Vernal, Utah

We said goodbye to Yellowstone and spent two days traveling to our next major stop, Vernal, Utah.  Vernal is all about Dinosaurs.  In New Bern, we see artistic renderings of bears all over town.  Each business has their own interpretation of the bear based on their business.  In Vernal, businesses have their interpretation of the dinosaur based on their business.  Take for instance Sinclair Gas.  Their logo is a green dinosaur so their statue is green and looks roughly like an Apatosaurus. It was funny to drive around and catch glimpses of the colorful statues.

Vernal is gateway to Dinosaur National Monument and Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area among many other sites.  Our time was limited so we had decided to visit those two and also the Indian Petroglyphs Dry Fork Canyon.  Petroglyphs were our first destination.  I wanted another opportunity to see petroglyphs since my last opportunity to see them was a bust.  I was recovering from a broken leg and just could not make the climb.  Today would be different.  The site is located on private property.  We parked in the designated parking area, donned our hats, sunglasses, water and camera and headed out on the hike that would take us up to the cliffs.  As I looked upward at our destination, I had a bad feeling that this might not turn out as I hoped. Sure enough, we arrived at the point where the climb began and my heart sank.  No way I would be able to climb up there without falling.  To make matters worse, my heart rate had begun to soar and that was not good either.  So, we decided to turn back.  Shoot!

These Native American petroglyphs are world renowned.  They are found along a 200-foot-high “Navajo Formation” sandstone cliffs.  These are for the most part, easily accessible.  You can get up close and personal to the figures that stand as tall as 9 feet. They represent the Fremont culture that flourished from 1-1200 A.D. in the Vernal area.  Here are a couple of picture of what we missed.  No, I did not take them but you get the idea of what we missed.

Disappointed but undaunted, we decided to head for Flaming Gorge.  Flaming Gorge Scenic Byway covers a large area, far larger than we could hope to cover in an afternoon.  The byway meanders over the eastern flank of the Uinta Mountains, one of the few east-west ranges in the country. Aptly named, the theme for the byway is ”Wildlife through the ages” since the route travels through one of the richest areas for wildlife and fossils in the west.  We decided we would head up US 191 to Red Canyon Visitor Center.  Our drive took us through deep multi-colored canyons, unique geologic features, breathtaking scenic vistas and broad forest landscapes.  The Red Canyon Visitor Center sits above the Flaming Gorge Dam that towers 502 feet above the waters of the Green River.  As I have said before, a picture is worth a thousand words.

After visiting the Visitor’s Center and taking lots of pictures, we headed back down the way we came. It had been a good day in spite of the disappointment of the petroglyphs.  Tomorrow we would go to Dinosaur National Monument.