For this year's annual Fourth of July camping trip, we intended to get away from the heavy Colorado fire danger by heading up to Medicine Bow (in Wyoming) via Steamboat Springs. A burgeoning tradition within our annual pilgrimage is that of the rodeo; since the rodeos apparently don't happen in southern Wyoming until later in the summer, we made a point to see the famous Cowboy Roundup Days at Brent Romick Arena in Steamboat.
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| We were PUMPED for some rodeo action. Get-r-done! |
We set up camp and moseyed on down to the arena, where we quickly learned tat the folks in the know were the folks who got there a little bit early and sat under the sheltered side of the stadium. We enjoyed a complimentary shower - compliments of mother nature - and cozied up under the rain poncho. Gigi made friends with the single most adorable child that ever lived, and we were a happy little bunch under a cool summer sky.
Since I attended the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo as a kid, I've only been to July 4th rodeo festivities, so I'm not sure if the palpitating patriotism is a usual occurrence at these events or not. It is nonetheless entertaining to listen to Toby Keith albums and
Proud to be an American on a continuous loop for hours on end, while your contemporaries chasse up and down the aisle in their best rattlesnake-skin boots with rhinestone Jesuses and crosses emblazoned upon all visible layers of clothing, cursing up a storm and a dip or two of cheap chewing tobacco in. Its much like being in a western movie - but exchange the 6-shooters for baby strollers.
Rodeo is perplexing for me because it is the only sport where I root against the athletes.... I can preemptively sense the reader judging me for this but let me ask you a question: when you see the cows win isn't it just a little bit satisfying? Isn't there the smallest voice in the back of your head that roots for the underdog, yelling "you go, my little cow friend!" I rest my case - you would have to be a seriously cold-hearted son of a gun to think the steers actually like to get wrastled to the ground by their horns, or that its really impressive for a thirty year old man on trained horseback to chase down and tackle a four month old calf.
All soapboxes aside, this was both good, old-fashioned Dionysian and Apollonian fun. Suspense, drama, gossip and philosophical fodder were available in abundance and I look forward to going again.
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| This event was called "Milking a wild cow." I wonder what the cow's thoughts were? |
We had a sweet campsite in the Routt National Forest on the way to Buffalo Pass (Elev. 10,804').
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| Gigi's tasteful photography of our home for the night. |
There was a sweet view of the Yampa valley below. A friend of ours trusted me with an early transcript of the first chapters of his upcoming book, and while Gigi slept in I had the privledge of watching the valley mists burn off with the morning sun .
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| The washed-out top of the photo is a fog bank rolling north (away from Steamboat Springs proper) |
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| Looking south towards town. This was a beautiful place. |
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| Later. The sun is starting to come out and the mists are rising towards the celestial roof above. |
Day two was spent at the Steamboat Municipal pool and athletic center. There are spring-fed pools and hot tubs, a diving board, water slides and a CLIMBING WALL. There are water falls cascading down the face, and any spills send you right back into the water that you came from. I realize that I'm a legal adult but I proudly battled the local children for my turn to attempt to climb this behemoth. Last year, I spent three unsuccessful hours trying to climb the wall. Armed with the shame that comes from being one-upped by countless six year olds and the studious determination garnered from five years of undergraduate study, I knew I would emerge victorious in round two. After a full day's contemplation, we waded by the wall as a drizzle fell on the surface of the water. I knew that it was only a matter of time until the lifeguards kicked us out - it was go time and I had one shot to vindicate myself! The noise of the outside world ceasing, I gathered myself and approached the wall with marked resiliency. And then, the magic happened. I
finally reached the top of the wall at 9:15 PM. It was a landmark event in my life... I love this pool.
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| This photo is from the pool's website. Look at how epic this kid is right now! If I ever own a pool I will have three of these walls. |
The day was so much fun that the local fauna wanted to join us for dinner. We saw this little guy investigation our stove situation back on the pass. It was a little strange to see a salamander because I was unaware that we were near any water, but he cruised around our feet for about a half hour while we ate.
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| Gigi thought he was cute until she learned that they can be poisonous.... Then we sanitized everything he touched :-) |
As we packed up camp, we considered our options - Dinosaur National Monument and Medicine Bow/Laramie looked about equidistant on the map, and we really like dinosaurs. So we changed plans and headed west. Good choice.
