What's Up with Michael: Midweek Dinosaur Hunting

Oh, I don't know. On Tuesday, Facebook offered up a photo I took two years ago of a theropod track near Moab, so I decided it was time to go again. We booked a hotel in Moab and headed down there on Wednesday.

Day One

Our first stop was the Copper Ridge dinosaur tracks. The parking area has this nice outhouse, which has a change with an "occupied" sign as the door.

The tracks are about 500 feet up a trail. These tracks are from a sauropod, a large herbivore with elephant like feet.

Next to the sauropod tracks are these tracks from a theropod, a relative of the T-Rex. These tracks are 150 million years old and are from a dinosaur that stood about seven feet at the hip.

Near the Copper Ridge trail is the Dinosaur Stomping Grounds trail.

If you're lucky enough to find the parking area, the trail is well marked with yellow paint and cairns (stacks of rocks). It's about 1.5 to 1.75 miles up a gradual grade to the white rock outcrop with the tracks.

These little pools break up the rock in several places.

This is looking back toward the trailhead from the tracks location.

I read that there are over 2,000 tracks in about a two-acre area.

A lot of the tracks are on top of each other. Some say this was a water hole in a sandy desert.

Here's me flying my drone.

Dead wood.

Here's an abbreviated video of the hike and tracks.

Closer to Moab is the Mill Canyon road with this small-but-amazing petrified swamp. It's fenced to keep all the ATVs out, and it has a boardwalk to keep people off the tracks. There are several types of tracks, including the impression of a crocodile belly and tail.

A sign at the site depicts what this place might have looked like 150 million years ago.

Day Two
We were planning to go to Arches National Park, but because we've been there several times, we decided to go up the Colorado River to Castle Valley. For all the times I've been to Moab, I can't believe I've always zoomed past the road up the Colorado. Until today.

This is where Castle Vally gets its name.

We continued up the La Sal Loop road. The road from Moab heads east along the Colorado River, which a tall rock cliff on the right. Arches is on top of the cliff. The road through Castle Valley continues on to Colorado. The La Sal Loop turns right, goes over the La Sal Mountains, and connects back onto Highway 191 south of Moab.

This is a view of the La Sal Mountains from the Mill Canyon dinosaur track site.

Taking a picture of Castle Valley from the summit of the La Sal Loop road.

Back in Moab, we got sandwiches at Love Muffin Cafe. Yelp gave this place a high mark. The sandwiches were good, but not worth $12 each. Sheesh.

We were still thinking of going to Arches, but we decided to go southwest down the Colorado River. I've ridden my bike on this road, but never explored off the road. This narrow-gauge track cuts through the rock where a trail to Coronado Arch crosses the tracks.

We've never been to Coronado Arch, so this was an adventure. The trail is about 1.5 miles each way. Going up is a little more strenuous than the Dinosaur Stomping Grounds trail, but not bad at all.

The sage is in its spring bloom.

This cactus grove isn't blooming, but I thought it looked cool.

At one point of the trail, people have gone crazy building cairns.

The trail does include a small ladder climb.

And a climb up some Moqui (or Moki)-like steps.

I wasn't sure if this is an owl or some haunted formation.

Bowtie Arch is also next to Corona Arch.

This is looking up from under the arch with the sun above it. I thought I needed to show the sun's corona as I assume this is where the arch's name comes from.

Here's Chieko standing under the arch. There were other people and some dogs here, also. Yes, Apollo and Coda are welcome. This is outside the national park.