Boring 1, Yellowstone

Boring 2, Mammoth

Boring 3, Tetons

Boring 4, Critters

Boring 5, Roadside Oddities

Boring 6, Vehicles

Boring 7, Wild Flowers

Boring 8, Geology

Boring 9, Idaho Ag

Boring 10, Craters of the Moon NM

Boring 11, Dinosaur NM

Boring 12, Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Boring 13, Ouray and Ridgeway, CO


Easily the most kids here of any park we visited. I think it's kind of a shame, too. While there are thousands of obvious dinosaur fossils, there is almost nothing that a young child thinks of as a dinosaur. No re-creations, only one small assembled skeleton. The five and six year old kids we saw were pretty bored, because they didn't really get what they were seeing. Keep that in mind if you bring your family.

For those old enough to understand, OH MY GAWD. More dino fossils than you've ever seen, all within an area less than a football field in size. And the amazing thing is that these are just the remnants. Something like 80-90% of the quarry has already been excavated and hauled to museums.

In addition, 99.9% of what the park has to offer has nothing to do with dinosaurs. Indian pictographs, float trips, really nice camping, etc. etc. Well worth a thorough investigation of all it has to offer.

We just skimmed the surface, and here are a few highlights.

Fossil quarry 1:


Fossils, DNM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr

Fossil Quarry 2:


Fossils, DNM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr


[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 6/30/2013 11:26p).]

Indian pictographs


IMG_4701Pictographs, DNM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr


Pictographs, DNM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr


Pictographs, DNM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr


Pictographs, DNM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr

On the park is the homestead of a woman who lived there alone from about 1915 to 1965 when she was near 90. She went through 5 husbands then lived in a crude log cabin by herself her last 50 years. I guess five men was enough. These photos were near her place, the box canyon she used as a corral for her cattle.


Box Canyon DNM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr

Looking out of the box canyon toward her homestead (180 degrees from previous pic)


Box Canyon, DNM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr


wild irises, DNM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr

Other scenery, a currently operating homestead adjacent to the park


Homestead next to Dinosaur NM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr

Some ancient fossilized sand dunes


ancient sand dunes DNM by CHS Girls Soccer, on Flickr

Very cool. I've been there three times, but 2 times I was either late, or maintenance was going on and they had closed the quarry. You could still see other things like you pointed out. The quarry inside looks VERY different than it didn when I was a kid..you can tell they've made much progress over the years.

Incidentally, love this thread. I've been to almost every place on it, or very nearby, and love that part of the nation.

The building covering the quarry had structural failure and had to be shored up and partially rebuilt. It's finished now. My wife said that when she visited as a kid, paleontologists were still working on the bones as tourists watched. It appears to me that they no longer excavate the quarry.

Yeah, there are a ton of bones they can dig up outside the structure, so that's where they do their work now, I think.

Love the pics...reminds me of the Geography Dept. Field trips...

"I been thorough the desert on a bus with no name"



JB

RAB,MMFOC '93

Devil's work.