After an overnight in northwest Colorado’s national forest, we ventured into a tiny town called “Dinosaur”. With my curiosity piqued, I dug a bit deeper. It turns out this small town is close to the Dinosaur National Monument, just across the border in Utah.
Well, apparently the town needed some kind of claim to fame, so it changed its name from “Baxter Springs” to “Dinosaur” in 1966. As you can see above, some of the local ranchers have capitalized on the discovery of dinosaur bones nearby as well.
There is a small museum here where you can find more information. With a large femur bone from a T-Rex, this little stop was just a taste of what was to come (I guess you could say the monument “threw the town a bone”…I’ll see myself out.)
Dinosaur, Colorado really is tiny, but we did stop at the playground and notice that even the street names have been changes to dinosaur names.
The rangers had told us the main Utah location had a real-life dinosaur bone quarry, where bones still lie in-tact, directly in the mountainside…you can even go up and touch them! Well, indeed it did not disappoint…even the drive there was spectacular.
The visitor center was quite impressive. Here, Abbie was able to see Allosaurus bones firsthand – a dinosaur she had recently just learned about at home. You can look at this foot and clearly see how birds are directly related to these creatures.
One of the best parts was the free shuttle ride to the bone quarry. That was an experience in and of itself.
The countryside was beautiful, and we had a front row seat with the driver, who was pretty “colorful” herself. We had some good laughs on the way up.
I had no idea how amazing the quarry would be! The building is built right into the hillside, which has hundreds of fossils visible right in the rock face.
As you can see, there are expansive views of the high desert as you walk inside.
I loved that Abbie had the chance to get “hands on” with actual dinosaur bones. It really brings learning to life.
I swear, we could have stayed here all day. This is a full-grown and complete Allosaurus skeleton.
What an excellent last-minute addition to our trip north into the Grand Tetons. Highly recommended. The landscape itself even feels prehistoric – one could easily gaze out and imagine these great beasts battling and foraging for food.
The best part was that admission was free with my National Park pass.
Well, more to come. Until next time,
Cheers.
Nathan + fam
