I am having such a great day. It’s been overcast all day, so
I took advantage of the break from the heat and started the day with a hike. I
did the 3-mile Sounds of Silence trail, which crosses a sage meadow and then
winds its way around and up and over some of the rock formations that make
Dinosaur so beautiful. I saw rabbits, lizards, chipmunks, and a couple of mule
deer, not to mention some fascinating geology and some spectacular views.
But the best part of the hike is the aspect featured in its
name: the silence. It’s quiet throughout the monument – it is about ten miles
away from the highway, and the highway isn’t a busy one to begin with, so even
the visitor center and campgrounds and such are quiet. But out on a trail, the
silence is deep and rich and wonderful.
The trail is rated moderate-difficult. It’s really not a
difficult trail, but there are a few heart-pumping climbs and a few places
where you need to do some bouldering. Fun!
Since I got back, Frank and I have been enjoying the
virtually deserted campground. For reasons that escape me, Dinosaur tends to be
a quick stop for most people. Many, many people visit the quarry and then leave
again. Others camp but are here only for one night and then gone by morning, with
the next batch of people not rolling in until dinnertime. They’re missing out
on so much! But we aren’t complaining. We really, really enjoy the quiet days.
The evenings have not been so quiet. Our first weekend here
we had neighbors of Jersey descent, in for a family reunion, which wasn’t as
noisy as we had feared but also not quiet. And the past two nights running,
we’ve had German families – we’re 90% sure it was two different families – in
the space across from ours. They came in rental RVs with all the parents equipped
with voices that carry really well
and each with a younger child who uses loud shrieks and whines as primary forms
of communication. The main reason we think they were different families is that
we heard the younger child’s name clearly and repeatedly the first night and
not at all the second night.
We were apparently looking well settled into our campsite
after 5 nights here: the German mom last night, who may have decided we were
the camp hosts, asked us a couple of questions about the campground and its
facilities.
That’s not a job I would hate, by the way. I don’t think I’d
love it, either – you have to deal with all these people – but getting paid to camp here would not suck.
Noisy neighbors aside, I’m pretty content with our campsite
here. We’re in the Green River campground in the C loop, which is the
first-come-first-serve loop that has the best shade. We got a huge pull-through
space that backs to the central lawn, so it’s fairly well shaded in the
afternoons by big cottonwood trees. We do not have our own trail to the river
from here, but there are common trails nearby, and the river isn’t that big a
draw for us – the shore is rocky and the current is swift – except for the
nightly visits by mule deer over on the privately owned side.
Here is my must-see list for Dinosaur National Monument:
The fossil quarry, of course. What’s left is a fraction of
the original whole, left in place for posterity and viewable from a nice
air-conditioned visitor center. It is a thing of wonder.
A talk by Dinosaur paleontologist Dan Chure. We are lucky
enough to be here for Dinosaur’s 100-year anniversary, so there were some
special events happening. If you are similarly lucky to have the chance to hear
Dr. Chure speak, do. He’s been
paleontologist here since 1979 and has been in on some amazing finds.
Harper’s Corner, especially the viewing area at the end of
the trail. The road out to Harper’s Corner is gorgeous and well worth the extra
driving time. Each of the turnouts provided by the Park Service offers a
different view from and of different terrain. Once out at the Corner, you can
take an easy, partially shaded, and interesting one-mile trail (two miles
roundtrip) out to a viewpoint on the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers.
There, you gaze down into the deep and astonishingly different canyons carved
by the two rivers. It’s an amazing view (and was even for us with all the fire
haze).
Star gazing from the far end of the Split Mountain
campground. You can stargaze from just about anywhere in Dinosaur, but this is
a nice spot for it, with good unobstructed views and some ranger-talk benches
where you can stretch out and look up.
Josie’s ranch and the petroglyphs on the road out that way.
Josie ranched here, alone, until the 60s. The isolation is extreme, and it’s
kind of fascinating to tour her house and get glimpses of how she survived. The
petroglyphs are a short walk from one of the turnouts on the road on your way
to or from Josie’s. They were made by the Fremont people about 1000 years ago,
with a distinct artistic sensibility.
A desert hike. Sounds of Silence is really nice, or the Desert Voices trail is half the length and goes
through similar terrain. Or do both of those: they’re linked by a connector
trail, so you can do the whole 4.75-mile double loop. Take a spritzer bottle.
Seriously.
The swimming hole. Stop 8 on the auto tour is a little stub
road that goes out to the Green River. On your left as you’re facing the end of
the stub is a little trail that cuts back through the scrub for a couple of
minutes to a wide sandy beach on a relatively slow-moving stretch of the river.
It’s the best river access we’ve found, so if you want to swim, that’s the spot
to do it. Fair warning, though: the water is a little cold even in late August!
Once you get used to it, it’s great. Walk up river a bit and then float back to
your beach spot. We took our sunshade down there, planted it close to the water so our feet could be wet, and spent the day. Really, really fun!
River rafting. The water level is a little on the low side
for us to want to do a float trip this year—it would be so slow and hot!—but
earlier in the year, this would be an amazing place to go rafting. One of the
rangers said May is when it’s really exciting. And the canyons you travel
through rival the Grand Canyon for beauty and wonder.
