The long and winding road…… trip begins!

Well, on our way to California via Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon. The great Northwest!  Trip started easy enough, broke out of Colorado early in the morning, around 6:45am, and headed down I-70. Got about 5hrs of driving ahead of us as we head for the resort town of Jensen Utah, home of the National Dinosaur Monument. Being an amateur paleontologist myself, this was a must. So far I’ve found a piece of petrified wood and looked at the x-rays of my old hip bones, and that my friends qualifies me as a paleontologist.  Viewing full dinosaur skeletons and loads of bones in rock sounds like a great way to get out of 100F heat!

 

 

So we’re cruising down the road with not a great deal of exciting sites, just cars, trucks and bikes all going about their own road trip. Ah, freedom of the road! What a wonderful sense of independence and control over your own destiny. No one to tell you where to go and when to do something. Just us and the road, free! That is right up until we realize we missed our exit some 60 miles ago. Shit! Enjoyed a little too much freedom, now let’s find another road to the dinosaur monument.

No problem, le navigator just plugged in the destination and wham, new directions to the dinosaur monument and we should get there just about 30 minutes later than taking our original route. Hey, they’re 150 million year old bones for God’s sake. They’ll be there!

Our alternative route turned out to be a real neat drive through some rugged and mountainous terrain that was absolutely beautiful. We took highway 139 out of Grand Junction to Rangely. Crazy nice road if you’re not in a motorhome or semi!  Tons of curves and climbing elevation (I’m guessing around 10-11,000 ft) with outstanding views.  We would have missed this had we gone our other route. Nice to do a little free-style roaming once in a while!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the road that we started to collect info on road kill. I know, sounds kinda dumb but we wanted a little entertainment while driving. I can’t be catching a few winks or mixing drinks all the time! Anyway, we’re in the middle of no-where and suddenly, there’s a horse walking in the road. Looked like a chance to add something really unique to our road kill collection, so far all I got was a rabbit. On second thought, slowed down and went around the horse. Collette said it would do more damage to our car than was worth the entry so I passed.

Pulled into the metropolis of Jensen and found our way through the financial district and to the entrance to Dinosaur National Monument. Really out in the scrub but come on, not every dino site is like La Brea. We pulled up to the ranger kiosk where a nice lady told us it would be $20 to enter.  That’s a lot of money now that we’re retired so we got the safe out of the trunk, Collette put in her key, I put in my key and we broke open the plastic chip that contained the numeric code that would allow us to withdraw $20.00. We bought this little honey at a military surplus shop online and it works great!

$20 bucks lighter and a short drive to the museum center, can’t wait to see a T-Rex or Raptor! Good thing this is inside, the outside temp is around 100F. Retirees are self-combusting right in the parking lot!

Inside was a gift shop and dioramas of the pre-historic area but no bones. To see dem’ bones, we needed to ride the tram that is just about to leave. Hustled out and got on the non-air conditioned tram for the short 5 minute ride to the excavation center.  Now a quick walk up the ramp and inside to see the “Wall of Bones”.

It appears that the mountain that this center is cut into was at one time a riverbed where several species of dinosaurs just hung around died.  There are stegosaurus, brontosaurus, triceratops, camarasaurus, and allosaurus but no T-rex or Raptors. This was Allosaurus territory and they were the dominate meat-eaters during the Jurassic period in North America. The wall has all of them, some piled on top of others which was explained as happening when the river washed the dead dinos downstream. Others are alone and in almost complete condition, except missing the skin and other vital parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enough starring at bones, time to mosey (still moseying) on to Vernal, Utah and our first hotel on the journey, The Best Western Dinosaur Inn. In this part of the woods, everything has “dinosaur” in the name, even the food on the menus. BTW- had a great flatbread pizza at the restaurant next door to the hotel in Vernal, Antica Forma. They even have a camera over the prep counter where you can monitor their progress on your dinner on one of their several TV’s!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up at around 7am, showered and hit up the complimentary breakfast then back on the road. Next stop is Idaho Falls, ID. Have you heard how Idaho single-handedly put an end to Ebonics?  Tell you some other time.