Dinosaur National Monument encompasses a large swath of land along the Colorado-Utah border at the confluence of the Yampa and Green Rivers. The land appears barren, but was once home to countless dinosaurs. The famous Dinosaur Quarry houses a “wall of bones” with over 1,500 dinosaur bones layered in rock. What is now Dinosaur Quarry was once a large sandbar at the edge of a river, where animal carcasses washed up for centuries. The sandbar eventually turned to stone, capturing the mesmerizing history of the dinosaur ages. The first bones were discovered by paleontologist, Earl Douglass, and has since become a national monument.
We stopped at Dinosaur National Monument on the way home from Steamboat Springs. We had this place on our list of must-sees for years, and were so excited to finally check it out. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in science or nature, especially anyone with children.
Immersing yourself in our planet’s history and really delving into what life would have been like when dinosaurs roamed the earth is truly humbling. There was so, so much that took place on our earth before us. So much that occurred before we selfishly intervened with our pollution and knack for extinction. I wonder what these miraculous beasts would think of us and our greedy ways? We don’t play into the circle of life or food chain well. We conquer everything and act invincible. We halt the ebb and flow of natural life without thinking of repercussions. We think we hold all of the power, but I think we all known deep down that Mother Earth will always prevail.