Ancient ones

Sparing you photos of roads today:-) ( although there were some spectacular ones). This morning we went from Vernal, Utah ( extra... many dinosaurs here )to nearby Dinosaur National Monument... one of the earth’s richest known dinosaur fossil beds, from the juassic period, 150 million years ago. During a drought, many dinosaurs died near a rivers edge...when the rains returned, floodwaters carried the jumbled bones of over 500 dinosaurs here. And over years the pile of sediments were solidified into solid rock fossils and later this land was tilted and uplifted and discovered in 1909 by Earl Douglas. Pres.Woodrow Wilson proclaimed it a national monument in 1915 and it was greatly expanded in Utah and Colorado in 1938 to 200,000 acres encompassing the river canyons of the Green and Yampa rivers. There are 1500 fossil bones! in this mound, now enclosed in a building. Many have been sent elsewhere . And much to see in this park....crossing fingers that the orange hair idiot doesn’t take some of it away too. One can sign petitions against this particular activity of his.... but does it help? This country has the best system of protected parks and monuments...or we did....

The petroglyphs are another treasure in this monument... 1000 years old, from the Fremont people who are related to the “ancient puebloens“ like those at Mesa Verde. Petroglyphs are carved or incized into the rock and pictographs are painted. Here there are both. You can see the dark red lines, painted with minerals.... Other places depicted their animals and crops, providing historians with much information.

We left the park to drive the highway north and were delighted with many signs along the way describing what we were looking at . “Ancient sand dunes by the sea”. “where giant marine reptiles swam”. “Stegosaurus walked here”...Etc. a very old evolving landscape with so many layers...

Now in Logan, Utah, appreciating a bit lower altitude, trying to decide where to go tomorrow. Some day I’ll get back to catching up with your blips....promise!

Added an extra that shows about half of the wall of dinosaur fossils.. definitely worth a stop!

Edit: One year ago today ! More ancients on another continent! And blippers https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2358705580769542655