When it comes to camping, most persons have a tendency to clown around before the trip starts. For us, the clowning never stopped, even as we arrived at Huntington State Park and set up our camp for an "overnighter."
With that task accomplished, we made our way eastward to find some dinosaurs, and
did we ever, but only after being greeted by an old Fremont Indian.
Some 20 miles of dirt road led us by the northern end of the San Rafael Swell, a magnificent outcropping, and then we finally arrived at the quarry. The sign on the open gate said that removing rocks was not allowed, but being a rock hound, I had made a metal note of the vast amounts of agates that adorn the landscape just outside the gates. After we toured the quarry we stopped and enjoyed collecting a large variety of marble sized agates.
The quarry building itself doesn't look remarkable , but after 20 miles of dirt roads, we were glad to see it, and really, once inside we were impressed by the bathrooms, air conditioning, and impressive displays. The kids were happy to get out of the van and run around.
The tour inside the building is self guided; however one of the keepers was more than happy to explain and answer any questions we had.
After touring the display, we exited through the back door and found the site where some of the bones were actually excavated by professional paleontologists.
Like the Vernal quarry, this site is found in the Morrison formation, which spreads over the vast high desert of three states. In this location Dinosaurs became entrapped in mud as they drank and hunted near a flood pond. Unable to free themselves, they just slowly died.
Close to the diggings is a trail-head which we took. Happily we set forth, one foot after the other until Erin slipped. This event ended a rather scenic hike, and ironically, the one to get injured was the teenager, not the senior citizen. Ha ha.
Along the trail I noticed several types of desert wild flowers, but the one that interested me the most was this sego lilly. It was the only one I saw, and I felt lucky to have not stepped on it.
Back at the visitors center, we found this snake. It is a Great Basin Gopher Snake, and it is not poisonous to humans, but for rodents? They better look out.
The Morrison formation is loaded with big chunks of mud stone and sandstone. Matty shows his super strength by lifting one of them. I have such great grandchildren, right?
