 |
| Oh No! The dinosaur got my grandson! |
Things to do in Vernal, Utah
Our plan for day 2 on this Epic Roadtrip was to go into Vernal, Utah and see what there was to see for a couple of hours and then continue on to Dinosaur National Monument. Boys love dinosaurs, after all. Vernal, Utah is one of few towns in Utah that was not founded by Mormon Pioneers. When the early settlers came west to Utah, Brigham Young sent a scouting party to what would become Uintah County to see if it could be settled and they came back and said nothing would grow there and that the area was only good to hold the rest of the geology together. For one reason or another, the town of Vernal grew up. Lucky for us, because Vernal does grow things. Vernal grows dinosaur bones.
While we were out and about in Vernal, we decided to head over to the Vernal Temple, because that is what we do. When we got there, we noticed that there was a DUP museum directly across the street from the Temple. DUP stands for "Daughters of the Utah Pioneers". There are several such groups in this country. DAR, "Daughters of the American Revolution," DOC, "Daughters of the Confederacy." To be eligible for membership in the DUP, a girl has to be descended from pioneers who came to Utah either in a wagon company or a handcart company. Once the railroad was completed and travel across the nation was streamlined, no more wagon trains came west. My daughters are eligible to be members of the DUP on both sides of our family and also eligible to be members of the DAR on both sides of the family. My daughters are NOT eligible to be members of the DOC.
 |
| Millstone. Maybe the kind that goes around the neck |
 |
| Museum. This building is from the pioneer era. Pretty sure the roof is modern |
 |
| The museum was the original Tithing Office for the area |
 |
| Vaseline glass |
 |
| The hair on this card is real human hair |
 |
| Even though this is a Daughters of the Utah Pioneers museum, there was something for the boys |
 |
| Pioneer era quilts and a few modern ones too |
 |
| I do not remember where this prie dieu came from, or what it was used for |
 |
| Patent medicine and apothecary jars |
 |
| An old Red-Wing crock. This is from Minnesota. Not sure how it got to Utah |
 |
| Of course I would add this picture to my blog. Notice the stone at the bottom right of the photo. Petrified ripple marks from and ancient body of water. Who knew there were ancient bodies of water in Utah? Weird. This photo combines my love of geology with my obsession for skulls |
 |
| This lace collar was tatted from human hair. I suppose when there is nothing else to do... Sheltering in place comes to mind |
 |
| Native crafts from the area |
 |
| Part of the fam in front of the Vernal Temple |
 |
| Vernal Temple |
 |
| Vernal Temple |
 |
| Vernal Temple |
One of the things we had planned on before the trip began was to visit The Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. Any museum with a name that long has to be good! It did not disappoint. The museum was mainly about the dinosaur era, but it also touched on the other historical periods of the region, the Eocene and then the Pre-Colombian residents. There were lots of dinosaurs. I don't remember how much it cost to take my family to this museum. I don't think it was all that expensive. I know that I never once felt cheated by the admission price. This was a first class museum. I recommend it for anyone who digs dinosaurs, and anyone who DIGS dinosaurs.
When I was a boy living in West Yellowstone, Montana, there was a guy who rented a corner of the city park and had a little dinosaur museum called "The Dinosaur Safari." When I say museum, I really mean kind of a really cool tourist trap. He was from Vernal, Utah and had sculpted several dinosaurs in fiberglass. There was a big palisade wall around the attraction and you could only see a pterodactyl and the head of T-Rex from the road. You had to pay money to see the rest of them. I only remember going in to see the dinosaurs once. The attraction only lasted a few years and then it went away.
Why am I telling you this?
When we were out at the museum, I learned that this particular museum was where all of those fiberglass dinosaurs ended up. There is a little park outside on the museum grounds that houses the dinosaurs from that little tourist trap in West Yellowstone all those years ago. Now, for the record, just because something is called a tourist trap doesn't mean it's not cool. We did all of this stuff by mid day, by the way. Day two on this Epic Roadtrip was so epic that it will take three blog posts to cover it. I'll finish this blog post with photos of the museum, and will dedicate one whole blog post to the dinosaur bone field at Dinosaur National Monument. It's that cool.
 |
| Real dinosaur bone |
 |
| You are allowed to touch some of them |
 |
| There were interactive displays for children of all ages |
 |
| Some of the dinosaur skeletons were casts and some of them were real. Don't know what this one was. I know that dinosaurs from the quarry inside Dinosaur National Monument appear in all the great museums around the world, and high quality casts of those dinosaur skeletons appear in many other museums worldwide. |
 |
| Stegosaurus roamed freely here |
 |
| So did Alosaurus |
 |
| Real bones |
 |
| Real bones |
 |
| Really cool real bones |
 |
| Had to come back for more stegosaurus |
 |
| Staged diorama of tools, materials and equipment dinosaur hunters use |
 |
| Diplodocus vertebrae |
 |
| Dinosaur track |
 |
| Why do dinosaur tracks always look like they were flipping the bird? |
 |
| Prehistoric turtles had steel legs that held giant stones to the underneath side of their bodies for protection. Ok, I made that up |
 |
| These guys didn't want to be outdone by Fossil Butte National Monument. "Oh yeah? you have a wall of fossils, watch this." |
 |
| Bone of an extinct dinosaur |
 |
| Not to be outdone, we have mammal fossils here from the Eocene as well |
 |
| Died while in rehearsal for the Eocene production of Swan Lake, the first known production of that ballet |
 |
| Fossil wall |
 |
| Eocene mammals often had giant stones stuck in their ribcages. Kept the predators from their organs |
 |
| Big vertebrae |
 |
| Then there is this guy. Don't know what he's doing here |
 |
| There is a fossil just like this at Fossil Butte National Monument. This one has fish |
 |
| This guy showed up |
 |
| Smilodon is misunderstood. |
 |
| Like I said... |
 |
| Alligator or crocodile? Not sure without the card |
 |
| Dimetrodon. "Tell Dimetrodon the package has arrived." |
 |
| Ray from Ghostbusters |
 |
| They fossilized everything |
 |
| Petrified tree stump |
 |
| Pre-Colombian pottery |
 |
| Diplodocus |
 |
| What have you done??????? |
 |
| Look how big I am in comparison to this dinosaur leg |
 |
| Huge |
 |
| Neither the raptor, nor the boy were amused |
 |
| One of the dinosaurs from the Dinosaur Safari in West Yellowstone, Montana |
 |
| I remember these guys from my youth. They do have an updated paint job though |
 |
| Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Probably had just seen Jurassic World... |
 |
| Brontosaurus from the Dinosaur Safari. Brontosaurus was an accepted dinosaur forever, then about twenty years ago, paleontologists said that it was a made up dinosaur. Brontosaurus was a Brachiosaurus body with a Diplodocus head on it. Now, apparently, Brontosaurus is real again. Is Pluto a planet or is it not? Apparently science isn't fixed in place. |
Well worth the trip and the admission price for this museum. My grandsons loved it and so did the adults. Brigham Young may not have liked Vernal, but I do.
Epic Road Trip 2: Part I
Epic Road Trip 2: Part III
Epic Road Trip 2: Part IV
No comments:
Post a Comment