July 22, 2011 Dinosaur National Monument, Utah

For us, finding Dinosaur National Monument was a little like finding an actual dinosaur fossil – easy if you are in the right location and paying attention; difficult if you read the map wrong or are distracted by the tour book.  Needless to say, we drove 1 hour in the wrong direction when leaving Price this morning.  Then, when we actually got here, we went to the wrong entrance to the park, adding another hour onto the trip.  But the drive was gorgeous.  I still maintain that Utah is one of the most scenic states in the lower 48.  From the red slickrock of Arches and Canyonlands to the towers of Bryce and Zion to the majesty of the Wasatch and Uinta mountains, it really can’t be beat.  We’ll see if I change my tune in Wyoming and Montana.

There are only 2 roads in Dinosaur for a minivan as loaded as ours, so we saw almost as much of the park as possible today.  It is amazing.  I had no idea that the Green River made such a gorge.  The actual dinosaur portion is only 80 acres or so out of 200K+.  That was a surprise.  We will visit there tomorrow and hike a little before heading up to Grand Tetons a day early. 

Green River Gorge

View from our campsite

The Green River Campground on site is lovely.  The river runs right by it and I can hear it gurgling as I type.  The weather is so nice that we have forgone the tent and are sleeping outside tonight.  Karl and Lindsay are currently exclaiming over the bats that are swooping by, for which I am very grateful.  There are quite a few bugs around.  Many of the other campers are rafting the river, which seems fun.  We hear the fly fishing is good too, so a return trip may be warranted. 

This campground is self-serve and very low key.  The kids spent an hour or so biking the 3 loops.  We had to go search for Karl at dinner time.  He returned full of bulletin board knowledge on the local endangered fish and an envelope.

Me:  Karl, put that envelope down and have dinner.

Karl:  They have a bunch of them up there at the check in station. The sign said Free Envelope.

Me:  No, Karl.  It said FEE Envelope.

Gerry:  Get $12 and go return it.  You’re sponsoring us tonight.

Karl:  WHAT?!

Karl won the First Roadrash Award when his Keen was tangled in his tire.  He’s OK, but sleeping on the ground isn’t going to help.  I’ve added large-size bandaids to the shopping list.

After a week of camping, pedicures were in order

Ack!  My screen is full of bugs!  Good night!!

[Insert Computer Bug Joke Here]