Adventures in Dinoland!Jul 31, 2004
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Don't eat that, this isn't "Fear Factor"!
Fuzzy but Funny, Pete and Lorna!
Take that, you silly rabbit!
Pointing the compass north along the Colorado River, the road swept us up past the Fisher Towers and out of the Red Desert into the vast open plains. Driving just inside the western border of Colorado, I underestimated the density of gas stations per 100 square miles of nothingness, and had a scary coast on vapors into the little village of Rangely. A little further up, we rolled into the sleepy town of Dinosaur, home to Ranger Pete and the lovely Lorna. We were given prime tent space in the front yard and treated to a beautiful dinner of Mediterranean pasta and fruit salad by Emily the roommate. On the line in the backyard, were some politically provocative undies that are destined to become the latest fashion craze to sweep the liberal establishment. Check out presidentailpanties.com for a taste of mild humor and brilliant entrepreneurmanship! Showers, food, laundry, free camping, laughing at and with Pete; what more can one ask for? The "Ranger" had to work (rafting the Green and Yampa, pulling Tamarisk from the shores; work unh?), so Tina and I went into Dinosaur N.P. to see the sights. Up ahead on the road, we saw our first dinosaurs; small Velosaraptors, stalking their prey, herding them into an ambush of no return, ready to pounce! They turned out to be grouse! But then we realized that all the dinosaurs had just evolved into billions of Mormon crickets that litter the highways. We did our part to replenish oil supplies by driving over thousands! The canyons formed by the Yampa and Green river are comparable to the Grand, the views from the rim being spectacular, and the park is completely void of tourists (accept us)! Even more impressive was the Quarry, were some of the most complete dino skeletons ever have been unearthed. Apparently, an archeologist just found them poking up out of the ground! You grow up immersed in Dinosaurs as kid, but you don't really comprehend their existence until you see their bones lying right were they died a million years ago! Kind of blows the mind! Makes you think that maybe our stay on this planet might not be so permanent! Well, that night we caught a movie with Pete & Lorna, and closed the evening with ice cream at the gas station (small town). Next day, the "Weed Warrior" was off to save more shoreline from the evil weed, and we bid ado to the scene of our furthest reaches into the east.
