Dinosaur Trail Adventure - Part 2

OK, let's move along to the next part of our adventure.
In Vernal, Utah, we had our first real Dinosaur Trail stops.

First stop was the Utah Field House of Natural History Museum and State Park on that really warm, low 90s, afternoon in Vernal, Utah.

Stacy, Sandy and I had first stopped at this museum way back in 1991 on our motorcycle trip, and wow!, the area sure has changed in the decades since! Very built up in the whole town and so much so I honestly thought it wasn't the same place we'd stopped, but it was.

Above: a Stegosaurus, found in the general area, with a diorama painting on the wall behind showing several, as it is supposed they traveled in herds, as they might have looked when alive those millions of years before.

Below: a Carnotaurus, these and Allosaurus carnivores were the dominate hunters in this region. 

Above and below: there was an area where the kids can "dig" and find fossils 

Above: if you walk through the exhibits you will wind up on a second floor tier that comes out to this view of the entrance lobby with the Apatosaurus, or known as Brontosaurus when I was a kid. The glass door entrance is over by the information desk with the gift shop right behind the info desk at right. 

Above; Outside there are life sized models of the real dinosaurs, here at the Stegosaurus, Justine kinda poses and  below, take one of a family photo of Sandy and the kids. For whatever reason Justine kept wanting to have photos taken in this "Bart Simpson" pose. 

Above: Before leaving you must stop at the gift store! Of  course, Justine thought this larger than her stuffed dinosaur was just perfect for her! 

Below: Natalie and Justine decided these two stuffed dinosaurs would fit in the RV better for the rest of the trip. 

 

The next day, after a good evening and dinner, we had breakfast and drove out of town to the National Monument. We got there before it actually opened and were able to park by the Fossil Bone Quarry Exhibit Hall. Sandy had wanted to hike out to some of the other dig sites near the exhibit hall, and it was going to be another hot day in the area so earlier the better!

Above is the front of the visitor's center

The next 6 photos are at the Quarry Exhibit Hall

Above: from floor to almost roof line inside the exhibit hall, an entire wall of the building is as it was found with embedded bones and skeletons exposed

Above: were it alive, I think Natalie would be one bite!

Below: Before we were able to see the exhibit hall since it wasn't opened yet, we had taken a hike out to an actual working dig site. There are several hiking trails to various locations, which might be fun if it hadn't been so warm. Including a hike from the exhibit hall to the visitor's center. A hike of over a mile. 

Above: the dark rock looking material across the middle of the photo is a femur of, probably, a Stegosaurus, since it was said those were a common creature in the area.  

After leaving the exhibit hall we stayed in the monument and explored the sights like the petroglyphs at this location and a few more. 

And we drove out to a campground where we stopped for lunch that Stacy had packed for us. 

We got a good shady spot and had lunch

Yogurt doesn't make for very good finger food even for Natalie

After Dinosaurland it was back to the KOA and the pool to cool off!

Then the next morning while Sandy and I packed up, Stacy took the girls to play one more time at the playground before we left to head towards Thermopolis, Wyoming, with the next night to be at Lander, Wyoming. 

After back tracking through the Flaming Gorge area and through Rock Springs again, we traveled on towards Lander, Wyoming, and we stopped at a pull out for lunch North of Rock Springs. 

On a byway in Wyoming we came across this monument for this point where, in the Oregon Trail times, the routes diverged and became the "parting of the ways" area. 

The large marker below was put up at the 100th anniversary in 1956.

Justine and Natalie walking in the remnants of the wagon tracks from the Oregon Trail and below, the path out to the marker and trail ruts from the parking area

Sandy and the girls walking out on the old trail a bit, and you can see the ruts off into the distance. 

Below, at the pull out to get this vista view of those red rocks outside of Lander, Sandy stepped down to part of the road that wasn't there and fell all the way to her chin hitting the gravel.  Safe to say she was pretty sore for the rest of the trip!

 All set at the Lander RV park for the night. 

At the campground in Lander, while it didn't have a pool, it did have a water play area with multiple water jets and it all recycled into a central drain. A great idea! Justine was going to play in it no matter what! And it was a bit cool at this higher altitude but she played until she was shivering and Natalie played for a short time too. 

The next morning, and Justine wanted to try driving instead of being stuck in her child seat in the back seats. Maybe, but mainly just a little short

More to come!