Even though we were only here for an afternoon this was one of the coolest places that I have visited due to the vast amount of fossils that are still preserved here today. Located in northwest Colorado and northeast Utah, Dinosaur National Monument has exhibit hall where you can see as many as 1,500 dinosaur bones at once. These bones date back to 150 million years ago and come from various dinosaurs such as Allosaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus. The fossils in this area were first discovered in 1909 by Earl Douglass. For 13 years he excavated the area funded by the Carnegie Museum. Many of those bones that were excavated are still at that museum today, but there are still a great deal left in Dinosaur National Monument.

The quarry exhibit is located off the Jenson, Utah entrance. The building encases part of a rock wall that contains 1500 dinosaurs fossils still preserved in the wall. There are several different interpretive signs throughout the exhibit that explain what you are looking at and how the area was discovered. You can learn about types of dinosaurs that roamed this area 150 million years ago. While a majority of the fossils you are not allowed to touch they have a few on the first floor that you can see how they feel. Walking into the exhibit hall and staring at all of these fossils still perfectly preserved in front of you is such a crazy experience, especially for someone who is interested in archaeology, paleontology, etc. If you are near the area this exhibit alone is a great reason to visit.

There are also a few hikes that you can go on if you want to spend more time outside. We were only there for an afternoon so we just went to the exhibit and then the Fossil Discovery Trail. I thoroughly enjoyed this trail. The landscape was very unique and there were fossils and dinosaur bones along the trail that you could look at.

Fossil Discover Trail: 2.4 miles roundtrip

Swelter Shelter Petroglyphs: 400 feet. History did not stop here 150 million years ago. This short trail shows evidence of occupation by ancient Native Americans

The closest place to stay is Jensen, Utah. This is right near the entrance that leads to the Quarry Exhibit Hall. Dan and I stayed in Vernal, Utah which is slightly further west. Vernal is about 25 minutes from the entrance to the monument. There is a town called Dinosaur in Colorado that is south of the monument, but there is not really any places to stay in town. However, I still stopped to get a picture at the Dinosaur, Colorado sign as we passed through.