Fossilized Dinosaur Footprints... and the Critters That Left Them!

I mentioned in my last post that Nine Mile Canyon was only one of the three days we spent on this Spring Break trip last year.  This post will cover one of the other two.

Two sets of dinosaur footprints

This bed of fossilized dinosaur footprints actually has two sets--the obvious ones on the left and a smaller set near the top of the bed in the center-right.  Callie loves fossil hunting and she came up with the directions to these which are between Green River and Moab Utah.

Close up of one of the smaller prints

There were also quite a few single or double footprints at this site.  Above is a close up of one of them.

Close up of what is possibly a Utah Raptor footprint

The above picture is of a footprint of a 3-toed dinosaur, and since it is smaller it may have belonged to a Utah Raptor as opposed to a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Better size perspective on the Utah Raptor footprint

This picture with our feet in it gives you a better idea of the size of this footprint.  Notice the claw marks--they go pretty deep.

Unexcavated dinosaur almost completely in tact

Just over the border into Colorado on I 70 we found some great unexcavated dinosaurs in the Rabbit Valley Trail Through Time.  Above you can see Kajsa examining some vertebrae.  Notice that the fossil starts at the marker above her and to the left and continues off the picture to the right.  This is one of the most spectacular fossils I have ever seen.  It is almost a complete dinosaur, from head to tail (the head was removed and put in a museum, but everything else is right out there in the open desert!)

More dinosaur vertebrae

The Bureau of Land Management has created this trail and installed some information markers, but largely the area is left in its natural state.  Because of this, it truly makes you feel like you could be the first ones to discover them.  The trail is a loop that is about 1.5 miles long.  It is right on the side of the Interstate and very easy to get to. 

Callie getting a closer look

The other thing that was great about this site is that there are lots of fossils, not just one or two.  The list of dinosaurs found here is also very extensive, Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus, Camarasaurus, Ceratosaurus, Allosaurus, and Nodosaurus.  You would have to ask Callie to help you know which is which though...

Don't do it dad!

When we are on trips, I always like to see how far off the beaten path I can go.  Sometimes the family wishes I had a little more common sense, and sometimes I do too!  The above picture is the beginning of a Jeep trail named 3D near Hidden Canyon northwest of Moab Utah.

If you are going to roll the car, do it alone!

Our car is all wheel drive and has pretty good clearance, so why not?  Well, as you can see in the picture above, the sand was very deep and the kids weren't going to risk riding with me if I was going to be foolish enough to drive it.  One more thing... I wasn't sure where this trail came out, or if it did, or if I could get back up if I had to.  Adrenaline baby!!

Beautiful, but obviously not doable in a car

Hidden Canyon--above--was a beautiful place to hike around for a little while on foot.  What you don't realize is that this is a road for Jeeps and that they do go down this.  Thankfully, I was able to find a different route.

View of tire tracks on Hidden Canyon jeep trail from below

You can see the tire tracks (black marks) where Jeeps climb up and go down Hidden Canyon in the picture above.  I'm crazy, but not that crazy!

I did find the way out before sunset

Well, in the end I was able to find (just barely) a way out of the Jeep trails and back to normal roads.  The kids still claim I nearly killed us, but I didn't even so much as put a single scratch on the car let alone get anyone hurt... And, guess what?  They are never going to forget this drive!

Pinion Pines and red rocks make for an iconic Utah sunset

As you can see, this was a full day and it was awesome!  If you ever get a chance to spend some time near Moab and Green River Utah, you will love it.  There are hundreds (no exaggeration) of other must-see things in this area, so if you would like some tips on what not to miss, just let me know.

This trip was only a few hour drive from our house, but like I said in my last post, I am positive that there are hidden treasures near where you live too.  Get out there and find them!

