July 27, 2006

July 27, 2006

We haven’t exercised much lately, so before we leave Rocky Mountain National Park this morning, we stop at the Green Mountain trailhead a few miles down the road. We put on our hiking boots and make the 3.6-mile hike up the hill to a large green meadow that is the valley floor between several mountains. I had no idea there were so many high meadows in the mountains. We were hoping to spot some moose in the mountain meadow, but no such luck.

Once back at the RV, we head out of the park southeast towards I70. On the way we pass thru the ski town of Winter Park. From there, to get to I70 we have to pass up and over a high mountain pass back to the eastern side of the continental divide. It is then downhill a very long way. Once we hit the outskirts of Denver, we exit to the south a few miles to the town of Morrison. Our first stop there is the Red Rocks Amphitheatre. In this area there is a several hundred foot thick layer of red rocks that have been pushed up on end and exposed with the uplifting of the Rocky Mountains. The massive rocks resemble the Titanic when it was in the process of sinking. During the depression, workers built a large outdoor amphitheater within two faces of the rocks. This would be one of the coolest places I have seen to attend a concert.

Also in the small town of Morrison is the Dinosaur Ridge National Landmark. This hillside was the location in 1877 of some of the first dinosaur bones found in the west. Although most of the bones were excavated and shipped off to Yale University, there is a small section where some dinosaur bones are popping out of the rock face. “Popping out” is not really the right phrase, as there is very hard rock fossilized all around the bones. I have some new appreciation for how hard it is to separate the bones cleanly from the surrounding rock. What this site is most famous for now is the dinosaur tracks. This area used to be the location of an ocean beach. Somehow this soft surface was preserved. You not only can see the rippled sand surface very plainly, but also the tracks of several dinosaurs that walked the beach. Since these rocks are also uplifted and on end like the red rocks, the tracks are almost vertical, going up the cliff of this roadside exhibit. At one time the dinosaur tracks were artificially blackened to make them easier to see. Most of that coloration, however, has since worn away and has not been redone. Many of the individual footprints require you to use your imagination to recognize them as dinosaur marks and not just random holes in the rock. However, taken as a group, they are clearly tracks of some very large animals. Just what you might see on a crowded beach - a beach crowded with dinosaurs, that is.

Our next stop is downtown Denver to see the US Mint. However, by the time we arrive it is after 4:00 pm and the place is closed. From here we head south to Parker, CO to see Aimee’s brother and his family. We make them look at all of our pictures.