up the hillside to the exhibit building and Jo hiked the 1.2-km Fossil Discovery Trail (note to self: next time remember the hat and water).

Why so many fossils in one place? The park ranger explained that this area was once part of an ancient river that flowed across a vast plain. A long drought killed off many of the dinosaurs and creatures, followed by extensive rains that washed their bones along the river bottom, creating what he called a dinosaur bone “logjam.” Many of the bones were concentrated at the oxbow bend in the river. Over time, sedimentary mud and rock covered the bones, fossilizing them in place.

In addition to the fossil-rich rocks and world-class dinosaur exhibits, the national monument is a geologist’s dream destination. Twenty-three layers of folded, tilted, faulted and eroded rock layers preserve ecosystems spanning 1.2 billion years. We drove the Cub Creek and Split Mountain Drives, stopping often to focus the camera and get some shots.

We’ve also created a separate photos-only post from Dinosaur National Monument. Before you go there, consider these facts:

• 65 million years ago: all dinosaurs go extinct.
• The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada (ROM) has a Barosaurus skeleton excavated from an early dig at Dinosaur National Monument.
• The quarry site represents fossils collected from 400 different dinosaurs.
• The park is one of the best windows into the era of Upper Jurassic era dinosaurs.
• Craig was one happy camper. He got to play with dinosaurs all day!

www.nps.gov/dino/index.htm  

www.visitutah.com

www.visittheusa.ca