Spring Break: Dinosaur National Monument

[click to enlarge] Over spring break we had plenty going on since it was the last week of classes at BYU. Between lectures and finals there wasn't much time to fit in a vacation, but I got a notion that we should go out to the Dinosaur National Monument outside of Vernal. I thought we could do it in a day trip.

It had been closed for the last few years because they were building a new housing for the quarry dig. I figured that the boys would be more interested in dinosaur bones sooner rather than later. I stocked up on videos in the car and we blazed eastward across Utah through some very small towns. Once we arrived, we found that the tour up at the quarry didn't start for another hour, so after exhausting the visitors' center activities, we decided to hike up and meet them. It wasn't a difficult walk, and we all needed to move after our drive.

We ate lunch at the top and then the ranger let us in and explained how the site was discovered and how there came to be so many bones in one spot. Here Joss is making his best dinosaur roar while he hangs onto that bone. They let you touch some of them down at the bottom.

Sebi exults in the new building. 

Well done park service! We were all pretty impressed.

Once we'd finished at the quarry, we decided to go on a scenic drive through the park to see petroglyphs and other historical things. 

This cabin was owned by one woman for decades who lived here after her kids were grown and she worked the farm until she slipped and broke her hip. It was a really beautiful, isolated place but phew! The thought of working that whole farm myself and keeping up that house too! It made me want to take a nap.

Maddie at the front of the canyon where she used to keep the livestock. I have no memory of the trip back -- I can be certain there were more videos and more food -- but we did make it back home by bedtime. I thought it was a good trip, but the kids may have thought it was a long time in the car together!