Dinosaur National Monument

Last view leaving Capital Reef National Park

We packed up bright & not too darn early (at least for us) to start our trip back north. We headed to Dinosaur National Monument near Vernal, UT. An interesting spot for a day or two. Our plan was to spend one full day biking in an area we had not seen on our last visit.

View of the backside of Split Moutain

We headed out to an area we didn’t visit 5-years ago. The drive along Brush Creek Road out to Island Park Road wasn’t too bad. There were quite a few potholes & farms along the way. 

We passed a very interesting Ranch just before the turn on to Island Park Road...it called itself an Alpaca Ranch, but none were visible from the road. There were a large number of bronze sculptures of various dinosaurs, eagles & pterodactyls...certainly an odd assortment. 

They must have a large family since there was an enclosed water slide & indoor pool. Somebody has (or had) a lot of $$...alpaca raising must be good business.

We turned off of Island Park Road & parked at Rainbow Campground along the Green River. There were only 4 sites along the river, but not sure how one could spend anytime outside. The mosquitoes attacked as soon as you exited the vehicle. Wow. 

Thankfully they couldn’t keep up once we started peddling up the road. The scenery along the road was not as spectacular as Capital Reef, but the ride was very pleasant. Lots of flowers blooming and no vehicles. 

Wyoming Indian Paintbrush

Pink sego lily

At some point I managed to lose the lens cap off the camera. We packed up the bikes & drove back along the road to find it. Luckily it was found. We still had to drive most of the road & it showed up in the very last spot where it never was taken off the camera. That’s always the way…

Island Park overlook...where I found the lens cap

Mormon cricket

We went into the Colorado side of the Monument just to be different & have lunch. The roadway was covered & I mean covered with 1000’s of grasshoppers? 

Not exactly sure what these creatures were doing, but they were getting crushed by vehicles. You could hear it too...way beyond creepy. We found out later that these were Morman crickets in their swarming phase.

Check out what's happening in Elko, Nevada ...a big problem right now with these critters.

Of course I had to chase after the birds in the Green River Campground. I managed a get a couple of decent shots of a few birds... Western Kingbird, Tree Swallows, Lazuli Bunting, & a Say's Phoebe. Lost the shot of a Western Yellow Warbler...that darn bird landed on the sagebrush directly in front of me. Did I get the shot...nope, foiled by the inability to focus on the darn thing.

Say's Phoebe

The Say's Phoebe was a much easier to capture. She had built a nest on top of a light at the campground bathroom. It was fun watching her fly a set pattern across from our site and return to her nest. 

Patience paid off on getting the shot. Never got the warbler...he teased me with his song, but never got another clear view.

Say's Phoebe on nest

Western Kingbird

When you can't get the critter shot if all else fails there are wildflowers and if you're lucky butterflies & bees. The flowers have been abundant throughout the trip. During our lunch the hillside on the Colorado side of the Monument was covered in Arrowleaf balsamroot & Lupine. Two of my favorite flowers...always brings a smile to my face!

Arrowleaf balsamroot

Lupine

Purplish copper butterfly on shaggy fleabane

*click to enlarge photos