On the way out of Colorado, we Deb took a couple of photos of big rocks!
This is Castle Rock near the Air Force Academy...
This is the westbound side of one of the longest tunnels in the US as it passes through the Rocky Mountains...
Very long...
some more beautiful rock formations...
Couldn't resist this sign for my buddy Craig...
As we entered Utah...
We also turned around and got this phot of the Colorado sign because it was too dark Monday night to get it when we entered Colorado...
Just outside Vernal, Utah, we decided to visit the Nation Dinosaur Monument... It was very hot his afternoon they had cancelled the walks to the fossil beds...
but we did visit the visitor center where we saw this actual femor bone from a dinosaur dug from the fossil beds near here...
and then we took the auto tour... this is an area where the limestone has been forced up in an area known as Tilted Rock on the Green River... It would have been interesting to witness the forces that were involved in this kind of rock bending...
This is a view of the rocks where the following picturs were taken...
These are ancient Petroglyphs left by two different groups of natives that inhabited this area 800-1000 years ago...
More "tilted rock"...
These purplish rock formations are the Morris Formations where most of the dinosaur fossils are found...
This rock formation is called "Turtle Rock"... can you see him?
This is Elephant Claw Rock...
more petroglyphs...
These clifff walls were very interesting. The walls were probably close to a 1000 feet straight up... about half way up you could see some beautifully preserved petroglyphs in the dark "Canyon Varnish". Can you see the lizards?
What can you see here?
After spotting with the binoculars, I put on my 750mm lens and the walls came alive with petroglyphs that we could not see with the naked eye... See another lizard?
more lizards and a little human form... (remember you can click on these photos for an enlargement)...
Look at all the animals and human forms below the main lizards...
and on the wall to the right of the lizards... this flute player!
These guys almost look like Santa Claus...
Do you think? Nah...
At the very end of the road, we found this cabin that was built by Josie Basset Morris...
She was a very interesting woman and lived in this cabin for 50 years...
Just behind the cabin was the most amazing box canyon, which was use by Josie as a natural corral for her pigs... she just fenced off the narrow entrance to the canyon and she had a perfect corral with walls close to 1500 feet high!
We hiked the half mile to the end of the canyon and were blessed with this incredible view lit by the late afternoon sun... Those are full sized trees in the floor of the canyon...
I had to take advantage of the beautiful warm light that was being reflected off the limestone canyon walls...
My rock girl fell in love with this boulder that she wanted me to air lift home for her... I told her that we would just have to come back and visit... it was a very peaceful place... Deb said it would have been her Sacred Grove.
Before we left Vernal, we stopped to photograph the Temple... it is very unique in it's look, but I really liked it!
It was a very long drive in the dark down the canyon to Salt Lake City... many warning signs about deer and elk crossing the highway... I took it very easy... that would not be good for the Mini!
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