Walking in Your Footsteps: Dinosaur Tracks in Moab

Jurassic Park in my back yard.

I read in the Moab Sun News about 2 sites just north of Moab, Utah that held some interesting foot prints of dinosaurs. Naturally this got my attention.

Back in 1993 when the movie Jurassic Park came out my daughter became interested in everything dinosaur related. So with the help of a geologist and the mineral records at a university we set out cross country through the Nevada desert in search of fossils. We actually found some great sites that held fossilized bone fragments, beaver teeth (beavers like 10 feet long) and fish fossils. But now I'm in Utah which is probably as close to Ground Zero for all thing paleontology related, so I set out to see the tracks. The first set are located about 20 miles north of Moab on Hwy 191. Take the North Klondike Road about 2 miles to a small dirt parking lot and hike 500 feet up the trail to the site. The tracks in this photo are made by a Sauropod; a large herbivore. What is really cool is that the tracks clearly show the dinosaur making a right turn in the mud which is rare as far as finding tracks go. There are also many 3 toed carnivorous along side the Sauropod's tracks suggesting possibly a hunting party.....cool stuff to imagine as your standing there.


The second site is located 10 miles north of Moab on Willow Springs Road. This road was the original entrance into Arches National Park and is described by Edward Abbey in his book Desert Solitaire". Go about 3.4 miles to a site on the slick rock that has a display sign posted and look for small clusters of rocks that people have placed next to the tracks.

 This site has many 3 toed carnivore tracks that are easy to see the direction of the footprints as the dinosaur moved along in the mud. Both of these locations are easy to reach with a vehicle that has reasonable ground clearance. 

Winter Day in Moab

Today, I hate to say it, was a gloomy day.
I had a bagel and coffee at the Red Rock Bakery, my local morning spot. The owner Howard assures me that it will eventually warm up and that I'll have plenty of good days to paint outside. I consider this as a sip my morning inspiration and read the latest edition of Fast Company. The article is on the 10 most important business conversations ever. It inspires me to believe that the planning sessions I have with my art partner are going to yield some great results for the coming tourist season.
After breakfast I go to the studio and study art. That brown leather chair in the photo is where I sit for 30 minutes each day and study one of many art instruction books that I own. It's essential to keep learning something new about art each day. Afterwards I sketch out new compositional ideas for an hour or so. These are usually imaginative ideas that encompass the trademark designs of Edger Payne. I have a notebook of twenty or so good ideas for future paintings. I was really planning on painting outside today, even with cold temperatures I had that itch to go down to the river and do a couple quick plein air paintings. But alas, the clouds rolled in and my hopes were replaced by a dull grey sky and an attitude to match.
After work I hiked again near Sand Flats Recreational Area. I started out later today than yesterday and got back to the car in the dark just as the snow started....good timing. These last couple nights I've been reading at the Grand County Library which is a really nice place to snuggle in for a couple hours with a good book. What am I reading you ask? The Journey Home by Edward Abbey. Tonight's chapter Fire Lookout: Numa Ridge.