Dino tail bones in rock (what's left after vandalism)
In the dusty recesses of my brain I remembered “Mile Marker 141″ and “cross the railroad tracks.” As Olive and I head off the main road, I see several hand-lettered signs detailing parking. This was (or would become) a 4WD road, but for now it is passable. I am headed for a cool place where dino bones stick out of the Morrison Formation.
Everything here screams JEEPS as I pick my way down the smoothest part of the graded dirt road. Plenty of off-road tracks confirm that these BLM lands are heavily used by vehicles quite different from Olive. Two miles. That’s all I have to do.
Sauropod scapula (dino shoulder blade)
A distinctly Badlands-ish look characterizes the Morrison Formation. Its sediments were deposited when the climate was tropical; dinos roamed the area around here. Sadly, artifact hunters have illegally removed plenty of specimens from these public lands. I shall see what remains.
Fine red sands cover the road in places, but Olive plunges ahead. Two miles in I am happy to discover a parking area and signage that teaches me about what lies just across the wash. Bones! In situ! With interpretive signs teaching me what to look for so I can find my own! Sauropods ruled here. This is waaaaay cool.
View to the south: Big Mesa, Determination Towers
