We had a day in the car planned... We expected boredom
This part of our epic road trip year is taking us to Yellowstone for a short course in the The Geology of Ecology. Our goal was to drive straight to Green River, WY: We'd thought is would just be road miles and basically a car day. Were we ever wrong!
Surprise #1: National Historic Districts
We left Grand Junction, CO., driving on Rt. 139 -- continuing in the high desert terrain we became familiar with in our three years in the Snake River Plain in Idaho. We've seen a lot of sage brush and tumbleweed. However, before we knew it, we were again driving through some really pretty mountains that Wikipedia told us were called the Book Cliffs because they look like books on a shelf. We couldn't see the analogy, but they were green and spectacular! We topped Douglas Pass (8,205'), marked on the map below. named for Northern Ute Chief Douglas (who had aligned with Meeker before the Meeker Massacre-- interesting history, but we're guessing the Chief Douglas may have regretted his choice.) Another interesting semi-related fact: We live within (but not on) the Southern Ute Reservation is SW Colorado.
Over the pass and into the Pintado Canyon. Whoa! So fun!
Its the part of CO Rt. 139 between the Douglas Pass and Dinosaur, CO.
Never had heard of it, and this time we hadn't even found it on any maps. It is only 15-miles long but its part of the Dinosaur Diamond Scenic Byway and is a National Historic District. Maybe we shouldn't admit this, but we've never heard of these National Historic Districts, either. Turns out the National Park System has lots of 'units' that aren't named Parks. but are still pretty nifty. We have heard of byways, but we didn't know we would be driving on one:
This is part of the byway loop that extends in a diamond shape through Eastern Utah and Western Colorado -- this the part that we drove on this day, heading to Wyoming to get to Yellowstone. We would drive almost all of the rest of it on our way home through Utah several days later. We picked it up in Fruita, CO and drove to Dinosaur, CO, and then into the Dinosaur Quarry and to Venal, Utah, and then off it to head north on US 191.
The historical stories that left evidence in the Pintado Canyon is signed very well and has several short hiking trails to Rock art and Petrogylphs left by the Freemont Culture. The history is mostly describing older Native American Culture through the canyon, and this urban girl did some short spurts of desert hiking -- the rewards of rock art at the end were worth it! With thanks to son Matt who many years ago gifted me with some hiking poles. I haven't used them much for walking, but they are coming in handy now! Some Pictures -- all hard because the lighting is tough, the spots are tight, and the photographer is inexperienced.
He's not rock art :)
On to the Dinosaur National Monument. It is huge with two different visitor centers. The first one is in Dinosaur Colorado. It has no bones, but a nifty 3-D model of the site. Ranger "Bob" answered question, was nice as can be, and reminded me frequently not to touch his map. Did I look like i might? Probably.
The second part is a quarry in which bones are in situ. A shuttle is provided to the site and they have a recording remarking on the geology as the site changed from an inland sea to the desert we see today. Sometimes I wished I studied geology instead of anatomy because in the Western desert mountains, where the rocks are all hanging out (i.e. not covered with trees) I just wonder. Nonetheless this anatomist had a blast comparing dinosaur bones to human bones. And, when looking at their skulls, wondering how dinosaurs viewed the world when their eyes are quite definitely looking left and right instead of forward, and what sorts of neural circuits would integrate that information, and where in a skull with huge sinuses in it, did their little brains go? Bill's questions were more along evolutionary lines: What evolutionary environmental circumstances led to their huge size? And allowed them to survive in the swampy environment that then existed there? There were all sorts of rangers there, but we didn't ask the questions. We need to learn to do that!
Surprise #2: National Recreation Areas
By the time we left here the monument, we were tired and ready to head to Green River, Wyoming for some more parking lot camping -- with Internet access for yet another Zoom meeting. With all our stopping and hiking we still had about three hours of driving to go. This set of circumstances in the mid-late afternoon usually just yields a determined sigh and some bickering about nothing important. Bill drives looking straight ahead (good), and Cindy puts her head in a book. Better not to poke the bear, right? But this drive just didn't quit gifting us spectacular scenery. We left Vernal, UT on US 191 and found ourselves in the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The Green River flows through red(ish) mountains in Red Mountain Canyon. The flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River created a spectacular 32 mile lake. In the town of Dutch John (which we never saw) we made an impulsive right turn at a sign that said Red Mountain Lodge Restaurant! On the lake, in the woods. Looked idyllic. It wasn't, but it was fine. Really helpful wait staff, decent spaghetti, a little gift shop where I bough a game called Smores Wars for upcoming Gramp Camp, lots of humming birds and (guessing) red-headed chickadees on the feeders outside our window. A few ducks were picking up whatever the smaller birds tossed on the ground. One could easily spend a month in this area that again, we didn't even know existed...recommend it!
Ended this day at yet another planned Love's Travel Center parking lot. Very tired!
Retirement Lesson Learned: Allow surprises.
Voyaya!
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