2021 Odyssey Resumed – Day 2 – Dinosaur National Monument

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Jim Reed
The blue lights underneath the camper allows us to get up well before sunrise without the hassle of flashlights.
Watching the moon ascend before the sunrise was great. Before the moon made it’s debut, the Milky Way was out in all it’s glory. This is one of the best spots in the US to view the night sky.
This sliver of a crescent moon stole the show from the stars.
The day began with a spectacular sunrise the lit up the monocline to the west of our campsite.
This monocline abruptly plunges to the south (left). Notice that the flatirons in the center of the image are sub-vertical while the caprock is horizontal. In other words, the fold axis approximates a right angle. Not sure if “hinge fold” is a recognized term, but that’s what I’m going to call it.
I just noticed that there are five screens in this photo. Car GPS, Garmin GPS, Camera to replace rearview mirror – otherwise blocked by camper, Samsung Galaxy for RockD (a great program), and iPhone for watching videos of grand-babies.
Long hogbacks to the south.
Cuestas make me think of huge battleships leaving port to engage in battle with the enemy.
Morrison Formation. This is the host to Jurassic thunder-lizards fossils and gastroliths (more about that later when we get them washed off and photographed).
Found this vertebra but it was too heavy to carry, so we left it behind.
Tried chipping this femur off the rock but it proved to be too much hassle.
We did manage to chisel this one of out the outcrop but it wouldn’t fit in the back of the 4Runner so we left it behind too.
This is the building that the NPS built over the dinosaur quarry (site of previous three photos). Had you fooled there for a minute, didn’t I?
Most of the complete skeletons from here have long-since been shipped off to many museums and universities but seeing the mixed bones in-situ was pretty amazing.
These zones are essentially log-jams of bloated, decaying dinosaur carcasses. I call it “dinosam” as-in flotsam and jetsam.
On the lower level of the quarry, the NPS lets you touch the fossils but you are required to wear a mask to avoid transmitting COVID to the dinosaurs.

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About Jim Reed

Geologist & Director of Research & Development, RockWare Incorporated, 2221 East Street, Suite 101, Golden, CO 80401 Email: jim@rockware.com
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