Allosaurus Skull

Our sixth day on the road carried us off to the land of dinosaurs–Dinosaur, CO and the Dinosaur National Monument. For me, dinosaurs have always been something other-worldly, a fantasy that appeals mainly to young children. But in this land I could imagine these huge animals nibbling on trees, slurping river water, and wandering across the terrain. And the proof is here too. In a huge quarry hall, they have the products of their archeological digs in the nearby hills. A few examples are found in Dinosaurs.

Leaving the dinosaurs behind, we headed off into the wilderness of western Colorado, into Utah and Nevada. The terrain is spectacular, although there are many who would say its spectacularly boring. The land is dry, sometimes barren, and rugged. But there is beauty in the million shades of brown that are used to paint the myriad land formations. We’ve spent nearly three days going through varying landscapes, and they rarely replicate. Below are just a few examples of the diversity of the desert West.

And it was good to see that some of these wide open spaces are being used to harness wind power. We’ve passed several wind farms on our travels through these states.

On to California and Yosemite.