Dinosaur National Monument Fossil Bone Quarry

Entrance to the Utah side of Dinosaur National Monument 

Dinosaur National Monument is a 200,000 acre park that straddles the Utah/Colorado border. Visitors to the park can raft the Green or Yampa Rivers, see petroglyphs, take a hike, camp or explore the Dinosaur Bone Quarry located on the Utah side. 

The Building that Houses the Bone Quarry

Dinosaur bones were discovered here in 1909 by Earl Douglass, a paleontologist representing the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA. This quarry is often described as a "wall of bones" as fossils from several species of Jurassic era dinosaurs are embedded in an steeply tilted rock layer that was once a river bed. 

Inside the Bone Quarry

The Wall of Bones in the newly renovated Quarry Exhibit Hall is impressive in size, but it is only a small portion of the whole excavation area originally worked by Earl Douglass who shipped more than 700,000 tons of material to the Carnegie Museum.

The "Wall of Bones" at Diniosaur National Monument

Visitors are invited to touch real fossils in the Dinosaur National Monument Fossil Bone Quarry

Diplodocus leg bone @Dinosaur National Monument

Camarasaurus skull and spine at Dinosaur National Monument Fossil Bone Quarry

The Quarry Exhibit Hall and tram stop overlooks the Green River

Getting ready to hike down the Fossil Discovery Trail from the Quarry Bldg to the Utah side Visitor Ctr

Fossils can be seen at various spots along the Fossil Discovery Trail

Dinosaur National Monument Visitor Center

Sometimes I have to cajole my children into participating in the National Park Junior Ranger Program. Each park has an educational brochure/questionnaire specific to each site. Given the educational focus of this park, no cajoling was needed. My son jumped at the opportunity and really liked the unique, star-shaped paleontology badge.

Related Links:

• Acadia National Park Junior Ranger Program (shannafern.com)
• Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historic Site (shannafern.com)
• Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry (shannafern.com)
• A Birthday in the Black HIlls (shannafern.com)
• Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point (shannafern.com)

Museum of Natural Curiosity

The Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point is probably the most elaborate, amazing kid's museum that I have ever seen. The fact that I didn't see many pictures or a map on the website set me up for quite a surprise during our afternoon visit.

The Rainforest is essentially a giant playground 3 stories high that is robust enough for adults to traverse. 

Above the Rainforest there is a Ropes Course built into the rafter area where I espied this kid going along all by himself which did cause me a certain amount of angst.

Then there is the Kidopolis which is a very elaborate kids town filled with rooms dedicated to different themes: a laundromat, a 2-story library, a magicians shop, and a community theater to name a few. Jonah changed the Kiosk on the theatre to read "LEGO Batman."

There is also a huge Water Works section and many nooks and crannies inside that I did not photograph.

Outside is a huge Discovery Garden complete with faux caves that imitate the nearby Timpanogos Cave National Monument, as well as a goldfish pond and several play areas not pictured.

These pictures do not do this place justice by any means. If you have kids and are in the Salt Lake City area, this place should be high on the priority list. 

With the ASTC Travel Passport Program, we saved $39 on admission. However, I would say this place is worth paying the fee if you plan on staying a few hours. This was our second stop for the day after the Museum of Ancient Life so we only stayed a couple of hours.

Related articles

• Summer Day at Utah's Olympic Park (shannafern.com)
• Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point (shannafern.com)

Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point

While tagging along on a a work retreat with daddy, we took advantage of the of the ASTC (Association of Science-Technology Centers) Travel Passport Program. We are a member of the Orlando Science Center which participates in the program and allows us to visit other participating museums at free or reduced rates. The list of participating museums and science centers is extensive. 

We took advantage of this program more than once during our week in the Salt Lake City area. Our first stop was the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point, which happened to be right next door to our hotel. 

Since we saved $39 by not having to pay admission, I decided to pay the $4/student fee for the 12 minute Jr. Paleo Lab where the kids were able to use the same type of drill that scientists use to prepare and clean fossils and on a real fossil. 

