Extended Moab Dig

Day one: During our first day we traveled through Colorado National Monument and became acquainted with some of the local geology, similar to what we would see once we arrived in Moab. We also took a trip out to Cactus Park to see a Jurassic dinosaur track site, where dinosaurs walked on a wet, sandy flat 190 million years ago!

Day two: We started our day out visiting the Mygatt-Moore dinosaur quarry in western Colorado and taking a short hike up the Trail-Through-Time to see Camarasaurus bones. This dinosaur died near a river and its neck is now preserved in a hard sandstone. Afterwards we headed towards Moab, following the Colorado River though the wonderful red rock canyons along highway 128. We took a trip out to Deadhorse Point State Park where we enjoyed lunch. We spent the afternoon prospecting for fossils at a nearby outcrop of Triassic Chinle Formation before being chased off by rain. After the short rain storm ended we stopped to collect Paleozoic invertebrate fossils, including brachiopods, crinoids and bryozoans.

Day three: First thing in the morning we headed out to Arches National Park and hiked up to Landscape Arch. This is a huge, beautiful natural erosional feature! We enjoyed our morning of hiking and arch gazing before heading out to collect a dinosaur! We traveled north to a quarry in the Morrison Formation where we spent the afternoon trenching around a mid-sized sauropod (or long neck dinosaur) bone. As we worked around the bone we found more bone continuing into the hillside. We hoped to be able to remove the bone today but the rain once again chased us off and we headed back to Moab. On the way back we took a side trip over to see the dinosaur tracks near the Poison Spider trail head and also found abundant rock art. It was a great way to end our third day!

Day four: Today we plan to float the Colorado River during the morning and spend the afternoon making our way back to Grand Junction, via several more dinosaur track sites. Once we arrive back at the museum we will have a chance to visit the Dinosaur Journey Museum and take a tour of the lab and collections room, where all of the fossils we find are kept when not on display!

Photos courtesy of ReBecca Hunt-Foster