Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Trackway near Kanab, Utah

When we told some friends we were going to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, they said to be sure to check out the Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Trackway. When we got to the State Park, we asked the ranger and he gave us a very nice BLM brochure that had information about how to get to the trackway and also a map with GPS coordinates of the tracks.

You can drive on pavement until the last 2.2 miles. Then it becomes a 4WD sandy road. For a bit I considered taking our van and trying to bike to the site, but in the end decided to take our truck. That was a good choice. For adults, the road would be a challenge, but for little kids hiking or biking, the road would be a little too much with the deep sand. 

The ranger helpfully pointed out the place where people get stuck the most (with a $750 towing bill), and I did have to put the truck into 4 Low to get up that sandy hill. The other thing I noticed is that it's a one-lane road pretty much the whole way. For having such a nice brochure and website, it's not a place that can handle very much traffic. We only saw one other person the during the couple of hours we were there.

Before we got to the trackway, we visited a couple geocaches. The kids are so excited to find these, mainly because they love choosing a trinket. I love getting rid of old trinkets and seeing how long it's been since the last person has been to the geocache. Some are definitely more popular than others.

Then we were there, and it was a much shorter walk from the parking area to the tracks than I expected. Along the way we found some pools of water, and Desert Girl was delighted to be wearing her rain boots.

The tracks are here because this area was a watering hole, and the dinosaurs walked on the wet sand to get to the water, and then sand blew over the tracks. Over time the tracks fossilized, and now the rock above has eroded enough to let them be shown again.

It didn't take long to find our first track. This trackway has tracks from at least six different species of dinosaurs preserved.

Our favorites were the large Kayentapus tracks.

About six of the tracks were preserved in a line.

We also wandered around the beautiful rock for awhile, enjoying the solitude of the remote location and the beauty of the Navajo sandstone.

Eventually it was time to go. Through the puddles, of course.

When we got back home, I found that the BLM has a YouTube video about the track site. It covers a lot of information and gives a good feel for what the track site is like.

BYU's Museum of Paleontology

 We had to go to Provo recently to do some errands, and we thought that we'd try to find something fun for the kids to do. We decided to go visit the BYU Museum of Paleontology, which is open Monday through Friday from 9-5.

 Desert Boy was delighted as soon as we stepped in the door. We could see dinosaur skeletons everywhere!

 I was impressed with the Icthyosaur fossil, which is the state fossil for Nevada.

 I had never seen fossilized dinosaur eggs before, so that was really cool.

 The Dimetrodon looked really neat.

 The kids could identify this fossil as a pterodactyl, stars of the PBS show Dinosaur Train.

 The scutes on this dinosaur were impressive.

 I couldn't resist getting the kids to pose for a photo with the T-rex skull. Yummy!

 The Allosaurus, the state fossil of Utah, towered over the exhibit hall.

The museum isn't huge, but there was hardly anyone in it, so we got to take our time and enjoy it. We even went through the museum twice to make sure we hadn't missed anything. (Ha! We go through museums at a rapid speed, so I was able to read a few more signs on the second trip through. We'll still need a few more trips to see it all.)

 Although the trilobite display might not have been as dramatic, I was fascinated by all the localities where the trilobites, corals, and other smaller invertebrate fossils had been found. Some were virtually in our backyard (as long as you consider our backyard has about a 100-mile radius).

 The museum is free, but does accept donations--if you're willing to stick your hand into the skull!

This was a really great museum experience for all of us. I am looking forward to going back some day soon.

And if you're interested in paleontology, don't forget to put National Fossil Day, October 13, 2013 on your calendar!

Moab Trip Day 3 - Slickrock Biking, Dinosaur Bones, and Rock Hounding

 On our final day in Moab we got up early and left the hotel. We had things we wanted to do. First on our list was to do some mountain bike riding on slickrock. I really wanted Desert Boy to try that out, as he loves bike riding and is surprisingly good at it. I did some research on the Internet before our trip to find out where to go. Despite the abundance of slickrock in the area, it turns out there's not much that's open to bikes and is relatively flat and close to a parking area. As Desert Boy's bike is rather basic (no gears, no hand brakes), we needed something that wasn't technical. Fortunately on one forum I found some advice to go to the cutoff of the Bar M trail and take it over towards the Circle O trail. We found the huge parking area (with just one other vehicle in it), and took off on the cutoff road.

 The cutoff road had some hills that really frustrated Desert Boy, and he was not happy walking his bike up them. But he loved the downhills. Before long we had met up with the Circle O trail and were riding on real slickrock!

 The views were awesome.

 The trail was marked with a brown line, and we were challenged to stay on it in order to protect the pockets of cryptobiotic soil (soil with microorganisms holding it together).

 The slickrock was a little difficult in places for Desert Boy, but it was relatively flat. Off in the distance we could see Arches National Park. We'll have to return again to go visit--we decided to skip it this time instead of doing a quick drive by. On our next trip it will probably be a main focus.

