Prologue
Since I began working at the age of sixteen, I have never taken a vacation from work (aside from the random one or two days off for random reasons). So at the age of thirty, having been at my current job for two years, I decided it was time to finally take one. I was starting to feel like my kids were not getting enough attention from me, and I was always stressed. Vacation seemed like the perfect solution.
My first choice was to take a week to go visit the Redwood National Forest (I has just finished re-watching the new Planet of the Apes movies, and I remember how much I enjoyed visiting that park). My wife wasn't so fond of that idea, and felt our kids would get bored before the week was over. So I then decided we would go to Glacier National Park. But that one made me think the same thing - Would a seven, five, and two year old stay engaged for an entire week there. Then I saw on the National Park Service a place that I knew the kids would enjoy - Dinosaur National Monument.
It is considered to be a Colorado location, but is actually in both Utah and Colorado. I didn't want to go to the Utah side, since we are always visiting Utah, and I wanted the kids to go someplace new. But on further research I found that anything to do with Dinosaurs was on the Utah side. So considering that Utah is such a treasure trove of fossil material, I decided to take them to the Utah side.
Itinerary
I set the vacation up as follows:
Monday: Wake up at 6am, travel seven hours to Dinosaur National Monument, set up camp at the Green River campsite (Southeast of the visitor center), eat dinner, and relax the rest of the day.
Tuesday: Go on the Fossil Discovery Trail hike that begins at the visitor center, eat lunch, and spend time at the Quarry Exhibit Hall. While there, attend the Junior Ranger program, and visit the Swelter Shelter Petroglyphs on the way back to camp.
Wednesday: Go to Josie's Cabin for their guided tour, eat lunch at a picnic area their, hike Hog Canyon Trail (a 1.5 mile easy hike), and head back to camp for dinner.
Thursday: Eat breakfast, travel to the hotel in Vernal, Utah, and relax the rest of the day.
Friday: Visit the Utah Field House of Natural History Museum, then travel to the hotel in Draper Utah.
Saturday: Visit the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point in Utah, watch the "Walking with Dinosaurs" movie while there, and then travel home.
Everything on the itinerary was tailored to Dinosaurs except Josie's Cabin. The reason we decided to include that was because it happened to be the Monument's centennial and on that specific day they were doing a guided tour, and we wanted to be part of at least one of their centennial events.
Revealing the Surprise
I wanted to tell the kids right away, but decided it would be better if I saved it until right when we left. But I realized that they may want to take some dinosaur toys with them, so I settled on telling them the night before.
The look on their faces, and their reactions made me feel like I had become an instant super-dad. I thought to my self "why hadn't I done this sooner?". Jack was the most excited, jumping up and down and screaming while hugging me. "This is going to be so good" I thought to myself.
DAY 1
The day of the trip came. I planned on leaving at 6am because I new we usually leave an hour or two after we plan to, and with all the pit stops associated with traveling with kids, as well as a one hour stop for lunch on the way, we would probably make it there around 4-5pm - just in time for dinner.
We had packed everything but the food the night before, and surprisingly we made it out of the driveway at exactly 6am. Things went smoothly, and the kids downed Gogurts for their breakfast. The whole drive was devoid of any issues. Besides stopping for gas and lunch we didn't have a single request for a potty stop, or pull over to take care of kids. It was awesome.
At around Heber we stopped at a McDonalds (with play place included) to let the kids eat and get some built up energy out. We wanted this trip to be about them, so most of the choices and time tables were made by them. They picked where lunch would be, and we stayed there until they wanted to go. It was good we did, too. With how well the trip was going, we were going to make it to the campsite much earlier than we were expecting, and with nothing to do.
They eventually decided to be done and we headed on our way.
Arriving at Camp
We made it to camp at about 3pm, much earlier than we were expecting. It took a little while to get settled though. Green River campground and other camp sites had both reservable spots and "first come, first serve" spots. All but two spots were reserved when we went to secure a spot. One of the spots looked alright, so we reserved it for the entirety of our stay. When we got there we noticed that they had represented it incorrectly online, because it was a handicap spot. Needless to say we weren't too excited to camp at at spot with a bright blue handicap pole with everyone wondering why we were there. The spot also lacked any shade whatsoever.
