This is the real west

Heading east from Utah, we entered the little town of Dinosaur, Colorado, located right on the border.  Because of my rather unusual interest in older-type places, I fell in love with this quaint town.

On the north side of the road is this lovely creature.  I guess the question is:  Which came first, the town or the dinosaur?  

All of our eyes were trained on Dino as I took this picture, and to our delight, a bird exited from his mouth.  Notice the hole in front of his teeth.  A nest is located inside.  

  

Okay, no desert town is complete without it's old -car refuge.  Actually this is just a part of a very large auto collection, and if one were to look over the collection carefully, he could actually find some older models in pretty good condition.  For the hobbyist interested in restoration, I believe some of these autos could become someones pride and joy.

In some past time , an enterprising person decided to open a restaurant. Obviously the town didn't prosper enough to justify keeping the cafe open. 

As you can tell from the photo below, the tourist business must have dropped to rock bottom.  

On the east end of town is another motel - for sale.  If you think you would like to try to fix this place up, please give the owner a call. Yes, I guess you can call this a free advertisement.  

A couple of cottages adorn the property, but what I really love is the mesa in the background.  For a geologist, this country is a paradise.  

You may think this a funny-kind of post, but really it's just a prelude to my next few postings.  This is big country with fantastic  vistas.  This is the real west, where rivers meet, mountains rise, and winds blow, and it all starts here in the little town of Dinosaur.

I got some great pics, so check back in about a week.  Goodbye for now.