Day 36: Dinosaur National Monument and Hot Sulphur Springs (Utah, Colorado)

Dinosaur National Monument way exceeded all of our expectations. The park is really two-in-one – the dinosaur quarry (which is what the monument started out with), and the canyons and river (which were incorporated into the monument some years later).

We started out by driving down the road to the famous Dinosaur Quarry. You can drive in your own vehicle between 8 AM and 9:30 AM, after that they herd you onto a shuttle bus from the visitor center. The quarry building is a famous and protected landmark, and was built into the side of a rock face where many dinosaur bones remain un-excavated.

Inside the two-level building:

The dinosaur remains were pretty cool:

Yes, they let you touch them

We got back in the truck and drove across the Colorado border to the “Canyon” part of the monument. On the way we passed through a small beat up town called “Dinosaur.” We had breakfast at the only restaurant in town. 

As we were about to enter, an old guy sitting out front asked us “looking for breakfast?” We replied that we were, and he stood up and said “Alright, let me cook something up for you.” We entered and realized the restaurant was more or less his living room with some tables and chairs added. He made a good breakfast and while we ate a bunch of locals came and went, all seeming to know him well. We also thought about the fact that a town with such a unique name and location has a lot of potential. Maybe we should move out here and open a big dinosaur-themed restaurant and gift store?

After breakfast, we entered the canyon. The drive started out with some nice sights:

Cattle are everywhere

Sharon decided to whip out the
jumping rope to burn off breakfast.

The canyon drive is a dead-end road and takes you about 30 miles North to the start of a 2 mile trail to an overlook point at the edge of the canyon. We got out of the truck and embarked on the trail, seeing some interesting sights:

Creepy tree

  

Then we neared the viewpoint - try to imagine a relatively narrow ridge jutting out into the canyon – this was our trail. The view was incredible and among the most spectacular things we’ve seen on this trip. To our left:

 

And to our right:

Looks kind of like the U.S. Capitol building, doesn’t it?

And at the tip:

It was really incredible. We couldn’t help thinking about how many spectacular sights are relatively obscure. Many people think the American West is the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone and then you’ve pretty much seen most of it. Couldn’t be further from the truth.

Anyway, after getting back to the truck, we left Dinosaur National Monument headed East.

Our route took us through some wide open spaces…

 

…and some smaller canyons…

…until we finally ended up in the town of Hot Sulphur Springs. Here we visited a resort that offers 20 different pools fed by hot springs of different temperatures. We were going to try all 20 but left after soaking in 8. Here are a couple:

Opposite a railroad track from the hot springs was a free campground that we took advantage of for the night. An unexpected thrill (or pain in the neck if you ask Sharon) was the nearly half-hourly passing of a freight train about 50 yards from our heads, blasting its horn as it passed by.

Tomorrow, the final big stop of our trip – Rocky Mountain National Park.

Random Fact of the Day: This part of the U.S. is full of dinosaur remains of every kind. The unique landscape all around here reminded me of “The Flintstones.”