Dinosaurs in Utah
The adventure begins! I find it amazing that i can drive six hours away from my home, and suddenly be somewhere I’ve never been before. I can’t express how thrilled I am to be exploring more of the world for the next three weeks.
Preparing for the Journey
My husband and I mostly drove today. We started the day by picking up a car from hertz in Lehi Utah then headed back home to throw in all our provisions for the trip. We found out that if you become a gold member with hertz, a second driver is free! Yes please! To become a gold member, you make an account on their website using your email; no fee is charged. I greatly appreciate free things and already, having two drivers has been a game changer.
And so, we began the trek by driving east through Provo Canyon on 189. We turned right on highway 40, that led us to Vernal Utah. On this route you will drive right by strawberry reservoir and starvation reservoir; both beautiful dessert bodies of water.
Dinosaur National Monument
The Dinosaur National Monument Quarry entrance is about 20 mins east of Vernal Utah. This is a huge monument (with another entrance by Dinosaur Colorado). Behind the Quarry Visitor Center, a shuttle arrives every 15 mins to take visitors to the Quary Exhibit Hall. No cars are allowed on this road.
The hall is enclosed and cooled. They have preserved a whole wall of dinosaur bones in the mountain side.
A couple “put together” dinosaurs can be found on the lower level. They are casts, but incredible to look at. You can even touch a few of the fossilized bones at this site!
You can ride the shuttle, walk along the road, or take a trail back to the visitor center.
Beyond the visitor center, there are some beautiful nature areas; two camp ground areas, split mountain, petroglyphs, green river sightings, turtle rock and more. It is definitely worth the ten mile drive down the road, and then you get to drive back and see everything from the other direction!
After Dinosaur Monument, we headed to eagle Colorado, which is a three hour drive. Two thirds of the drive were on highways that lead us by gorgeous green valleys and through many small Colorado towns; Dinosaur, Rangely, and White River City, to name a few. Each town has its own character and charm. We passed by the Kennedy Reservoir and I just had to stop and take a picture of the beauty.
The last third of the trip was on interstate 70. It lead us through Glenwood Canyon. I was blown away by that canyon and should have stopped to get a million pictures…but didn’t. Please don’t make the same mistake I did!
On one of the roads during this three hour drive, I realized I had reached a special point…the point where every remaining stop in our journey will be a place I’ve never been before!
We stayed at the Eagle River Lodge for the night. The owner checked us in. She is the sweetest lady with the biggest heart. When my husband couldn’t find a parking spot, she graciously gave up her own for us. Eagle Colorado has a great feel to it and is filled with amazing people. If only we could stick around a bit longer.
I didn’t even know there were dinosaurs in Utah haha. When you got on the shuttle and no cars were aloud I half expected live dinosaurs, Jurassic Park style XD