We drove over to the camp host, Bob, and told him our issue. He was a nice laid back individual and told us that we were more than welcome to look around at the other sites and pick one we found more desirable. We needed up finding a couple of "first come, first serve" spots that were really nice, and set up camp in one of them. The campsite normally has a transfer fee, but we did not have to pay this.
That evening
We found one funny thing about the campground right away - it was plagued with cute little chipmunks. There were as many as four at one time that would run around our campsite, but we had one that visited our camp more frequently who was named "Chippy" by the kids. If you left any food out the chipmunks made quick work carrying it away. They also had a knack of hoping into your vehicle and trying to carry things away. To combat this we made sure to always close our van doors and to put food away when we were done eating. Some might think this a nuisance, but they were so small and cute that we found it more entertaining than not.
We used our Biolite Basecamp cook up the meat for tacos. The kids loved it, singing "It's Raining Tacos" the whole time they ate. We realized during this meal, and all the subsequent ones, that we had packed too much food. Looking back, though, it was much better to have too much then too little; and it was nice to be able to share food with campsite neighbors.
We got to know our campsite neighbor, a lady from California and her two kids (a young girl, and her son Beck). Our kids played with theirs, which gave us a chance to breath a little and talk to another adult.
That night a micro storm came in, gusting winds to the point of flattening our tent and sending us for the van to seek shelter. Lighting and thunder came, along with a little rain, and we were sure we'd be spending our first night there in the van. We spent that time watching Jurassic Park on my phone (one of the few times I used my phone for anything other than pictures taking). Within an hour, though, the storm was gone, and we were able to see a bright sunset before settling into our tent for the night.
DAY 2
We all woke up rather early (we ended up going to bed around 10pm or so every night and waking up around 6:30am every morning), and began making a breakfast of egg burritos. The chipmunks did a good job cleaning up after our messy eaters.
We had a legitimate worry come to mind when reserving our campsite for three nights - what were we supposed to do with our camping gear while we were away seeing the sites. We first decided that we would just pack everything up each day, and unpack it each night. This was not a fun option. We had just bought a really nice and expensive tent (which would be perfect for a long camp trip) that was very time consuming to set up and take down. We finally decided to use our old, cheap tent and set it up each night.
When we got there, though, we got a vibe for the area and felt ok with leaving the tent and sleep gear, along with the chairs, out each day. Looking back, we wish we would have taken our nicer tent, as it would have provided a much nicer camp experience, and we had little reason to suspect anyone tampering with it while we were away.
The Visitor Center
We packed up the food and stove, and headed to the Utah Visitor Center for the park. The visitor center was a lot smaller than I had imagined, and half of it was nothing more than a gift shop. That being said, it was a pretty cool gift shop; and the informational displays on the other half was pretty cool, including fossils kids can touch. In the back of the visitor center there is a neat display of how fossils were transported, along with a silent film depicting actual fossil relocations from the area.
The visitor center consists of three different things: the center itself, the Fossil Discovery Trail, and the Quarry Exhibit Hall. I had originally planned on visiting the visitor center, Quarry Exhibit Hall, and then doing the hike. But my wife suggested doing it backwards, and I thought that might be better, so we began with the hike. To get to the trail from the visitor center you either need to go through it, or walk around it. We decided to walk around it since we wanted to save the visitor center for last.
Fossil Discovery Trail
Right off the bat we felt like we were going the wrong direction since everyone else was going the opposite way. We soon learned the reason why, because the way we went was all uphill in the hot sun. We were very glad to have bought the Aquabot Mister. Not only did it shoot jet streams to wash dishes, chase chipmunks away, and provide a way to wash up, but the mist feature on it saved us from the hot rays of sun during the hike and all the other hot times during the trip. I wish I would have bought a couple more of them. There were three main formations that were marked out to look at. The first one (Mowry Shale) was a bust. We couldn't find a single thing. It took a little while to get to this first one, and my kids were quickly going impatient with the lack of results. The next one (Morrison Formation) had a guaranteed fossil sighting with eight vertebrae exposed on the rock face about 10 feet up. It was really hard to see, but the kids eventually saw it, which brightened there spirits. I was pretty proud when I spotted a small fossil jutting out of the rock about knee high from the ground.
