Friday, July 11, 2008
Friday - our last day, but it consisted of wondrous sights and experiences one after the other. We traveled west into Utah to visit trackways where dinosaurs walked through soft wet sand and mud millions of years ago at the end of the Jurassic. Of course we were excited at the prospect of seeing and photographing these ancient remnants, but like our river trip, the journey was just as much a part of the adventure.
Rounding each corner in the road revealed a new geologic canvas of light, colors, textures and shapes. Many of the whimsical formations in that part of eastern Utah either stood alone on the open plain or formed an artful end cap to long ridges of sandstone. Gigantic ships, blocks of city skyscrapers, huge crouching animals - the variety of images was only limited by imagination.
And the footprints certainly didn't disappoint! Our guide chose two sites completely different in location and surroundings. The first was near the summit of an alpine-like ridge where the therapod (meat-eating) dino tracks were preserved in dense sandstone right at our feet. We marveled at the size of the tracks - inches larger than any of our sneakers or boots. There were enough tracks to try and follow them, literally "in their footprints." not an easy task when the huge animal's stride was at least twice our own.
The second site overlooked the Colorado River - a relatively easy but carefully negotiated hike took us up a rocky trail to where a massive block of sandstone had fallen out of the cliffs above. Amazingly, it had split open to reveal multiple sets of dino tracks both as impressions and as raised casts. These blocks had come to rest almost vertically, so there was no "walking the walk!" A little further up - another fallen vertical monolith with beautifully preserved tracks. An additional treat awaited us just past this block - fantastic Native American pictographs carved into the sandstone showing animals, hunters, a line of figures (dancing?), wavy lines that must have surely told something of the river below, and other designs with meanings we could only guess at. Those pictograph figures were the first I have ever actually seen, and I am sure that I will never forget them, their magical location, or the experience that led me to them.
There was one more surprise in store. Our last stop for the day was at a Utah state park with the attention-getting name of Dead Horse Point! A short walk took us to an overlook where I knew something of interest was in store. However, the wide open vista across miles of open space and straight down hundreds of feet to brick-red terraced cliffs was one of the most startling and beautiful sights I've ever seen. Through this dramatic geologic formation flowed the Colorado River - the persistent architect of so much of this week's beauty and adventure.
I wish tomorrow was the beginning of another week of exploration and discovery - but it's back to Virgina. I'm looking forward to two things -sharing my adventures with family and friends, and returning to this amazing and captivating land of canyons, prairies, friendly people – and the Colorado River!
Dan Summers, education curator at the Virginia Living Museum
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