Tag Archives: fossils

Colorado

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Leave a comment

Overview

Like John Day Fossil Beds in Oregon, this area in central Colorado protects a geologically significant window into the past.  Here the fossils are 34-million years old, buried by volcanic debris and lake sediments, with species that do not look that different from plants and animals we see today. 

Highlights

Museum, Ponderosa Loop, Petrified Forest Loop, Big Stump, Hornbek Homestead

Must-Do Activity

A variety of butterflies, birds, leaves, and flowers are nicely displayed in the visitor center.  Our favorite was the bloom of Florissantia speirii, an extinct member of the cocoa family that grew at this site when the climate was much warmer and wetter.  After exploring the museum, head outside on the wheelchair-accessible Ponderosa Loop or hike some of the monument’s 14 miles of trails.

Best Trail

Take a walk on the Ponderosa or Petrified Forest Loops to see excavated stumps of massive redwood trees, fossilized in place with beautifully colored minerals replacing the original organic compounds.  You can even see annual growth rings preserved in the petrified wood.  If you have not experienced the massive dimensions of coast redwoods in California, these stumps will make you want to visit those living trees in person.

Instagram-worthy Photo

On your walk through the ponderosa pine forest, you may spot an Abert’s squirrel, a species known for its long ear tufts.  Also watch for elk.

Peak Season

Summer due to high elevation

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/flfo/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$10 per adult or America The Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

The main roads are paved, but Upper Twin Rock Road is not.

Camping

None within the National Monument, but there are several campgrounds in the surrounding Pike National Forest, as well as dispersed camping opportunities.

  • Petrified Forest Loop Trail
  • Scott with Big Stump — over 12 feet in diameter
  • Petrified wood
  • Tiff with a redwood stump

Explore More – At the bottom of Ancient Lake Florissant, the microlayers of fine volcanic ash and clay formed what type of sedimentary rock?

Idaho

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument

Leave a comment

Overview

More than 3.5-million years ago, this section of southern Idaho was on a floodplain of a giant lake.  Lush grasslands and forests attracted camels, llamas, mastodons, zebra-like horses, and a variety of birds.  Their fossils were not discovered until 1928, on the steep bluffs on the west bank of the Snake River, now Lower Salmon Falls Reservoir.

Highlights

Museum, film, Snake River Overlook, Oregon Trail Overlook

Must-Do Activity

Numerous mammal fossils from the Pliocene Epoch are on display at the National Park Service visitor center, located on the main drag in the small town of Hagerman, Idaho.  Scenic overlooks of the Snake River and Oregon Trail are located further south, but there is no public access to the fossil beds.

Best Trail

The 3-mile long Emigrant Trail parallels the Oregon National Historic Trail, which has wagon ruts accessible from both the Snake River Overlook and Oregon Trail Overlook (where there is also a half-mile interpretive trail).

Instagram-worthy Photo

Interstate 84 passes directly over Malad Gorge State Park, north of Hagerman, Idaho.  Take the freeway exit and walk to the canyon rim to see the beautiful waterfall you missed from the bridge.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/hafo/planyourvisit/visitor-center-operating-hours-seasons.htm

Fees

None for Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, but there is a day-use fee at Malad Gorge State Park.

Road Conditions

The main access roads are paved.  There is a one-lane bridge crossing the Snake River off Highway 30 that was closed during our visit so we took the Gridley Island Bridge instead.

Camping

There are places to camp along many sections of the Snake River, but not within the National Monument.

  • NPS museum in Hagerrman, Idaho
  • Tiff at the Oregon Trail Overlook
  • Scott at Malad Gorge State Park
  • Malad Gorge State Park

Explore More – How many complete skeletons of zebra-like horses were discovered within Hagerman Fossil Beds?

Wyoming

Fossil Butte National Monument

Leave a comment

Overview

One-hundred years after the creation of Yellowstone National Park, another Wyoming site was added to the National Park Service (NPS) system in 1972: Fossil Butte National Monument.  It is dedicated to 50-million-year-old fossils found in an ancient subtropical lakebed, including plants (like palms and ferns) and animals (like turtles and lemurs). 

Highlights

NPS museum, film, Fossil Lake Trail, Historic Quarry Trail

Must-Do Activity

Even 50-million years ago it was windy in Wyoming!  The excellent preservation of the fossils may be in part due to high winds that kept surface water well-oxygenated while deeper waters were stagnant.  If you need to get out of the wind, head into the visitor center to see fossil fish, turtles, and other species on display.  On the deck outside there is an awesome timeline that traces CO2 levels and life on Earth throughout geologic time.

Best Trail

Take the steep steps up the Historic Quarry Trail to find fish fossils still in the rocks.  There is no shade along the trail, but even in the summer the weather is usually not that hot at 7,000 feet in elevation.  From the picnic area, the 1.5-mile Fossil Lake Trail leads to aspen groves.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Get up close with fossils that stand out against the white bedrock in the NPS museum or on the Historic Quarry Trail.  On private land nearby, you can pay to excavate your own fish fossils that you get to keep.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/fobu/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Entrance road is paved

Camping

None within the National Monument, but to the north Bridger-Teton National Forest provides opportunities for dispersed camping.

