Dinosaur National Monument
Located in the extreme NW corner of Colorado and NE Utah this park offers the chance to see and touch real dinosaur bones, discover fossils, view ancient artwork (Petroglyphs and Pictographs), experience some epic overlooks, and whitewater raft all in one small area. Oh, and it’s got some of the darkest skies in the United States.
This park is so much more that we thought it would be when we detoured here to escape the fire in Ouray, Colorado.
Douglas Pass
On the way here we travel over Douglas Pass and at the top we can’t resist stopping for a picture of the valley below.
Green River
As we enter the park, we notice several pullouts that will allow us to take pictures along the Green River and Northwest to Split Mountain. We stop at these at different times throughout our visit to get the different views as well as different lighting.
Green River Campground
The Green River Campground, sitting along the Green River, offers two reservable loops and one very large first-come, first-served (FF) loop. Ironically, it’s the FF loop that has the best sites for the summer. They’re good size and almost all are at least partially in the shade, whereas most of the reservable sites are in full sun.
We had reserved a site but when we got here, we quickly switched to one of the FF sites with partial shade and a view of the river from our back window.
Over the six nights we’re here we walk the campground several times and of course take pictures along the way.
Quarry Visitor Center & Exhibit Hall
The Visitor Center is small but well staffed with a few exhibits and a park movie. After looking around and obtaining our Park Passport Stamp, we headed out along the Fossil Discovery Trail that goes from the Visitor Center to the Exhibit Hall.
Fossil Discovery Trail
Along the way we see a few petroglyphs, learn about the different geological layers, and get a good view of the Green River.
Quarry Exhibit Hall
After being a little disappointed with the Fossil Discovery Trail, we’re pleasantly surprised by the Quarry Exhibit Hall.
This is where we can finally see and even touch some actual dinosaur bones. This large wall of bones was found in an ancient river valley. Scientists believe that most of these animals died due to extreme drought and once the water started flowing again the bones and carcasses were swept up in the flowing water and then covered in sediment thereby preserving them.
This wall is actually only a portion of the bone field discovered here. Several complete animals were excavated and now reside in museums across North America.
Tour of the Tilted Rocks: Cub Creek Road
After a picnic lunch and watching the movie at the visitor center, we head out on the Tour of the Tilted Rocks: Cub Creek Road scenic drive that begins here. The wind is picking up speed and the clouds are threatening rain so we thought a scenic drive would be a safer option than another hike this afternoon.
Stop #9
To get to this stop, we have to travel through a few gates on private property. Unless you have the trail guide, I imagine most visitors would bypass this spot as inaccessible which is a shame because the wall of petroglyphs is very good. However, because it is located outside the park, a lot of modern idiots have added their own art to the wall.
Stop #13 & #14 – Cub Creek Petroglyphs Pullout
Josie Morris Homestead
Established in the early 1900’s this homestead was built by a true Pioneer. At almost 40 years of age Josie was divorced and although common today, this was extremely rare for the time period. Her grown children offered her a home but she wanted one of her own and chose this spot for its natural resources including good pasture and plentiful water. She braided rugs and handmade quilts to make the cabin comfortable and proceeded to live off the land until shortly before her death at the age of 90.
From here there are two trailheads: Box Canyon & Hog Canyon. Our intention was to walk Box Canyon but we have to scrap this idea due to the threatening storm so we head home instead.
Along the way, we stop to take a few pictures of the storm behind the bright white of Split Mountain.
We made it back to camp prior to the rain but drove through a wind-driven dust cloud to get here.
Sound of Silence Trail
This morning the weather is gorgeous so we head out to Stop #2 of yesterday’s scenic drive… The Sound of Silence Trail. This three-mile loop trail takes us through several of the 24 geologic layers spanning more than one billion years of earth history found in the park. The combination of these distinct layers creates an extremely varied color palate that creates a feast for the senses.
This trail is very well named as the only thing we heard along the entire trail (other than the noise we made) was a few animals in the underbrush and a few birds flying overhead.
Harpers Corner Driving Tour
Our next adventure is to go east to the Colorado side of the park and along Harper’s Corner Road which displays the canyon country of the Green and Yampa Rivers. Starting at the Canyon Visitor Center, this 31-mile road quickly climbs up ~2,000 feet and then leads us to 9 overlooks as it progresses north weaving between Colorado and Utah.
Harpers Corner Overlook
To get to the Harpers Corner Overlook you have to first walk the ~2-mile Harpers Corner Trail that has its own trail guide with 16 stops. There are several incredible sights along this trail but stops 15 & 16 at the end of the trail are where the Harpers Corner Overlooks are located. And oh boy is it worth the walk!
Echo Park Road
It’s been a fantastic day of incredible overlooks and even through we’re tired we’re not ready to go home. So, on the way back we head down Echo Park Road to see some of the other sights this side of the park has to offer. This 12-mile dirt road will take us past one of the early homesteads, a cave, some petroglyphs, and eventually we’ll end up at the Green River with a view of Steamboat Rock.
Chew Ranch
Cabin with a View
We’re not sure if this small cabin is part of Chew Ranch, regardless it has a heck of a view.
Petroglyphs
The petroglyphs here are like nothing we’ve ever seen before. They’re made of dots / holes in the rock vs etching off the desert varnish (dark rock to reveal the lighter rock beneath). There are numerous petroglyphs here, the most impressive being a large eagle.
Whispering Cave
This small cave at the base of an enormous vertical rock slab is surprisingly spacious inside. It extends both directions and the temperatures are between 30 to 50 degrees cooler than the ~100F outside. The right side of the cave is significantly cooler than the left side and later a local informs us that the cold air was flowing from an ice wall deep inside the mountain. However, we have been unable to verify this information.
Echo Park
View into Echo Park Valley
As we’re climbing out of the canyon, I can’t resist taking a picture of where we just were.
What an incredible day!
Dinosaur Trackway Trail
And since no Dinosaur experience would be complete without seeing some actual dinosaur tracks… on our final day in the park, we head just north of Vernal, UT to the Dinosaur Trackway Trail. The trail is short but is a lot more challenging that we expect, especially in the heat.
Trail Views
Dinosaur Tracks
Given the tracks are ~200 million years old, it’s understandable that they’re hard to find. But there are hundreds of them here so you’re sure to stumble across a few. And the trail designers were really smart. They marked the trail with painted dinosaur prints all along the rocks to not only guide you on the correct path, but to also train your brain for the size and shape of the tracks you’ll be looking for at the end of the trail.
These tracks were left by Dilophosaurus or “two-crested lizard” which measured ~20 feet in length.
Betty’s Cafe
After the hike we head into Vernal, UT to pick up some packages and have lunch. Our restaurant of choice… Betty’s Cafe. A local brunch favorite for 30 years with world-class cinnamon rolls. The food is fresh and very tasty, the portions are enormous, and the price is reasonable. What’s not to love?
Next stop… Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