The last one (Stump Formation) was also a bust, though. There was a big rock slab with numerous bumps, but we figured it was pebbles that had got caught in the shale when it hardened.
Quarry Exhibit Hall
By the time we reached the Quarry Exhibit Hall, we were all pretty dead from the heat. The architecture of this place was rather amazing, and the building was pretty big. Next to the building was a nice shaded seating area and bathrooms.
We entered through the bottom level and were greeted buy a full size cast of an Allosaurus skeleton and a gigantic wall of fossils still imbedded in the rock. Needless to say everyone was amazed. Apparently Earl Douglas, who discovered the site, wanted a place where fossils were housed in their original location for people to enjoy, instead of propped up in some museum.
My wife and I were really wanting to look at everything, but the kids were all over the place, so we spent our time chasing after them and taking the occasional picture when time permitted. Although the least kid friendly of the trip, there really wasn't much to worry about should your child get loose. The worst they could do would be to crawl under the railing surrounding the Allosaurus skeleton and touch it. Everything else is pretty child proof.
Not only do you get to see all the fossils in their original resting places, but there are even some you can touch and feel. There is an upper level that allows you a more bird's eye view of it all, along with some placards to give a little background. They even have some interacting touchscreen panels that let you zoom on on a photo of the fossil wall and click on certain ones to get more information on them. Everything feel updated and clean. There are about two or three rangers there to help answer questions and make sure no one is causing problems.
Back to the Visitor Center
We then took the trolly down to the visitor center (it goes up and down every 15 minutes, beginning at 9:30am), and looked around the gift shop and displays. We weren't planning on buying any souvenirs, but our kids really wanted these necklaces that had a replica of an Allosaurus claw on it. I was a sucker for their please since I had always wanted the Raptor claw from Jurassic park. So we bought them each necklace, and I also bought a picture depicting the centennial of the park for us to frame and hang at home.
Lunch, Resting, and Round two
We got back to camp, ate lunch, and rested. The kids ate Lunchables for their lunch (since I thought we would be eating on the trail), and my wife and I ate meat sandwiches. Looking back I would have saved the Lunchables for Josie's Cabin, and had them eat sandwiches on this day. It was surprising how much the heat took out of us. We also decided to move campsites again, since the one right next to us had a little more shade. Once we rested up, we went back to the Quarry Exhibit Hall to look around some more. It was a good thing we did. I had forgotten that there was a Junior Ranger program at 2:30pm for the kids. Before we left on this trip I made a detailed itinerary on my laptop of what we could do each day. But when we left, not wanting to be stuck on electronics the whole time, I left my laptop at home and put my iPhone on airplane mode. Had I been looking at the itinerary I would have seen that we could have done a guided hike at the Fossil Discovery Trail at the very time we were there (10am), and that the Junior Ranger program at 2:30pm.
The program wasn't too bad. It was free for the kids to do. They give the kids a booklet with activities in it, go over a couple of them at the presentation, then encourage you to do more, or come back the next day to get more done with a ranger at the next program. If you do as many activities as you are old, you can turn it in at the visitor center and get a Dinosaur Nation Monument Junior Ranger badge. We found out that this kind of thing is done at every national park, and there were kids there with several badges from different parks. All three of my kids were able to get their activities done shortly after the program, so we took the trolley down and got them their badges.
On the way back to camp we stopped off at the Swelter Shelter Petroglyphs made by the Fremont people. There wasn't much to see, but it was right off the road, and pretty cool.
That Evening
Once back at camp we pulled out our stove again and began roasting hot dogs and s'mores. The lady and her two kids had left, and a new family had set up camp for the next two nights. It was a couple by the name of Jason and Jennifer -also from California- and their two kids (a young girl about Jack's age named Nora, and a boy William's age named Timmy). We invited them over for dinner at chatted while the kids played, then we separated for a little bit and piled into the van to continue where we left off on Jurassic Park while another micro storm flattened our tent once again.
Once the storm was gone we pulled out some new toys we bought specifically for the trip, called Whistling Light Copters. They were definitely worth the money, and my wife and I had as much or more fun than the kids. I only wish I had bought more, because all the kids from neighboring campsites came over and asked to try them. So I spent my time shooting mine in the air and having kids line up and run to retrieve retrieve it each time. It was like having reusable fireworks that didn't bother anyone, or catch anything on fire.