  • Huge crocodile
  • Scott with fossilized turtles
  • A stingray
  • Scott pointing to a fish fossil
  • A fish still in the rock on the Historic Quarry Trail

Explore More – Kemmerer, Wyoming is home the very first example of which well-known department store?

Idaho, Montana, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park

Leave a comment

Overview

The geothermal features here inspired the creation of the world’s first official “National Park” in 1872.   Most of Yellowstone is actually a supervolcano where the magma heats up underground water producing 10,000 hot springs, fumaroles, and mudpots on the surface, as well as 300 geysers.  Incredibly, over 50% of the geysers in the world occur within this one park, which is equally famous for its wildlife diversity, including grizzly bears, bison, gray wolves, and elk.

Yellowstone3

Highlights

Old Faithful geyser, Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, waterfalls, wildlife

Must-Do Activity

The most famous geyser here is Old Faithful, which can shoot water up to 185 feet in the air.  Since the occurrence of several earthquakes it is no longer as consistent as its name suggests, but its eruptions can be accurately predicted every 60 to 110 minutes throughout the day.  Arrive early to get a seat or take the trail up the nearby hill to watch it from above.  Afterwards, hike the boardwalks through colorful Upper Geyser Basin.

Best Trail

A hike into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone on Glacial Boulder Trail is one way to find the solitude lacking at the drive-up overlooks (you should still hike to the Brink of Lower Falls with the crowds).  Instead of staying in the packed campgrounds, consider getting a permit to backpack camp in the canyon.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The trail is steep, but paved down to the Brink of Lower Falls on the Yellowstone River for unforgettable view of the canyon, especially on sunny days when a rainbow appears in the spray.

2015YellowstoneNP4

Peak Season

Summer, but Old Faithful Village can seem busy in the winter with all the snowmobiles during the day.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$35 per vehicle or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

Very few roads are not paved, but the majority close for seven months in the winter.

Camping

There are many campgrounds in the park, but they fill up quickly the summer (especially at primitive Slough Creek).  The surrounding National Forests offer campgrounds and dispersed sites as well.  We have enjoyed backpacking at designated campsites in the park with a permit, especially in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Looking back at Lower Yellowstone Falls
A rim view of Lower Falls on the Yellowstone River.

 

Dropping down into the canyon
Backpacking into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone on Glacial Boulder Trail.

2012Yellowstone

Two ravens
Ravens love Yellowstone, just like Raven About The Parks!

 

IMG_9385
Bison in front of Old Faithful Inn in February.

 

2016WYyellowstone11
View of Old Faithful erupting from the hill overlook.

2016WYyellowstone13

LR YELL
This design we created to celebrate Yellowstone National Park is available on a variety of products at Cafe Press and Amazon.

Explore More – How many of the park’s 4-million annual visitors arrive in June, July, and August?

1WonsTiny2

WONDON WAS HERE …TWICE …THRICE

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Oregon

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

1 Comment

Overview

There are three units of this National Monument named for the John Day River that drains this region in the rain shadow of the Cascades.  It is less green than much of Oregon, but that lack of vegetation allows the wonderful colors of the soil to show through in places like the Painted Hills and Blue Basin.

July Oregon 1777.JPG

Highlights

Scenic views, geologic formations, fossils, museum

Must-Do Activity

The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center gets our vote for the best museum in the entire National Park Service System.   Across from Sheep Rock, it has awesome exhibits on the 40-million years of mammalian history this monument protects.  Plus, watch real laboratory specimens being prepared by archaeologists.  Across the highway, have a picnic at the James Cant Ranch Historic District and learn about sheep and cattle ranching in this region.

Best Trail

The Blue Basin is accurately named at the end of the one-mile Island in Time Trail.

Instagram-worthy Photo

If you can only see one unit of the monument, make sure it is the surreal Painted Hills. Stunning colors on large clay hills with several interpretive loop trails describe the geological history and fossils found there.

2016ORjohnday4

Peak Season

Summer, though wildfires can cause road closures.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/joda/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Dirt roads at the Painted Hills are passable with most vehicles when dry.

Camping

None within the monument, but there are several campgrounds in the area, including a nice one we stayed at in the town of Fossil, Oregon.

July Oregon 1732
The John Day River running through the National Monument.

Rock formations like the ones at Devils Postpile NM
The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center gets our vote for the best museum in the entire NPS System.

July Oregon 1746
The blue badlands at the end of the one-mile Island in Time Trail. 

Group shot

 

2016ORjohnday6
There are several trails through the Painted Hills for up-close views of the colorful soil.

IMG_1709

 

Explore More – Which unit of the National Monument is known for its fossil plants in mudstone?

1WonsTiny2

WONDON WAS HERE