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Dinosaur National Monument

Jenni making the inaugural PB&J on the new table...

The countdown to winter and the constant chatter of ski season started giving us an early dose of cabin fever.  We decided that we had time for one more road trip.  Plus, it meant that we would get to break in the new storage/sleeping platform we built for the Wrangler.  After debating a number of different places we settled on Dinosaur National Monument.  It is remote, rugged, and seldom visited. 

The Quarry Exhibit Hall is a totally enclosed wall containing ~1,500 fossils.  This is a seriously impressive set up.  We are talking fully intact vertebrae in their correct places, and those spikes on top of a Stegosaurus!  There are even digital displays where you can select the name of the dinosaur and it will show you which bones are where on the wall.  The big species easily spotted include Allosaurus, Camarasaurus, and Stegosaurus,  

Yampa Bench Road

The rest of the monument was used to protect the Yampa and Green Rivers from dam expansion and can only be accessed by 4WD.  I think we passed one other Jeep over the 40+ miles we covered....just the way it should be. 

Castle Rock Overlook

Harding Hole Overlook

Wagon Wheel Overlook

See this map in the original post