The World's Longest Art Gallery - Nine Mile Canyon

Spectacular Red Pictographs High on the Canyon Wall

Living in Utah is like cheating.  We live close to so many unique adventures that it is hard to drive even for a couple of hours without bumping into things you can't see anywhere else in the world.  Nine Mile Canyon is just such a place.  Despite its name, Nine Mile Canyon is closer to 40 miles of ancient petroglyphs (pecked figures) and pictographs (painted figures) created by the Freemont and Ute native american tribes.  With more than 1,000 rock art sites in the canyon, it has a higher concentration than anywhere else in the United States.

Freemont Indian Granary Ruins

On this trip we made Green River, Utah our home base.  You can find basic hotels there for around $100/night with a pool, hot tub and breakfast (kind of our holy trinity when we travel ;-).  Green River is close to lots of great things to see.  I am focusing this post on Nine Mile Canyon--which was only one of the three days we spent on this trip.  I'll cover the fossils, dinosaur footprints, ghost town, and red sand jeep trails (which we drove in our car...) in future posts.

Large Petroglyph Panel with Long-Necked Goat

Many of the art panels throughout Nine Mile Canyon are right off the road.  This one was a very short hike from the side of the road.  The goat with the long neck is unique to this panel.  We didn't see it anywhere else.  Maybe there were giraffes in Utah back in 900 A.D...
 

A closer look at the petroglyphs

Some of the petroglyphs looked like aliens to us.  There is also a rumor that Area 51 has been moved from Nevada to Utah, so maybe the Freemonts and Utes knew something we are only now finding out...  Maybe there were goats with heads on both ends and even what looks like a character from Chicken Run on this panel below!

The Utah fauna used to be more diverse, I guess

Besides the wavy armed break dancing character on this panel below, there is one that looks a lot like Kokopelli with a spear instead of his traditional flute.

Kokopelli?

The petroglyph panel below was very detailed and had pictures of a medicine man, a dead man (at least he was laying down), and an entire herd of animals.
 

Very detailed panel with a lot going on.

Freemont Cave Home

The Freemont were cliff dwellers and we hiked to a large complex of caves, dugouts, and natural cliff-side caverns that make up one of their ancient villages.  The cave above had two entrances and enough space for a family to take shelter in relative comfort.

View from the Chief's penthouse.

This cliff-side cavern in the picture above had a very nice view of the canyon below.  Maybe this was the Cheif's penthouse.  Either way, it was my favorite of the potential places to make my home.

Enough room in this one to send kids for a time out?

Above is a view of the largest cavern on the cliff.  Maybe my In-Laws' ancestors lived in this one...

When you live on a cliff, you need to make your footsteps count

The picture above shows a little better how precarious it was to live on the side of a cliff.  

Balancing Rock in Nine Mile Canyon Utah

The drive through the canyon has a lot more to see than the petroglyphs, pictographs, and ruins.  This was a balancing rock that caught my attention as we were diligently searching for art.

Peaceful Sunset over the Red Rocks of Central Utah

It seems like I have been ending my posts with sunsets, so I'll keep it going with this last picture.  The sunsets in Utah come in many flavors and evoke many different emotions in me.  How does this one make you feel?  

You may not live in Utah, but I can guarantee you that there are treasures not far from where you live.  Do yourself a favor and do a little exploring close to home.  You might just be surprised at what you find, and it will give you memories to last a lifetime! 

US National Park in the Caribbean & No Passport Required!

Where can you find such a place?  St. John US Virgin Islands.

Ruins at Lameshur Bay

 The Caribbean... If you haven't been, you really should, and if you have, then it is just a matter of when you are going back, not if.

Trunk Bay

St. John is the least populated, and most laid back of the 3 US Virgin Islands.  Nearly half of the entire island is a US National Park (Virgin Islands National Park).  There is camping just like in the other National Parks, but this camping is right on the powdery sand beach--complete with public showers, bathrooms, water equipment rental, snack bar and restaurant.  It also has the only under water trail in the entire US National Park system--at Trunk Bay (pictured above). 

