It wasn't until I arrived at the visitor center near Jensen that I discovered the national monument had two separate areas that don't connect, one in Utah and one in Colorado. So, I visited the Utah section the first day and the Colorado one the next day.
Utah Area
This section emphasized the prehistoric fossils discovered in the area. I visited the Quarry Exhibit Hall with its wall of more than 1,500 fossilized bones. I also walked the Fossil Discovery Trail which took me to different sites where I viewed fossils still in their natural environment.
Quarry Exhibit Hall
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| Fossils in the Wall of Bones |
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| Fossils in the Wall of Bones |
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| Fossils in the Wall of Bones |
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| Fossils in the Wall of Bones |
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| Fossils in the Wall of Bones |
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| Fossils in the Wall of Bones |
Fossil Discovery Trail
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| Fossil Discovery Trail Makes Way along Ridge |
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| Fossil Discovery Trail Winds between Rocks and Hills |
Stump Formation
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| Stump Formation |
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| Possible Clam Fossils |
Imaginative Rock Formations
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| Face of Bearded Drunk Man with Red Bulbous Nose |
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| Hedgehog |
Morrison Formation
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| Morrison Formation |
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| Dinosaur Bone |
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| Another Dinosaur Bone |
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| Unsure of What It Is |
Interesting Shapes
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| Jagged Spine |
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| Bold Colors |
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| Natural Cave |
Mowry Shale
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| Mowry Shale |
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| Fish Scale Fossils |
Indigenous Rock Art
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| Rock Art |
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| More Rock Art |
Colorado Area
The Colorado section was all about geology and its impact. I drove up and back along the 31-mile road and stopped at the many overlooks which provided excellent views. And I walked two of the trails that took me to even better vantage points to see the canyons, rivers, and surrounding landscape.
Sunrise Overlook
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| Trees & Grasses Stretch to the Horizon |
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| White Formation Rises above Red Base |
Viva's Cake Hill Overlook
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| Cake Hill in the Valley below |
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| Grass-Covered Mesa |
Echo Park Overlook
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| Pinyon Trees on the Edge of the Overlook |
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| Canyon Winds Its Way Through Rock |
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| Nature Creates Different Levels |
Harpers Corner
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| Green River at Bottom of Canyon |
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| Green River Looking Westward |
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| Rock Layers Come Together to Form an Upside Down "V" |
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| The Combined Power of the River and Wind |
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| Interesting Shape & Color on the Side of a Tree |
Plug Hat Butte
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| Red, Green & White Come Together |
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| Plateaus, Mesas & Mountains |
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| Rock Strata No Longer Connected |
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| Finger of Rock in the Bottom of a Crevasse |
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| Tapered Point |
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