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Come On and Enjoy; "Tommy Guns"
Free Readers Ensemble
Museum of Western Colorado
http://www.wcmuseum.org/

Museum of Western Colorado Dinosaur Digs
http://www.dinodigs.org/
toll-free 1-888-488-DINO
Fruita Colorado
Lots More to Do for the Whole Family
Rafting on the Colorado River, Rodeos, Winery Tours, Museums,
and the Home of
Mike the Headless Chicken.
More Reports Linked Below

Driving to Colorado

Dinosaur National Monument

Virtual Reality Dino Dig 1

Lin Ottinger and his Moab Rock Shop


































July 24, 2005


© Oak Park Journal photo

The entrance to the park from Utah (Vernal) is the one to use
if you want to reach the museum.  This is a very large park,
but most dinosaur lovers come in through Vernal.  There are
shuttles that take visitors up to the museum because of the
limited parking available when things get busy, and this is a
very popular tourist location.  It is here were they built a
building facing a section of the Morrison layer, a layer of
earth that holds the fossils of dinosaurs from the later
Jurassic time frame.

This is also a part of the world where the Morrison layer is
not only above the surface, but way above the ground.  The
Morrison layer has been forced up on an angle of about 45
degrees and the museum is built to face the wall exposing
hundreds of dinosaur bones-still being excavated.


The Dinosaur National Monument Museum has been constructed to
shelter and face the exposed area of the Morrison layer.
© Oak Park Journal photo


This is a view of the primary wall that is viewed from inside the building.
© Oak Park Journal photo

In the wall can be seen the tail bones of large sauropods, the
femurs of prey and predator, hips, feet, and skulls.  It is
believed that these bones came to be in this configuration from
a water flow-perhaps a river or flood.


A closer view of a portion of the wall, but note the tail bone section in the
upper right and the femur in the middle of the photo.
© Oak Park Journal photo

The femur up close and at the height to greet you when you
view the wall.
© Oak Park Journal photo


Here a Ranger climbs the wall to answer a question about a given bone,
note the scale of the wall and bones in relation to this average sized
woman.
© Oak Park Journal photo


There is more in building than just the wall, there are skeletons like this
Allosaurus, skulls, a laboratory and gift shop.
© Oak Park Journal photo

  This T-Rex is not hungry at the moment.
 © Oak Park Journal photo


Museum of Western Colorado
http://www.wcmuseum.org/

Museum of Western Colorado Dinosaur Digs
http://www.dinodigs.org/

toll-free 1-888-488-DINO




© Oak Park Journal
published by Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc.
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