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  DINO-MITE FAMILY TRAVEL IN GRAND JUNCTION By Amiee White Beazley
To learn more about these pre-historic creatures there are several museums, attractions and programs to explore. Here there are several ways to interact with a dinosaur's past: Take a one-mile walk on the Dinosaur Hill Interpretive Trail. Located in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area and managed by the Bureau of Land Management, here you'll see bones of the stegosaurus, brachiosaurus and other "terrible lizards." Open year 'round, weather permitting. Experience Dinosaur Journey. This place is anything but a boring museum.
Get dirty on a "DinoDig." Dinosaur Journey - operated by The Museum of the West - offers summer dino-excavations for kids ages 5 and older and their families at the Mygatt-Moore Quarry. Who knows? Maybe the next dinosaur will be named after you. Hike the "Trail Through Time" beginning at the Rabbit Valley Natural Research Area. This 3-mile (roundtrip), self-guided tour offers an array of significant dinosaur specimens still preserved in ancient stream channels on 286 acres of natural terrain. Stop at 21 interpretive sites and get hands-on with dinosaur fossils. Managed by the Museum of The West in conjunction with Bureau of Land Management and McInnis Canyons NCA.
Explore the Colorado National Monument. No family vacation to Colorado would be complete without visiting the beautiful, 20,000-acre Colorado National Monument. Sheer-walled canyons, towering monoliths, colorful formations, desert bighorn sheep, soaring eagles and a spectacular road reflect the environment and history of the plateau-and-canyon country of the Grand Junction area. The canyon bottoms have ancient Pre-cambrian rocks covered by Triassic-age Chinle, Wingate, Kayenta, Entrada and Summerville formations, as well as the Morrison Formation bearing dinosaur fossils. Be sure to check out the great Independence Monument, a freestanding monolith that rises 450 feet from the canyon floor. Motor with the family on the historic Rim Rock Drive – a 23-mile paved road that climbs from the Colorado River valley to the top of the Uncompahgre Plateau, then winds along the plateau rim. Interpretive plaques at viewpoints explain the origin and development of geologic features. For hikers and campers, this road also offers access to a nature trail and 13 backcountry trails. |
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