The Fossil Lab at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point

Tree Fern fossils among others

Supersaurus skeleton at the Museum of Ancient Life

This is a fossilized dorsal vertebrae of a Supersaurus

Jonah with an Allosaurus skeleton at the Museum of Ancient Life

The museum had a cast skeleton of an Allosaurus. We found a true fossil from this species on the grounds of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry only a few days earlier.

Utahsaurus at the Museum of Ancient Life

T-Rex display at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point

Smallest mounted mammoth skeleton at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point

This baby mammoth was under a year old when it died. It is the smallest mounted mammoth skeleton in existence according to the signage.

Related articles

• Clevendland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry (shannafern.com)
• Summer Day at Utah's Olympic Park (shannafern.com)
• Homeschool Day at the Florida Museum of Natural History (shannafern.com)

Summer Day at Utah's Olympic Park

We happened upon the Utah Olympic Park in Park City this week. I was blown away by the ski jumpers landing into a pool. These guys are amazing!

Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry

Visitor Center

On our recent tour of southern Utah, we ventured out to Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. Our son really wanted to visit Dinosaur National Monument in the northeast of the state but it was just too far away from our other stops.  So, when I saw "dinosaur quarry" marked on a road map and that it only required a short detour on our way to Salt Lake City, I thought it would make a decent substitute.

Allosaurus skeleton

It turns out that the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry has been a treasure trove of Jurassic aged dinosaur bones for scientists across the globe. Inside the visitor center are cast molds of dinosaur bones actually found at the site most of them carnivores with the majority being Allosaurus. The fossils found at this site have been sent to museums and universities around the world. 

Trail and terrain at Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry

Jonah and I hiked a portion of the trail on the property. The first stop on the trail pointed out a sauropod rib in the cliff which was pretty cool. But Jonah desired to find a dinosaur fossil himself, so I encouraged him to look in places where water would flow during a rain. 

Fossilized Sauropod rib along trail at Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry

Lo and behold he found a contender. I took a picture and we placed the rock back where we found it. When I showed the picture to the staff member he confirmed that it was a fossil and even said that we may be the first visitors to actually find a true fossilized bone and suggested that it was likely a small rib bone of a young Allosaurus! As far as I'm concerned our mission was accomplished.

Possible small rib of an Allosaurus found at Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry

Related articles

• A dinosaur skeleton just sold for nearly £1 million at an auction in France (businessinsider.com)
• A Birthday in the Black Hills (shannafern.com)
• Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Site (shannamama.blogspot.com)

Fashion Tips from a Desert Diva

Elisabeth, our Desert Diva and hiking fashion expert, has a few recommendations for your next desert hiking adventure. 
First, wear bright colors. Should you become lost, you will be easy to spot by search and rescue. If you can throw in some bright, zebra-striped socks to confuse the coyote, all the better. After all, we did hear several minutes of howling while hiking in Monument Valley. 
Second, our Desert Diva recommends a walking stick about shoulder height. A quick-dry bandana is a great way to finish off the ensemble as it has many uses including a hair cover or dust mask. When tied to the walking stick, it makes a perfect flag for attracting attention should assistance be required. It also makes a superb hobo bag in which to collect other people's lost items found along the trail. 
Our fashionista was able to incorporate most of her finds into her overall look - here she is sporting sunglasses found in Monument Valley. While in Arches National Park, she also picked up a turquoise encrusted, leather choker to complete her desert look.
So, if your parents compel you to traipse through hot and dusty desert landscapes, you too can do it in style.

Related Posts:

• Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry (shannafern.com)
• Summer Day at Utah's Olympic Park (shannafern.com)
• Death Valley: The Hottest Place on Earth (shannafern.com)
• Death Valley National Park in Pictures (shannafern.com)
• Rhyolite: A Gold Mining Ghost Town (shannafern.com
• This Fashion Designer/Artist is Growing Up (shannafern.com)