Utah - Dinosaur National Monument
Wow! That's been pretty much what Mikey and I have been saying today. This blog will be hard to write as I don't think I have enough words to say how beautiful and amazing this place is. I thought I took good pictures but they don't even begin to show the true light and colors and greatness of what we saw today.
But, to take it from the beginning. We had a pleasant flight and a nice 3 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Vernal last night. Mikey slept through most of the ride and I did what I didn't think I would do in Utah, namely drive through rain most of the night. We woke up early and ready to start our adventures.
Dinosaur National Monument. This, my friends, is the seed, the core of this trip that I started dreaming and planning and traveling in my head over a year ago. All because a little boy likes dinosaurs, and it appears that this is one of the best places in the United States, if not in the world, to see dinosaur fossils. So, after such a long time of germinating, this seed took roots and here we are. In Vernal, Utah.
The Visitor Center welcomes us, it's small but the dinosaur toys and souvenirs are strategically placed where every kid will have to see them and start tugging at their parents. I have a hard time removing Mikey from there and we finally board the shuttle that takes us to the quarry. It's a 3-4minutes ride, but as soon as we go around the bend into the quarry I hear Mikey say "Wow, this is beautiful". And mind me, Mikey is not the sensitive type, so to hear him say that means a lot to me, and to tell you the truth, it is beautiful.
Inside the Quarry Museum we see what we came here for. Fossils. Partially exposed in the rock, some of full dinosaurs, most of them just separated bones, big and small, skulls, tails, rib cages and femurs, a hodgepodge of bones washed away by flash flooding and then deposited on the bottom of a river bed, then buried under sand and mud on the bottom of an ancient ocean, then slowly brought back up to the surface by the rising of the mountains and discovered over 100 years ago.
The Quarry is pretty small but I am truly impressed by the amount and variety of bones to be seen in such a small area, and can only imagine what lies underneath. There are some cool exhibits and a lot of good info, but the nicest thing is that in a couple of places, visitors are allowed to touch the dinosaur bones. Now, this is exciting!
We hang outside for a bit and admire the quarry and the plain and river below us. I am so excited about today, we are going to go out and adventure for a bit in the park and hike and see cool things, but soon my enthusiasm is broken by a little boy who is hot, tired, hungry, thirsty and whiny, and wants to go to the pool and wants to play games and watch cartoons. Little flashes of lightning and thunder between us, then we negotiate and compromise. We will do the hikes I had planned for the morning, then we will spend the afternoon chilling instead of going on the bigger hike. It's all good.
We drive through the DNM on a winding road and it's amazing to see the different types of rock, the colors and the amazing light and beauty of these mountains. The landscape changes every minute and we have a hard time figuring out which one we like best. We are both thrilled and that "wow" comes out strong more than once. Mikey admits it's beautiful and he's glad we're here. We stop frequently as we are following the Petroglyphs trail of the Fremont people. For the most part they are close to the road so we only have a short distance to walk to the red cliffs and see them.
Mikey is in his element, although he does not care much about history or anything that humans leave behind (except for the lizard petroglyphs, he's sooooo excited to see them), there are plenty of rocks here to climb on. My heart skips a beat a few times when he gets too close to the edge or seems unstable, but I have to let him go and try. We find a little cave in the rocky outcrop and we cuddle inside, trying to imagine what life was like a thousand years ago for the people living here. Mikey thinks it was pretty difficult and I agree with him, but I also think it had its own beauty.
It takes us close to two hours to see the petroglyphs at the marked spots, after which we turn around. I can't help and take a "wrong" turn so we end up on the edge of the Green River, and we take a break to play in the water for a bit. The sun is high in the sky, the temperature is over 90F, the canyon wall across the river looms over us almost threateningly with it's black markings, but the water is cool, and Mikey and I splash happily for a bit. A well deserved break.
I had a couple more things planned for today, but I know we won't be able to do them, especially the long hike. We decide we will wake up early and do it tomorrow before we leave. Instead we eat lunch, play in the pool at the hotel, then visit Vernal. Nothing impressive here, but it is quality time we spend together. And this was a great beginning to our adventure!
July 18, 2017
But, to take it from the beginning. We had a pleasant flight and a nice 3 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Vernal last night. Mikey slept through most of the ride and I did what I didn't think I would do in Utah, namely drive through rain most of the night. We woke up early and ready to start our adventures.
Dinosaur National Monument. This, my friends, is the seed, the core of this trip that I started dreaming and planning and traveling in my head over a year ago. All because a little boy likes dinosaurs, and it appears that this is one of the best places in the United States, if not in the world, to see dinosaur fossils. So, after such a long time of germinating, this seed took roots and here we are. In Vernal, Utah.
The Visitor Center welcomes us, it's small but the dinosaur toys and souvenirs are strategically placed where every kid will have to see them and start tugging at their parents. I have a hard time removing Mikey from there and we finally board the shuttle that takes us to the quarry. It's a 3-4minutes ride, but as soon as we go around the bend into the quarry I hear Mikey say "Wow, this is beautiful". And mind me, Mikey is not the sensitive type, so to hear him say that means a lot to me, and to tell you the truth, it is beautiful.
Inside the Quarry Museum we see what we came here for. Fossils. Partially exposed in the rock, some of full dinosaurs, most of them just separated bones, big and small, skulls, tails, rib cages and femurs, a hodgepodge of bones washed away by flash flooding and then deposited on the bottom of a river bed, then buried under sand and mud on the bottom of an ancient ocean, then slowly brought back up to the surface by the rising of the mountains and discovered over 100 years ago.
We hang outside for a bit and admire the quarry and the plain and river below us. I am so excited about today, we are going to go out and adventure for a bit in the park and hike and see cool things, but soon my enthusiasm is broken by a little boy who is hot, tired, hungry, thirsty and whiny, and wants to go to the pool and wants to play games and watch cartoons. Little flashes of lightning and thunder between us, then we negotiate and compromise. We will do the hikes I had planned for the morning, then we will spend the afternoon chilling instead of going on the bigger hike. It's all good.
We drive through the DNM on a winding road and it's amazing to see the different types of rock, the colors and the amazing light and beauty of these mountains. The landscape changes every minute and we have a hard time figuring out which one we like best. We are both thrilled and that "wow" comes out strong more than once. Mikey admits it's beautiful and he's glad we're here. We stop frequently as we are following the Petroglyphs trail of the Fremont people. For the most part they are close to the road so we only have a short distance to walk to the red cliffs and see them.
Mikey is in his element, although he does not care much about history or anything that humans leave behind (except for the lizard petroglyphs, he's sooooo excited to see them), there are plenty of rocks here to climb on. My heart skips a beat a few times when he gets too close to the edge or seems unstable, but I have to let him go and try. We find a little cave in the rocky outcrop and we cuddle inside, trying to imagine what life was like a thousand years ago for the people living here. Mikey thinks it was pretty difficult and I agree with him, but I also think it had its own beauty.
It takes us close to two hours to see the petroglyphs at the marked spots, after which we turn around. I can't help and take a "wrong" turn so we end up on the edge of the Green River, and we take a break to play in the water for a bit. The sun is high in the sky, the temperature is over 90F, the canyon wall across the river looms over us almost threateningly with it's black markings, but the water is cool, and Mikey and I splash happily for a bit. A well deserved break.
I had a couple more things planned for today, but I know we won't be able to do them, especially the long hike. We decide we will wake up early and do it tomorrow before we leave. Instead we eat lunch, play in the pool at the hotel, then visit Vernal. Nothing impressive here, but it is quality time we spend together. And this was a great beginning to our adventure!
July 18, 2017
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