 Eventually the trail started descending faster, and we decided that would be a good turn-around point. It was such a nice ride, and my husband and I decided we need to figure out a way to go on a half day ride (sans kids).

With the bike ride over, we loaded up and headed to another nearby attraction: dinosaur bones!

 We took a slightly dubious road to Mill Canyon in the van, hoping we wouldn't get stuck in the deep sand. Fortunately we made it to the trailhead and started on the marked trail.

 A quick stop for a family photo! Everyone is starting to get the idea that if they smile the first time, I won't torture them with extra photos, and we can get it done right away.

 This trail was different than others I've been on--it showed distinct dinosaur bones in situ, but no big replicas anywhere. It made it feel like we were scientists making these big discoveries.

 Of course the signs helped quite a bit!

 The trail was gradual and good for our kids. We weren't totally alone--a family that had been at the race the day before was also there, and the kids had fun running along the trail together.

 I really liked the views.

 More dinosaur bones. Seeing them in the rock gave me a greater appreciation of how hard it could be to excavate them. It also gave me a much better idea of how to look for fossils. I probably wouldn't have known I was looking at dinosaur fossils without some guidance.

 Across the draw were some remnants of an old mining operation.

 Then we drove around the corner to half-way house, a rest stop for early travelers to and from Moab. While the kids dug in the sand, I went for a short bike ride to check out another area.

 It had nice slickrock, but also a lot of deep sand and steeper ascents, so I was really glad we had chosen the other spot for Desert Boy's first slickrock experience. Apparently Dead Horse State Park also has some good bike trails for kids. We'll have to try them out on another trip.

 Then it was time to get in the van and drive for hours. But I couldn't help myself and found directions in a book to a rock hounding place right off the interstate. In fact, the directions were to go half-mile past a sign and then go through the gate. That's right, just go through the gate on the side of the Interstate. No on/off ramp, just slow down, pull over, and get off. The directions were good, we found the gate.

We drove near the bluff and started looking for jasper, in particular for jasper geodes with calcite and celestite crystals.

 We weren't exactly sure what we were looking for, to tell you the truth, so we just picked up any rocks that caught our eye. We will take them to some geologist friends and find out what we got!

 It didn't matter too much what we were finding, because we were having a good time and the scenery was fabulous.

 The terrain was fun and slightly challenging, but not overwhelming.

 We could see the Interstate nearby, and the San Rafael Swell extended in both directions. We saw quite a few roads and decided we would have to go back and do some more exploring in this area.

 Then it was time to get back on the Interstate--go through the gate, check for traffic, and merge!

 We had another stop when my husband found a cattle exclosure. He loves to check them out and see the differences between grazed and ungrazed land.

 Desert Girl was a little cheeky.

 Can you see her attitude? Oh my, she gives us so many laughs!

She loves to explore and learn.

The rest of the trip was mostly driving, although the kids enjoyed half an hour at the playground while I went grocery shopping. They ran the whole time. 

We had an awesome three days. Now we're back to our regular routine, but just looking at these photos brings back good memories.

St. George Dinosaur Disovery

 In honor of National Fossil Day on Wednesday, here's a post about some cool fossils we saw recently. We were headed to St. George, Utah to watch some friends run in the St. George marathon, and I figured that since we were going to make the trip, it would be a great opportunity to see some of the sights. With Desert Boy's love of paleontology, it was only natural that we head to the Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm. 

This is a relatively new site, discovered in 2000 when Dr. Sheldon Johnson was leveling a hill on his property. He found the dinosaur tracks, and it was quickly seen that this was an exceptionally good place for tracks. He worked to preserve the tracks instead of developing the land. I couldn't help but wonder what dinosaur tracks lay under the nearby parking lot, roads, church, and houses.

 And the tracks sure are spectacular! These are not difficult to see at all. I liked to think of the dinosaurs wandering across the landscape, unknowingly leaving prints that would be preserved for millions of years.

 At least three different species of dinosaurs left tracks at the site.

 We also saw fossilized mud cracks, which are cool looking.

 The site also has some other really interesting tracks, such as these swim tracks. Apparently it's rare to find tracks that dinosaurs made as they were entering the water and starting to swim. I also really liked the impression of dinosaur skin. It doesn't seem like it could be so old!

 The kids really liked the touchable fossils.

 I thought this fossil was really pretty--and big! We were on little kid speed through the museum, which meant I couldn't read very much.

Much of the museum protects the biggest trackway, with a dinosaur replica to give a sense of scale. Although the museum isn't very large, it sure is interesting.

 The kids especially liked the hands-on activities in the activity room.

Another favorite was the sandbox.

It looks like the museum is working on making a short trail out back, which would be a nice addition.

Hope you have a great National Fossil Day!