October SLC, Laramie Denver

Salt Lake City

The incentive to leave StG and go back north was an annual check with our dermatologist. We tried one in StG but Dr Swyner seems like an old friend who happens to like liquid nitrogen and dislike moles.

After our appointment we went back to a familiar spot,

Millcreek Canyon

This canyon was a part of my life from childhood till we moved to StG. 

As a child; my family would hold picnics with friends up this canyon; at least one every fall to gather box elder leaves upon which my mother would do her annual handstand. Papa bought a yard long cast iron grill to cook steaks on these picnics; or Gordon Lee had a stainless steel reflecting which he would use to roast a leg of lamb. I remember hiking up the hill and finding some fossil gastropods and wondering how they got up in the mountains.

As a teenager my friend and I would ride our bicycles up here to go fishing. I think it was over two summers before I ever got a fish but the first was caught up here. I remember boy scout hikes up Church Fork. I was a member of either the Jewish Community Center's scout troop or the one run by the Holladay Community Church; neither of which used to the big scout center at Tracy Wigwam up Millcreek. I don't know if they was a religious issue, or just my bad memory/guess.

After high school we would go up the canyon to drink a six pack, or smoke a little rope, or even to neck and pet. As an adult I would still go up the canyon to fish (finally learned how -- eggs and fly fishing equipment). And after we bought into 35mm Millcreek was a nearby spot to learn technique and composition. Learned a lot up here.

Utah Museum of Natural History

This summer's trip helped me to realize how great of a paleontology center this is. I went up for more dino portraits, ended up with a slug of photos, and a tour of the prep lab.

When I took paleontology (invertebrate) we learned Kings Played Chess On Fine Grained Sand -- the classic Linnean naming scheme. Dinosaur great diversity never seemed to fit into that box. Cladistics seems much more adaptable; this exhibit tells so much more than the Kingdom, phylum, etc

It was a Friday afternoon, not many paying customers but three or four docents; all were very pleasant to chat with; which led to a tour of the prep lab:

This little collection of treasures, from one sample of rock, and the pride the preparator had in it, and the knowledge he had of what each little bit was; that was so interesting I started thinking maybe I'd sign up to do fossil prep -- not here but in StG.

 Laramie

We spent the night in Kimball Junction and headed east on US40 on the way to Laramie. East of Dinosaur, CO we got the news about C.W. being in the hospital with stroke like symptoms.

Then some new roads for us, US 40 from Dinosaur, through Steamboat Springs, then NE towards Laramie on CO 14 to C0 125 to CO 127 to  WY 230 to Laramie.

Had a nice steak dinner, we were in Wyoming after all, and a warm bed. It snowed over night, not much but our first snow this fall.

Then off to the University of Wyoming's Geology Department Museum, and big Al. The Wyoming Dinosaur Center had a cast of this Allosaurus, and I thought they said they original was in Laramie (it isn't, it's at Museum Of the Rockies, we'd already seen it).

Big Al

They had a Diatryma specimen that a gentleman, hs teacher, from SoCal had come to see, we took his picture near this. He was as tall as the Diatryman.

Gastornis

 Diatryma is the name given by Edward Drinker Cope, but it had been described earlier in France.
An early bird with a UofWy ascension number:

Confusciusornis

Strange that the larger herbivore Gastronis evolved from this small raptor.

Denver

Then a drive through Colorado Springs - and lunch - to Denver. We got there early enough to get to Dinosaur Ridge, in Morrison!, before closing. The east side of the ridge is a track site in the Dakota Sandstone, mostly Iguandon traces.

The back side of the ridge is Morrison with some sauropod fossils and tracks.

Morrison type section

cross section of a sauropod trace

The gentleman in the picture had just finished a BS in Geo, supported by doing tours here for three years. He is going to do an MS in paleo, but much more recent (Hominid). Then off to Roy Rodgers for a chicken dinner and then another good night.

Next morning was the Denver Museum of Natural History.

Lobby

Tyrannosaurus rex

This is in the lobby, right after the ticket takers, nice way to start a tour. Upstairs there is this mashup of pacific northwest icons and cretaceous monster.

There was a good collection of Ediacaran and Paleozoic fossils, some Triassic.

Edmontosaurus

There were juveniles of several species, including Stegosaurus.

There was an excellent exhibit and whales and whale paleontology, but photography was not permitted; so go see it.


Then off to the mall for lunch. And then a long drive home.