Blogs from Fruita, Colorado, United States, North America

The Fruita Paleontological Area is a small, one-half-mile square of bentonite just a few minutes from downtown Fruita. This tiny spot between the mighty Colorado River and the soaring uplifts of the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area preserves a diverse piece of prehistoric life from the Jurassic Period, dating back 150 million years. Among the most unique fossils ever discovered, the Fruitafossor windscheffeli was found and named after 82-year-old Grand Junction resident Wally Windscheffel. Wally is a field associate with the Carnegie Museum. In 1991, shortly after he retired from the Navy, he and his wife Beverly moved to Grand Junction. Wally had been visiting the Fruita Paleontological Area since 1985 on paleontological digs with Dr. George Callison, another local resident who taught courses with Earth Watch. In 1998, Wally and one of his buddies found ... read more

The Fruita Paleontological Area is a small, one-half-mile square of bentonite just a few minutes from downtown Fruita. This tiny spot between the mighty Colorado River and the soaring uplifts of the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area preserves a diverse piece of prehistoric life from the Jurassic Period, dating back 150 million years. Among the most unique fossils ever discovered, the Fruitafossor windscheffeli was found and named after 82-year-old Grand Junction resident Wally Windscheffel. Wally is a field associate with the Carnegie Museum. In 1991, shortly after he retired from the Navy, he and his wife Beverly moved to Grand Junction. Wally had been visiting the Fruita Paleontological Area since 1985 on paleontological digs with Dr. George Callison, another local resident who taught courses with Earth Watch. In 1998, Wally and one of his buddies found ... read more