After five long years and much hand-wringing by impatient locals and brow-wiping tourism boards, the Quarry Exhibit Hall at Dinosaur National Monument is once again open for business. Closed to all visitors in 2006 due to serious foundation issues that compromised public safety, the monument's pride and joy (since its establishment in 1915) has now been freshly scrubbed and polished, and, if a late October day's crowd is any indication, the money will once again flow to the surrounding communities who had tried - with a straight face, mind you - to convince the cash-strapped that yes, it
was worth driving to remote Vernal for a pink replica dinosaur that greets all travelers to its town limits. But needless to say, that famous wall of fossils - representing a larger find in 1909 by Earl Douglass, who was then working for the Carnegie Museum -
is worth the time and effort, even if the northwest corner of Colorado is perhaps the least explored section of the Centennial State. Go, my children, and behold the bones.
In previous years, the Quarry's visitor center was side-by-side with the bones, but that crack-filled mid-century creation has now been scattered to the Utah winds to compete with nearby coal dust and oil-driven pollution. In its place (1/2 mile down the hill from the Quarry) is its stimulus funds-driven replacement, complete with new displays, a kiddie-korner of sorts (a place to set the brats while you're stamping your passport book or trying to catch a breather), and a spacious theater that, to our dismay, was not accompanied by a worthy park film. That may indeed come at some later date, as they can be forgiven for first making sure everything was nailed down for their early Fall debut. With a delightful dinosaur out front, a walking bridge, and doors that all but squeak with newness, the monument's staff should be proud of this new hub, as they are no longer consigned to a temporary trailer or creaky closet. Throughout our brief walking tour of the VC (it's cozy, but well done), we couldn't help but think how many other NPS locations need a similar update. There's something to be said for a sheen of professionalism when preserving our nation's past.
The monument's website had led us to believe that we were to secure a Quarry parking pass and wait for a ranger-led caravan to the exhibit hall, but much to our surprise, it was a free-for-all, both in terms of driving up on our own and not having to pay the usual entrance fee. The Quarry parking lot is roomy, but not overly large, as there were only a few spaces to be had. What on earth will this place look like during the busier summer months? Still, the cars kept coming and the families kept disembarking, all with the standard screams, cries, and whoops in the face of authentic, honest-to-goodness remnants from the late Jurassic period. When one first enters the exhibit hall, the wall is a staggering sight, and one can be forgiven for dismissing the whole thing as an unreal apparition. After all, we're so conditioned in our culture to shrug at the replicas and facsimiles that stand-in for the real deal that we've all but lost our capacity for genuine awe. Fortunately, we saw little but smiles, mouths agape, and beaming parents with children in tow as we scanned the massive wall, leading us to express one of the few inescapable truths we have in this life - never underestimate the appeal of dinosaurs. Not even a grumpy, arthritic old fart could be held back from flashing a false tooth or two.
Even with two floors of wonder and child-like indulgence (you mean we get to
touch some of the bones?), there was still the mild disappointment at being too early to partake of the interactive wall display, a feature that will aid in identification and classification (currently, one must rely on an overtaxed ranger). For now, you need a keen eye and great deal of patience, as I'm sure we missed a particularly fine example or two (only by accident did I overhear the aging ranger remark on a nice Camarasaurus skull fossil). Lighting and viewing angles are also important matters to
take into consideration, as the top floor's view of the section nearest the entrance was short on detail and long on sun glare. By the time we reached the bottom, however, this was no longer an issue. As for the reason why so many dinosaur bones are in one place, I'll leave it to science:
"The rock around them is made up of sand and gravel, just like the sand and gravel you might see along a large river. Such a river flowed through this area 150 million years ago, and many dinosaurs lived near it. Now and then some of them died near the river. During rainy seasons, the river overflowed its banks--just as many rivers do now--and picked up some of the dead dinosaurs lying nearby. A few of those bodies were whole, but many had probably decayed or been eaten by other animals, so that just the bones were left. The bones and bodies were carried by the river and deposited in the main channel. The current buried them with sand and gravel. The place that is now the Quarry was at one time a river channel."
Nature's cool efficiency is, as always, our gain, though one should not be distracted by the wall alone. The Quarry contains several fascinating displays, the greatest of which is one of the largest Allosaurus skulls ever found. From whatever angle you choose to inspect it - and I recommend all of them - you can never forget that what you are eyeing pre-dates our petty ramblings by tens of millions of years. It's humbling, to say the least, and yet another reason to visit the parks: evolution is action is about the only sermon I'll ever want or need. That one would need magic tricks and illusion in the face of science boggles the mind, but at least the NPS is doing its part to keep rationalism at the front of the line.
And while the Quarry all but defines this monument (as it should, given the importance of this find), there is much more beyond the initial 80 acres protected by President Wilson. In fact, Dinosaur National Monument grew to 210,844 acres in 1938, thanks to the desire to expand the monument's reach to include scenic river canyons, mountains, basins, and other archeological sites. Most of this zone is to be found on the Colorado side of the equation, but directly from the Quarry, one can take the Tour of the Tilted Rocks, a 22-mile round-trip auto tour along the Green River. There are numerous campgrounds and hiking trails to be found, but we stuck to the car as we gazed upon Cub Creek Valley in all its autumnal beauty. Along the way, you'll see Turtle Rock, Elephant Toes Butte, and Split Mountain. Most of the road remains paved, and by the end, one can see a few petroglyphs made by the Fremont people around 1,000 years ago. 
From Utah's more familiar section of Dinosaur, we traveled back to Colorado's "contribution", despite knowing that it could not possibly do well by comparison. To make matters worse, the Canyon Area Visitor Center had closed a few weeks before, denying us the Colorado specific passport stamp. No matter, as we began the Harpers Corner auto tour, a 60+ mile round-trip journey that would leave us with a sense of accomplishment, if not the same degree of joy. In fact, the Escalante Overlook, one of the tour's first stops, left us downright depressed. From here, one can see the full effect of the area's coal mining and oil drilling, complete with smog so thick it challenges China's nasty supremacy on the subject. While the energy industry hugs the monument's boundaries, it does not penetrate, and one knows with full certainty that had FDR not acted, this side of Dinosaur would now be engulfed by the heaves and drones of environmentally-ruinous equipment. For anyone not entirely convinced of the Antiquities Act's soundness, I recommend an immediate visit. Energy production is, of course, a necessity, but unless we want our landscape to be covered with ugly derricks and the refinery's flame, let us be as vocal in our protective tendencies as with our lust to drive the engine of consumption.
The remainder of the driving tour is, alas, not entirely stunning, and many a mile passes with precious little to see. Again, one is happy the land is off-limits to the oil man, but we're not exactly stomping through the Tetons here. It should be pointed out that if at all possible, one should see this part of the monument from the ground level, preferably on the river itself. Lacking that option on this day, we drove to the final stop, the Echo Park Overlook, and were forced to contemplate what could only be. A rigorous hike through the brush could secure a better view of the Green River's majesty, but here, the reward did not outweigh the risk. There's even a 13-mile dirt road to the bottom that, from all appearances, would mean a violent death to anyone not in a 4x4. Overall, the view is grand, but not so different from other similar canyons that we had to catch our breath. Admittedly, few places on our travels have achieved this level of pure silence (without so much as a breeze, the air was eerily still), but you'll pardon us for wishing for a bone or two, if only to spice up the lesser half of Dinosaur National Monument.
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