One of the finest stretches of beach in the Caribbean - Cinnamon Bay

 St. John has many stretches of powdery sand beaches with gentle surf and shallow enough water for kids of all ages to be able to play in the water without getting into any trouble.  Some of the best beaches are Cinnamon Bay, Trunk Bay, Maho Bay and Francis Bay, but they are by no means the only beaches you should visit while you are there.

Brown Bay Beach completely to ourselves

As I have mentioned in previous posts, it is amazing what you can find with a short hike.  We hiked about a mile and a half from the road and had Brown Bay all to ourselves.  We didn't see another person for more than 4 hours while we were here.  And, here's a little secret.  The left side of Brown Bay was one of the two best places to snorkel on the entire island.  Let me know if you would like directions to the trailhead. 

Full moon through the palm trees at Cinnamon Bay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here's another tip.  Don't be afraid to get a handheld dive light and snorkel after dark.  A great many living things in the ocean are nocturnal, and you will see things that you won't likely see during the day.  We went night snorkeling 3 different nights while we were here--including during the full moon at Cinnamon Bay.  Highlights were color-changing Octopus and Squid, and schools of big silver Tarpon.
 

Holding my hand out to a Southern Stingray in shallow water at Francis Bay

 Because most of St. John is a protected National Park, you will see wildlife of all kinds at every turn.  In addition to the abundant and spectacular aquatic life, you will find tropical birds, tree frogs, Iguanas, Mongoose, and even wild Donkeys.

Holding a bright orange Hermit Crab emerging from its shell

We found Hermit Crabs almost everywhere we went.  This one came out to take a look at us.  Our boys found one that was about 4 times as large as this one--Check it out below!
 

My son holding a huge Hermit Crab living in a large Conch shell

We had sea kayaks included with the villa we rented, (and an SUV too!) and they ended up being great for playing, exploring, and moving food and gear to more remote stretches of beach.

My sons trying to knock each other off the sea kayaks at Francis Bay

A short Kayak trip out to Waterlemon Cay

 The best snorkeling in St John was at Waterlemon Cay.  It is a tiny island just off shore, and you can easily and safely swim to it even if you don't have a kayak.  The best snorkeling is to the left.  The far side and the right side have good snorkeling too, but sometimes the conditions are pretty rough so just be aware.

A small Black Tip Reef Shark swimming in the shallows at Waterlemon Bay

 This little Reef Shark swam along side us as we walked the beach early in the mornings at Waterlemon Bay.  You don't need to be very worried about these guys.  They are very shy once you get in the water, and they swim away before you get very close.  We also had numerous Green Turtles to swim with in the mornings at this beach, which are Callie's favorite thing in the entire world... except for me I'm assuming ;-)

View of Coral Bay from the window of Villa Mahr where we stayed

 We stayed in an excellent villa on the mountain side overlooking Coral Bay.  We found it on www.vrbo.com, and it is called Villa Mahr.  Scott Mahr, whose father built this villa, was extremely generous with us and rented it to us for a great price.  We had a pool, washer and dryer, BBQ grill, and as I mentioned earlier, sea kayaks.  Plus he even rented us his 6 passenger SUV for far less than a rental company would have.

Family picture at the pool of Villa Mahr at Coral Bay

 Here we are at the pool at Villa Mahr.  I am not sure that my kids aren't still waterlogged to this day thanks to the easy access to the beaches and the pool on this trip.  They were constantly getting wet and having fun.

Beautiful sunset and moored boats on the glassy water of Francis Bay

I'll finish off this trip with another sunset.  This one is at Francis Bay--Callie's favorite spot in all of the Caribbean.

I have only barely scratched the surface of all of the fun we had in St John.  Thanks to a bit of research and planning, this trip was more affordable than you are imagining it was as you are reading this right now.  I am happy to share all of the details with you if you are interested, so please either comment on this post or send me a message if you want to know more.

It shouldn't be hard for you to see that my family cherishes the memories of this trip far more (and will for far longer) than any of the stuff we have ever received on birthdays, Christmas, or even out shopping for ourselves.  Don't spend your money and time getting them any more stuff.  Instead, why not Take Them Traveling!