A Brief Drive Through Colorado

Once again, the diversity of landscape in the Southwest is making my brain explode. After our stop in Dinosaur, we had spent an hour or two on the highway in Colorado, heading south and back to Utah. The sandy hills of dino country quickly turned into green mountains.

Real live cowgirls! Is that what they're called now? Cowwomen? Cowpeople? Has political correctness extended to ranch hands yet?!

I'm not sure what I expected Colorado to look like, but this took me by surprise.

Addendosaur

How did I forget to put this in my Dinosaur post?!

Dinosaur, Colorado!

The next stop on the prehistoric portion of our grand tour was the Dinosaur National Monument - just a short drive from the Colorado border (and the town of Dinosaur) and the site of many fossil discoveries.

There's some work being done in the park right now (the visitors' centre kept collapsing because it was built on soft clay, so they've finally shelled out to rebuild it), but there's still a few things to see.

Heading up the track

These rocks are covered with the impressions of prehistoric fish scales, as this area used to be partially under water.

Sauropod tail bone fragments

Stegosaurus humerus!

Paul communes with a sauropod's femur

Tiny fossilised clams

As well as dino stuff, there are also 1000 year old Native American petroglyphs

And possibly best of all, motherfucking prairie dogs!

Prairie dogs EVERYWHERE. These are but two of the many, many photos we took of these little dudes popping out of their burrows and dashing about the place.

Paying our respects to the dino guardian of the carpark

Next next stop on the dinotour? Colorado, and the humble town of Dinosaur.

Blue Mountain, near the Colorado border

Farewell Utah (for now), and hello Moffat County Colorado...

... and hello Dinosaur!

All of the streets in Dinosaur have dino names - I can't tell you how funny it is to hear the GPS say "turn left - Highway 64, Stegosaurus Highway". We may have made a few unnecessary turns just to enjoy the absurdity.

We met some of the locals...

... and visited a few more street corners.

Our final item of business in Dinosaur?

 Lunch, of course!

Delicious malts...

... and a grilled cheese.