After all the fun, we said good night to the neighbors and went to sleep. That was one thing I really liked about camping there. everyone was so friendly and trusting. It made it so much more enjoyable.
DAY 3
Josie's Cabin
That morning we had a good breakfast of eggs, yogurts, and bagels & cream cheese, then headed out to Josie's Cabin. Along the way we stopped at the Cub Creek Petroglyphs. We wish we had gotten their sooner, because there was more to see than at Swelter Shelter, and we had to leave early to make it to the event on time, so we missed out on that one.
On the way to Josie's Cabin, I asked my wife why anyone would want to live out in the middle of nowhere in a desert. I soon got my answer as to why. Pulling up at Josie's Cabin we were transported from a desert wasteland to a nice shady homestead that looked like it could have been in the middle of a forest in the mountains. The parking lot was a little small, but nice, and there were bathrooms there (not bad, but compared to the others, probably the worst on the trip). I am not sure how this place is on any normal day, but on this day (for the centennial celebration) there were a lot of activities.
We really liked that it was set up so you could visit booths at your leisure, instead of an overcrowded guided tour that would be miserable for kids. There were several tables with people dressed in era-styled clothing and different displays. One talked about about what her daily life would have been liked, one was about the animals of the area, another was about toys kids in those days played with (like tops and cat's cradle), and another was set up with pictures of Josie at her cabin and an older lady reading books to children. It was neat to learn that the lady reading the book had actually met Josie when she was younger. She had stopped at her cabin and ate brownies on the front step.
We visited each of the stands and let the kids play with the old-time toys. Then we got to go through and look around her cabin. It was a modest two room home with a main living area and side room. The main living area had a fireplace. The sad thing about it was that it was pretty disheveled and a shell of it's former self. Apparently Josie had kept it up real nice and there even used to be wallpaper on the walls. My wife and I were sad to see that it has become so beat up, even while in the care of the National Park Service.
The kids each got a paper for a scavenger hunt, after which they all got Dinosaur National Monument magnets.
Behind her homestead is a box canyon (her cabin rests at the foot of the mountain range). We took a hike up the canyon, and were astounded at its beauty. It was so peaceful and tranquil. The hike was real easy, and there were plenty of trees and little critters. The towering rock on either side made us feel so small. We didn't want to leave it.
Coming back from the canyon we sat down at one of the picnic benches at the homestead and and ate our sandwiches, chips, string cheese, and pudding cups. I have to admit that, even though it wasn't a dinosaur attraction, it was very worth it to visit, and I didn't want to leave it.
More Petroglyphs
On the way back we began looking for Hog Canyon, only to realize that it was back at the cabin. Since we hiked the box canyon, we decided we would forgo driving back to hike Hog Canyon. But it would have been nice to go to it. Instead of doing that, we went to the petroglyphs at stop 14 near Cub Creek. The hike wasn't long, but it was very steep and aggressive. It wore us out, and we had to keep a hold on our kids, since one wrong move would send them down the cliff. The view wasn't disappointing. Even though it was hard to keep your balance looking up the wall while kids tugged on your arm, the giant lizard pictures were amazing.
More Resting
We got back to camp and pulled out the toddler mattress from the tent and laid our two year old, Steven (who fell asleep on the way back), on it. My wife also took a nap, and my other two boys (William and Jack) and I relaxed. The rangers had given them each a black piece of paper that, when scratched, revealed colors. They drew their one pictographs on these while we relaxed.
Junior Ranger Con't
After resting, we went back up to the Quarry Exhibit Hall to look around some more and attend another Junior Ranger Program. By this time the kids were more used to being there, so I felt like I could actually look around and see the exhibits. This Junior Ranger program was a lot more exciting. There was a big sheet laid out with pictures of the different formations, and fossils were laid down along with magnifying glasses for kids to hold and examine. The ranger was more than willing to answer questions, and the fossil pieces laid out were pretty sweet.
Reoccurring Storm and hike
It happened earlier this time, but just like the other nights, the micro storm hit, flattening our tent and sending us to the van. After the storm there was still enough time to go for a hike. There was a hiking trail called River Trail right at our camp that went from Green River campground to the Split Mountain Campground.
