Dinosaur National Monument has two separate sections. One, located in Utah, holds a large number of dinosaur fossils and gives visitors an opportunity to see some of the up close. The other, located in Colorado, has no dinosaur fossils. (Huh?) But the scenery there is more dramatic (most of the time, IMHO). Of course, I visited and enjoyed both sections.
Utah: The Quarry Entrance
This amazing wall shows an amazing collection of intact dinosaur folssils. The building is actually erected above a hillside. You can see some of the fossils from this view, but see the next photo.This section of the wall reveals many skeletonsThis area has the unusual distinction of being folded onto its side, with the oldest geological layers being on the left and the newest ones on the right. This allows geologists to find dinosaur fossils near the surface across a wide time span. The weirdness expands into the lighter colored rock in the background. It all looks pretty unusual and unlike the surrounding area.The Fossil Discovery Trail winds its way through the bottom. The NPS offers a daily guided tour here.These rocks aren’t particularly interesting for fossil-seekers, but I found them interesting.More of the scenery in the Utah (Quarry) side of the National Monument
Colorado: The Canyon Entrance
There are a number of these slanted benches here. It’s as if God wanted to play golf here, but He left the rest of the area to the Devil. (With apologies to Death Valley National Park.)A portion of Echo ParkA high view of a quiet stretch of the sometimes rapid Green RiverBoaters float down the Green RiverFastastic curves in the area of the confluence of the Green (far left center, barely noticeable) and Yampa (center and heading into the distance) Rivers
Adventure After 60 