Thread: TR OT Kid Stoke: Friends, Rock Art & a Hermit Cave

Dinosaur NM straddles the border of UT & CO, E of Vernal UT. Famous for it's fossil quarry, source of many of the fossils displayed in museums around the world.

A fun game is to count all the dinosaur images between Vernal UT & Dinosaur CO. This year we counted 30 incl this dude in a straw hat chewing on a watermelon next to a giant carrot:



And this tall pink cutie w/long eyelashes:



Dinosaur NM is also full of beauty & human history. That's where we were headed:



Our friends, Steve & Katie from Steamboat CO, got there ahead of us & had set up camp. They waited to fire up dinner till we arrived. Steve, a fine fingerstyle guitar player & student of Jorma Kaukonon, serenaded us as dinner cooked:



Steve is as good a cook & wine expert as he is a guitar player. Friday dinner was wild sockeye salmon baked w/mandarin oranges, sliced fresh peaches & juniper berries & a great bottle of white wine:



The next day we went exploring downriver:







& found a nice beach:



Where the kids could get good & dirty:



Sara, princess of tamarisk:



Katie & Sara are ~week apart in age & have been friends since they first met:





There's a big square boulder near camp covered with indian rock art figures of little hands & feet. I think they're from an indian family ~1,000yrs ago keeping track of their kids as they grew (she's not touching the rock):



When we last visted here 5yrs ago, Sara's feet were the same size as these rock art images. She's grown some since then. I love this spot:



A pleasure of car camping is the food you can bring. Steve continued to kill it at dinner. Saturday night was grilled sage rubbed pork tenderloin w/homemade apple - raspberry jelly, sauted chantarelle mushrooms, fresh asparagus, potatoes & a bottle of Turnbull Sirah wine:



Good times protecting Wild Utah:



Being fall, the river level was low. Sunday morning we set out to swim across to find the rumored rock art on the other side. No photos because we didn't want to get the camera wet. We made it across & found a bunch more good rock art images. Also found a couple of tiny ancient corn cobs. We think they were maybe left behind by the indian artists.

Our trip was almost over, but there were still a few cool things to see on the way out. A rare pointillist style petroglyph:



The first white settler in the area arrived in the early 1880's & lived as a hermit in a cave for over 30yrs:



One day this fellow became ill, travelled to Brown's Park CO to see the nearest doctor & died. ~A hundred years later his cave remains untouched, hat still on the bedpost, shoes still under the bed:



A pictograph in the hermit cave:



These trips are some of the good things in life.

If you're ever hungry in Steamboat, may I recommend Steve's place, Soda Creek Pizza Co. It's the one with the cool logo of a telemarking pizza delivery guy, they also deliver Ben & Jerry's ice cream:

Very cool. Amazing no one has fucked up the art and the hermit's cave. Although you'd think that guy could've found a cave that gave him a little more shelter!

You are a lucky man. Great pictures!

Nice road trip with friends & family. Planning a trip to the "Boat' this season will try your bro's zza

Thanks. I really enjoy trip reports & want to contribute to the stoke.

Here's a bonus camping recipe fer yer enjoyment; Nutella strawberry s'more tacos. Mmmm tacos:



I love mountains, snow & skiing.

I also love the desert. It's all so good:

100th post!

Can I get a JONG?

Man…one of the best TRs ever!

Nice work dad!

Ps. I’m gonna hit you up for some beta on that place someday.