Blogs from Vernal, Utah, United States, North America

Located on the Colorado side of the monument, Harpers Corner Drive is a scenic, 32-mile (55-km) road that leads to the heart of Dinosaur National Monument's canyon country. Overlooks offer sweeping vistas of the Green and Yampa river canyons. Several picnic areas and the trailheads of three hiking trails are located just off Harpers Corner Drive. On one trail, sharp-eyed hikers can spot fossils of small sea creatures that lived long ago. Visitors prepared for remote driving conditions can access two unimproved roads from Harpers Corner Drive. Fuel, food, and other services are not available along Harpers Corner Drive. The nearest services are in Dinosaur, Colorado, two miles west of the Canyon Area Visitor Center on Highway 40 Hiking Trails Situated on top of a butte, the paved, wheelchair accessible Plug Hat Trail introduces visitors to ... read more

In 1909, paleontologist Earl Douglass was searching for fossils for the Carnegie Museum when he discovered a formation layered with prehistoric plant and animal fossils. A quarry was established there and it proved to be one of the world's best window into late-Jurassic-period dinosaurs. Dinosaur National Monument was created in 1915 to protect 80 acres in the quarry area. Today the monument includes 210,844 acres. Many fossils are embedded in a sloping rock formation that was once a sandbar on the edge of a large river. As the river carried animal carcasses downstream, many became stuck on the sandbar, which eventually turned to rock. As a result, fossils from hundreds of creatures are concentrated in a small area. Many fossilized bones have been partially exposed but left intact in the rock where they can be easily ... read more

Pelican Lake (elevation 4800 feet) is a natural lake in the Uinta Basin southwest of Vernal, Utah. Historically, it is noted as a world class bluegill fishery. Pelican Lake has been dammed to impound and release water for irrigation, and water is diverted into the lake via the Ouray Park Canal from the Uinta River. The existing concrete dam was built in 1967, but the lake has been in use as a water storage facility for decades. Consumptive water use is limited to irrigation, and non-consumptive uses include warm water aquatic habitats, wetland habitat, and recreational uses. Public access is unrestricted. The shoreline is managed by the BLM, the Bureau of Reclamation, and private ownership. WATERSHED: Pelican Lake has a small, natural watershed consisting of Ouray Park, a flat agricultural area north of the lake. The ... read more

Red Fleet State Park is located in the heart of Dinosaur Diamond , 10 miles north of Vernal on Utah Highway 191. The park name was inspired by three large Navajo sandstone outcrops jutting up from the landscape as if a fleet of ships. At an elevation of 5,600 feet, Red Fleet offers camping, picknicking, swimming, fishing and boating. Red Fleet State Park is also known for the Dinosaur Trackway although limited on both time and daylight I was unable to experience this prehistoric landmark. Two hundred million years ago, this area looked like the Sahara Desert. And like the Sahara, the area had oases of shallow desert lakes called playas. Dinosaurs journeyed to the small playas among the dunes. We know this from the tracks left behind in the wet sand. Hundreds of dinosaur tracks ... read more

"ONE DAY, the story goes, the evil creatures of the nether regions, tired of living in the dark and dank, decided to dig up to the surface and take over everything above and below the earth. They dug and the ground trembled and rumbled in their work. Two coyotes heard the rumble, and curious, as all coyotes are, couldn't resist the urge to investigate. The pair discovered the plot of the creatures from down under and in a trice howled the alarm to all their fellow mortals round-about. A great council was held to decide what to do; it would take more than mortal power to stop the invasion of these supernatural beings, this they understood. Finally, they determined to send for the greatest medicine man they knew. TWO EAGLES flew with the summons, and on ... read more