“The Green is greatly increased by the Yampa…and the waters waltz their way through the canyon, making their own rippling, rushing, roaring music.”
— John Wesley Powell —
Last week, we were supposed to be heading north for our Berning Family Reunion but it was cancelled. We were so bummed (but completely understood). Since Mark had a couple days off of work, we decided to go get a stamp in our Passport – our National Park Passport that is!
So instead of heading north, we went south to Dinosaur National Monument! This has been high up on our list ever since we moved to Wyoming and we were so glad to finally experience it.
The kids were so excited to see the DINOSAURS! I am pretty sure Ben thought we were seeing live dinosaurs, but he got over it quickly and we had a great day.
Normally, we have a pretty strict no long hikes in the summer rule. Our family seriously cannot handle the heat. The day hovered in the low to mid 90s all day which was WAY above our comfort level. Normally, we definitely would have done this visit in the spring or the fall – so if you are anything like us, I would wait for then.
Quarry Visitor Center
We left first thing in the morning and made our way down to Dinosaur National Monument. First stop – The Quarry Visitor Center! We were so grateful that despite COVID, the visitor center was open. We are those people that love to read everything and really dive into what we are seeing.
PLUS – we had to get our Passport stamps!
The kiddos grabbed a Junior Ranger booklet and we got on the shuttle to the Quarry Exhibit Hall.
Quarry Exhibit Hall
This hall is incredible. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before. They created the building around this hill filled with bones. Dinosaur National Monument is home to one of the richest known dinosaur fossil beds in the world.
During a drought, many dinosaurs died near a river’s edge. When the rain returned, floodwaters carried the jumble of bones to this spot. There are over 500 different dinosaurs in this hill, and ten different species. In 1909, they were discovered by Earl Douglass – can you imagine?!
It is amazing to see this wall just filled with bones. There is even a section of the wall where you are able to TOUCH the bones! Pretty incredible. The kids couldn’t believe these were REAL dinosaur bones.
Fossil Discovery Trail
We took the shuttle back to the visitor center and had our picnic lunch. Then we took to the trails!
This is where the summer heat killed us. We hardly got going and the kiddos were having a rough time. The hard part about this park is that there is no shade. The sun just beats on you the entire hike. So if you love the heat – you will love it!
Lydie fussed and cried more and more as the hike progressed – which is not like her. Finally, about 2/3 of the way there, I decided to hike back with her. She made me a little anxious because she was refusing to drink any water and was pretty limp.
I took her to the car and blasted the air conditioning and was finally able to get her to drink a little. Once we cooled down a little, we waited for the rest of the crew to finish.
This hike was neat because you were able to see this amazing tilted rock. It is so strange and fascinating to look at. There are lots of different colors and it shows a variety of ancient life.
The highlights were the fish scales and dinosaur and clam fossils though!
Tour of the Tilted Rocks
We were all roasting and so we decided to go on the auto tour. This is actually an amazing way to see the park! There were fifteen different stop and they were all so interesting.
There were several pictographs and petroglyphs throughout the park from the Fremont Culture. Split Mountain was so interesting to look at – the Green River literally went straight through the mountain – splitting it in two! There was also Cub Creek Valley, Turtle Rock, and Elephant Toes Butte.
Lizard Petroglyphs
Mark, Sarah, and Benjamin hiked the short (but STEEP!) hike to the Lizard Petroglyphs. There is a large concentration of petroglyphs here, most notably a six foot long lizard and a flute player.
Box Canyon
At the end of the auto tour, you come to Josie Morris’ homestead. Her story was fascinating. She was an independent lady who became a local legend. She chose to settle in this remote area in 1914. She built several cabins on her homestead, as well as a large vegetable garden.
She thrived on the solitude and beauty and was an alleged associate of Butch Cassidy. It was so peaceful around her homestead and through the canyons and I loved imagining what life must have been like for her.
There are two box canyons that are near her home. She used these as corrals for her livestock – by simply fencing the narrow end. Genius.
We hiked back into Box Canyon which was an easy peasy hike – Princess Lydie would only stand it if I carried her – out of the backpack! What a stinker. But it was also SHADY even during the middle of the day – YAY!
Vernal
After our day of exploring, we left the park and headed to Vernal. This is such a charming little town. We grabbed some dinner – and ICE CREAM – and walked around the Vernal Temple. It was a perfect ending to our ADVENTURE day!
I remember Grandma Dixie taking Uncle Wayne and me to Vernal and Dinosaur National Monument. No air conditioning back in those days. A great place to visit.
That’s fun! I hope it wasn’t in the summer or that would be brutal though. We were roasting… aka, we are heat babies.