Dinosaur National Monument

Bruce has been out of town this week: first to Canada with his dad and brothers, and then to California for a work conference. The girls and I didn't want to sit at home the whole time he was gone, so we conned Grandpa Jack into coming to Dinosaur National Monument with us.  It was a grand time!   Our first stop was lunch in Duchesne, then we were on to Vernal.

Kiki was so excited to take a picture by these dinos.  Unfortunately, this was the site of the old, closed museum so this was all the action available here.  Luckily, the newly opened museum was right down the street.

The new museum was amazing.  Other than the temper tantrums both girls threw because of my failure to take an appropriate amount of "solo" pictures, a good time was had by all.

After the museum, the girls took a dip in the hotel pool, then we ate dinner at the 7-11.  Not the convenience store, but a local steakhouse.  Kate was so in love with her meal that she begged for lunch there the next day. 

Kiki excavated a baby T-Rex out of a sandstone egg.

We started the next morning with a hike to some petroglyphs.  It was well worth the drive out.

You could leave a note at the trailhead if you wanted.

Then it was off to the Quarry.  Kiki was so excited she could hardly contain herself. 

This was maybe not the funnest time Kate has ever had...Dinos aren't her bag.  But what IS her bag is this: A ten dollar bribe to keep her trap shut about it.  Actually, she was a excellent sport.

The. Time. Of. Her. Life.

After the Quarry we popped down to the Green River so we could at least say that we popped down to the Green River.

Totally worth going.  Hopefully we didn't wear out Grandpa Jack with all of the fighting, whining, and complaining.  And that was just me!