The hike was moderate in difficulty, and really long. The thing that made this one not so enjoyable was the fact that we were hiking later in the day and were tired, there wasn't anything specific to look at on this hike, and there was no specific destination. I did like seeing the the Green River (which wasn't very visible from our campsite), and there were deer, birds, and bunnies. But we ended up cutting the hike short and going back. It is said to be 3 miles round trip, but it felt like it was longer than that.
Back at camp the kids played with the neighbor kids and we sat and chatted with Jason and Jennifer until it was time for bed.
DAY 4
We woke up early again and had a special breakfast of dinosaur oatmeal, complete with dino eggs that hatched into dinosaurs when hot water was added.
We decided to try out the guided hike on the Fossil Discovery Trail that happens every day at 10am. We got there early and were able to look around the Quarry Exhibit Hall a little before the hike began. Although the ranger leading the hike was good at her job, the hike was much longer, due to constant stops, and had an overly-large crowd. It would've been much nicer had there been multiple guided hikes throughout the day and a limit on how many people went on each hike. The nice things about the guided hike were that we found a couple more fossils, and they brought some more fossil fragments for us to touch and feel. The bumps on the slab of stone at the Stump Formation were actually clam fossils, and at the Morrison Formation, right above where I found the small fossil bone, was a huge part of a femur (which made me embarrassed that I had missed such a big fossil staring me in the face). This time around I forgot to wear my hiking boots, and only had my slip-on sandals - but the trail was still manageable.
Leaving Camp
Before we left for the guided hike we had made sure to pack up everything and check out of camp, so we left straight from the hike out of Dinosaur National Monument. I really didn't want to leave. The campsite was so peaceful, and the company so fun. The only thing I really got tired of by the time we left was the Quarry Exhibit Hall. I think two days is the perfect amount of time to spend there, but at three days the magic starts to diminish.
First Museum
We drove to Vernal Utah to visit their Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. We knew it wouldn't take all day to see the exhibits, but we were shocked at just how fast we went through it. The kids were so excited, and raced through it so fast, that we were done in no time and barely saw anything. The video they show was also not working, so that shortened the tour even more. From what I did glimpse from the blur that I saw while hanging on for dear life to racing children's arms, the museum was pretty cool. When you enter there is a big sauropod skeleton in a great main room (kind of like on Jurassic park, only not a T-Rex). The museum itself is set up to be a sort of guided one-directional layout that takes you in spirals to the top, progressing you through the time periods as you go. Each era has neat fossils behind glass, some material to read, fossils you can touch, and a statue of a dinosaur from outside staring into the window at you.
At the top they have some native American artifacts, paintings, and luminescent rocks/fossils. After that you walk down the stairs, and out to the courtyard where you get to view all the colossal dinosaur statues up close. It was really neat, and I made sure to snap a lot of photos so I can at least go through it properly afterwards. It was also nice that admission was not too expensive.
First Hotel
We stayed at the Marriot Springhill Suites in Vernal. The decor was new, but fashioned after the 70's, so it was rather weird. The room was nice and spacious with two queen beds, a small flat screen tv, a dedicated lavatory room, dedicated shower, spacious closet, couches, mini fridge and microwave, and office desk. The pool was pretty nice too. Just a standard pool along with hot tub.
Because we got to Vernal at such a good time, and went through the museum so quickly, we found ourselves very bored (even after having swam for awhile). We decided to eat out, but we wanted someplace native to the area instead of a chain restaurant. The three places referred to us were either shabby, or not kid friendly. We finally settled on an asian restaurant named Canton City Resturant, since everyone was craving oriental. The old man (who I assumed was the owner) was really awesome and kind. We noticed our kids, and even gave our youngest a sucker when he saw him crying. Everyone who worked there appeared to be Asian (I trust ethnic food run by people of that ethnicity more than a American watered-down version).
The prices weren't too great, the food tasted decent, and the service was nice. The downside was that my wife and I got really sick afterwards and don't like the site of oriental food now. So I would think twice before going there. I wish I had just ordered pizza to the room instead.
We still had a lot of time left in the day, so we drove to a park to let the kids run around a little, then went to the local Walmart to see if there were any games we could buy to pass the time (we never found anything worth buying, though).
