Dinosour National Monument - Utah 2013

9-27-13

It snowed again last night. I left the campground at 8:00 AM. When I came to the 8,250 feet pass I experienced a winter wonderland.

I had to be careful because I did not know whether there was black ice on the road. The highway had ten switchbacks and was very steep at some places. When I came down to lower elevations the scenery was a little different.

When I arrived at the Green River Campground, in Dinosaur National Monument, it started to rain again. I ate lunch and took a long nap. I thought the day was over. It was really dark and looked like it would rain forever. At 2:00 PM it cleared up and I drove to the Visitor Center. On the way I looked down on the campground. 

There is my motorhome and the German Motorhome of my German neighbors. Heinz and Ursula live in Stuttgart and travel the USA for six months or longer. 

The campground is next to the not so green Green River. The heavy rains made the river muddy.

The Dinosaur National Monument Visitor Center has a movie and a lot of displays pertaining to dinosaurs.

I went in only briefly. My interest for today was the Quarry Exhibit Hall. Here they excavated partially bones and one can see them on the side of a rocky hill. The bones are exposed and there are thousands of them. 

 

The bone I am standing next to is not the largest in the hall.

This skull is very delicate and survived many millions of years. 

The landscape around the Visitor Center and the Exhibit Hall is beautiful and different. 

At the 4:00 PM circle meeting we could not decide what we will be doing tomorrow. We have to wait until Hugs and Mugs and see what the weather is going to be tomorrow.

In the evening Heinz and Ursula came to my motorhome and we talked about our travels and what is going on in this world.

9-28-13

It was a cold, cloudless night. In the motorhome it was 39 degrees F. this morning. All day we had blue sky and about 65 degrees F. My two tormentors are smiling. They are faster walkers than I am. I have a hard time keeping up with them.

We went to the Quarry Exhibit Hall and went on a guided tour of the Fossil Discovery Trail. The park ranger was very knowledgeable, but there were too many people and noisy kids on the tour. I finally had enough and spoke up. I told the kids that only one person can talk at a time and they have to shut up. A big fat guy told me that this was the last time I told his kids to shut up. He should have controlled his children. His wife told him to keep quiet, but he had to throw his weight around.

After this experience we drove the Harpers Corner Road to the end. We stopped at many overlooks. Bob mentioned that he likes to share moments like this with somebody. He sent pictures of that magnificent landscape with his I phone to his son and brothers. I agree, it means so much more when we can share beautiful experiences with another person. 

Bob had his picture taken with the women. 

Later, a park ranger stopped his vehicle and ask us whether we had any questions. He answered our questions and took pictures of our group. 

We saw about ten deer. When they saw our cars they jumped over the fence, to the other side.

We had fantastic weather, saw beautiful landscape, and had a good time.

At the circle meeting we had cake and ice cream. We celebrated Mark’s birthday. The day could have not been any better.

9-29-13

Today was a “me” day. I did my own things today. I walked with the women though in the early morning. We walked along the Green River. 

Our motorhomes are in the distance. 

After Hugs and Mugs I drove to Vernal and did my computer work at McDonalds. Then I went to Walmart and did some shopping. The city of Vernal has a lot of flowers on the side of Main Street and hanging on lamp posts. It is a very pretty sight. 

On the way home I stopped again at the Dinosaur National Monument Visitor Center. I watched the movie about the park and took a look at the exhibits. 

Then I went to the Josie Morris Cabin. Josie started homesteading in this canyon when she was forty years old. Her children were grown and she wanted to do her own thing. Her nearest neighbor was ten miles away.

She raised cattle and had a vegetable garden and fruit orchards. A spring provided her with plenty of water. She did all the work herself.

 Not far from the cabin are petroglyphs. 

Some of the group went kayaking on the Green River. Other people went to the museum in Vernal and had lunch at a restaurant. It was warm today. The temperature was in the mid seventies. In the evening we had a campfire. Most members of the group cooked hot dogs on the open fire. I had bought a pound of ground beef and cooked it with onions and a gravy with Bisto. The meal was complete with potatoes and broccoli. It was a lot better and healthier than those salty hot dogs. Now I have leftovers for another day.  
        
9-30-13
We are leaving tomorrow. My neighbors, Ursula and Heinz will be leaving too.

If the government gets shut down everybody has to leave. I had back pains and did not go with the group to Fantasy Canyon. I also did not participate in the morning walk.

I went to the Utah Field House of Natural History. It is a museum specializing in fossils and Dinosaurs.

   

My next stop was the library. After I was done in the library I drove to the Split Mountain Picnic Area and checked out the river and the mountains. It is another beautiful spot in Utah.