We decided that we wanted to take a little trip for Fall Break, but weren't sure where...we wanted to avoid the crowds in Southern Utah, but find somewhere that the kids would like. I'm not sure why we thought of going to Vernal, but it turned out to be one of our best vacations ever. We didn't have any real idea of what there was to do, other than to see dinosaurs. I have only been to Vernal a few times, and the last time was when I was pregnant with Luke. So, we started doing some research, and got some great ideas from my friend Kristina (she grew up there and her family still lives there). We headed out Thursday morning and arrived with enough time to get settled into our hotel and let the kids swim. Friday morning we decided to start with the top of our list and headed out to Dinosaur National Monument. Honestly, I was a little embarrassed that I didn't know more the area. Of course we knew there would be dinosaur bones to see, but we had no idea the rest of the park would be so awesome.
Within a few minutes of driving, we saw our first set of petroglyphs. We had a map and brochure and it was so interesting to learn about the people that once lived in the area. We had a lot of great discussions about why they may have chosen to create the art that we found.
We spent time exploring the banks and valley of the Green River. The trees had turned a golden color and the effect was just stunning. We loved learning all of the ways that the river helps support life.
Turtle Rock....do you see it?
Another set of petroglyphs. This rock face had lot of lizards, large and small. According to our brochure, they aren't sure of the significance, but with the amount of work this art would have taken, they must have been really important to the culture.
We had several hours to explore - it was nice to be able to take our time and really enjoy all of the amazing details of the landscape. We had a picnic lunch, and then went to the main event - the dinosaur bone quarry. I had not realized that you needed to have tickets to go to this exhibit and I was so disappointed Thursday night when I realized that they were completely sold out. When we left Friday morning, I told Tim that I hoped we could find a nice ranger who would let us in. As we drove into the park, the woman at the fee gate chatted with us, then asked if already had quarry tickets or if we would like some. I literally started to cry a little, I was just so happy that we would be able to get the full experience. And wow, what an amazing experience. My dad said that I had been there before when I was little, but I didn't remember any of it. It's tough to describe how cool it is to see this large area where so many bones have been excavated. The kids loved it, Tim loved it, and I super loved it.
In addition to the quarry, they had a lot of awesome fossils and models.
Touching a real dinosaur bone was the highlight for Ruby and Luke.
We spent the rest of the day swimming and relaxing, and then headed out Saturday morning to the Utah Field House of Natural History (just a fancy name for a dinosaur museum). Luke and Ruby love museums, and this one was extra good. They had a movie that explained so many things about dinosaurs, and a lot of hands on activities.
As much fun as we had inside the museum, the kids absolutely loved walking through the "prehistoric garden". The animals weren't necessarily realistic looking, but that didn't seem to make it any less fun.
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