We then let the kids watch cartoons in the hotel room before putting them to bed. We had a devil of a time getting them to sleep, so I thought I would read them Jurassic park (which is intriguing enough for adults, but might possibly put children to sleep). I found it was an amazing zonk-inducer. Not only did the kids go to sleep instantly, but even my wife Mychelle fell asleep with in minutes. My theory for this phenomenon is that the title intrigues kids enough to settle down and listen, but the intense writing of Michael Crichton puts their minds to sleep. With nothing to do once my family was in a Crichton-induced coma, I myself went to sleep.
Day 5
The next morning we went downstairs and ate at their continental breakfast, which was good, but there were no waffles. After that I packed up our gear while the family swam in the pool. Last night we swam in the pool at the hotel next door because our hotel pool was being cleaned. This morning they were able to swim at the pool in our hotel. The cool thing about our hotel was the complimentary Chupa Chup pops.
We left the hotel pretty early to get on our way to Draper. We detoured to Provo so we could go to the Museum of Paleontology. Before arriving, we stopped of at Chicl-fil-A to get some lunch and let the kids get some energy out on the play place. The museum was free, and it was awesome. It had a T-Rex skull cast, which the kids loved. I liked that, even though small, the museum was circular, so you could keep going around and catching things you didn't see the first time. They had a windowed wall where the paleontologists worked on fossils. It was pretty cool to watch. The only down side with watching the paleontologists there was that they were mainly college students who looked like they cared very little.
There was a really cool movie explaining how they get the fossils, which had my attention for a while. The other neat thing there was the huge Triceratops skull cast, the dinosaur skin impression, the dinosaur egg, and the Utah Raptor pieces.
After getting our fill of the museum, we went on our way to Draper and checked into our hotel at the Fairfield Inn. It wasn't bad, but it felt more like a family-styled hotel that was a step up from a motel. The dining area was really small, and the room was marginal. Much of why I didn't care for it was because it was under renovation, so it looked really drab. It also wasn't good finding out it was near the water park Cowabunga Bay. The kids begged to go, but I had no desire to do it (especially considering it would've been about $80 for my family to go).
We finally convinced the kids to just swim at the hotel, and when done with that we walked over to the Pizza Hut, and got us some pizza to eat back at the hotel. We sat and watched movies in our room while munching on our hot pizza. The rest of the evening was just hanging out and swimming while relaxing.
Day 6
This hotel had waffles, which we all really enjoyed, despite the cramped eating area. After that we went swimming for the last time, before packing up. From there it was on to Draper to visit Thanksgiving Point's Museum of Ancient Life. It was quite the place. Just finding where to park was stressful. There were a lot of people at this place, and it reminded me a lot of Disneyland. We eventually found a good spot at the back of the museum, and went in. This was probably the most expensive of the attractions, but well worth it.
Our oldest was talking the worker's ears off about Dinosaurs, and she was so impressed that she gave him a dinosaur encyclopedia that they give out to kids who are celebrating a birthday. Word to the wise at this place - make sure everyone visits the bathroom before you start the tour. It is a long, snaking exhibit, and to get back to the restrooms, you will either need to retrace your steps all the way back through the crowds, or rush to the end.
The exhibits were pretty amazing. They had things there for adults, as well as children. Half way through the exhibit there was a little play alcove with wooden blocks, as well as a sand erosion play area where you could bury and exhume toy dinosaurs. At the end there is a big sand pit where you can "discover" fossils by brushing away the sand. There were panoramas, skeletons, fossils, infographics, description plaques, etc. They had everything.
We also went and saw the 3D Dinosaur movie, Walking with Dinosaurs. It was nice, but I would rather watch the commercial version of it (this one had a scientific narrator the whole time). It was exhausting to get through it, and I felt like we needed to go through it again just to see all the stuff we missed. But we didn't go through again because I was too exhausted. Finding a place to eat there was a little difficult because of the lines.
The food wasn't bad, but a little expensive. We ate at a sandwich shop right off the main entrance, next to the gift shop.
At the very end we did a paid activity where you can either make your own fossil or carve out a real one. I helped the three boys make their own, and Mychelle carved out a real one.
Once we left, we stopped off at our favorite restaurant, Hire's Big H Burger. Great food. The drive home was long, but it was good to get back to our own beds. All and all a great experience.