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| The park straddles to Colorado-Utah border. The quarry is entered on the Utah side, and the camping and scenic drives are accessed from the Colorado side. |
Here the awesome tram that takes you to the quarry.
The quarry is literally a wall of bones that have been partially dug out so as to be made visible. From the viewing gallery upstairs, you can see bones ranging from 5cm to >1m. Most of the bones found at the quarry are from Sauropods (long-necked vegetarians, think brachiosaurus or apatosaurus (formerly brontosaurus)). They've also found stegosauri and allosauri, but in lower abundance at this site. From the viewing gallery, you can access a lower level of the quarry where visitors can get up close and personal with the wall, and actually touch some of the fossils.
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| This is a massive scapula (shoulder blade) from a sauropod. Had I come here as a child, I probably would have peed my pants with excitement at the opportunity to touch these fossils. Twenty years later, the excitement is just as much but I've (thankfully, for everyone's sake) mastered control of my bodily functions in such situations. |
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| Gigi (who is an awesome scientist) correctly identified this femur. She was also pretty darn excited - look at those eyes! |
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| Happy and nerding-out at the dino wall. |
Across the floor from the fossil wall is a series of interactive exhibits and a complete skeleton of an allosaurus. It was both huge and completely awesome.
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| Take a moment and appreciate the fine artwork in the background. I look at those hands and imagine him/her growling in a thick east-coast accent, "I'ma gonna pick off the weak, old and/or sick animals and do my part for the evolution of prey animals in my local ecosystem. Then, I'ma gonna grab some stuff and kapow! Keyaa! Hiya! Mmmmrrraawwwgggrrr! Kacha! Its good to be the top predator." |
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| Us doing our best impression of the allosaurus. |
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| Awww.... she's so cute. |
Fun fact, stegosaurus is the state dinosaur of Colorado - neato. In the very last exhibit before you leave the building, visitors are sent off with a parting image of the cutest baby stegosaurus fossil ever. The artist who painted the mural at the quarry was clearly from Utah and not Colorado, because of what we found tucked around the corner.
We were impressed by the seeming olive branch of peace extended us by our westerly neighbors, until we again examined the artwork that accompanied the exhibit. Needless to say, we were horrified.
We made sure to pay our respects to the unsuspecting stegosaurus at the entrance to the visitor center on our way out. The poor guy has no idea where his kid ended up... we didn't have the heart to tell him.
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| Homage, indeed, my friend - I shall forever pledge my allegiance to the great patriots and representatives of our fine state: the stegosauri. May their legacy live in infamy. |
Back on the Colorado side of the monument, we came upon a fine campground in a place known as Echo Park, resting just downriver from the confluences of the Yampa and Green rivers.
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| The view from our camp. Steamboat Rock is illuminated in the middle ground. |
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| Gigi simultaneously drinking away her sorrows from the plight of the stegosauri and celebrating the awesomeness of the rest of the quarry. |
Off of a tip from the local park ranger, we decided to go for a hike Saturday morning along a footpath towards a sandy beach known as Mitten Park. In order to get there, we would need to hike along the base of the cliffs from our campsite.
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| From the start of the trail. |
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| Gigi presenting the initial terrain covered by the trail. From this point on, most of the hiking runs along the sandstone base of the cliffs. |
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| Gigi posing with the beautiful Green River behind her. |
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| Across the river from the trail was Steamboat Rock. |
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| A better look at the sandstone path and the steamboat-esque summit of Steamboat Rock. |
Alas, the heat had become an issue prior to us reaching the crux of the route. Although we brought a fair amount of water, I had forgotten to pack the water purifier and we would likely not have had enough refreshments to last us for the whole hike and hanging out at the park. We elected to turn around and wade into the river closer to our drinking water.
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| Gigi is an awesome partner. I am almost as excited to be dating her as I am that we got to hang out at the dino quarry yesterday. |
Apparently Echo Park is also a popular lunch site for river runners. We waded in at the take out.
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| Its more of a rafting dock. There were three whitewater rafts just to the right of us as we took this. You can kind of see the sandbar under the surface of the water. |
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| Looking up at the confluence of the Yampa and Green Rivers. |
Temperatures were approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit, so the only logical thing to do was to bask in the river oasis.
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| Great scenery. |
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| A fine ending to a great hike. |
We packed up our things and ended our trip in Palisade and Grand Junction. Intending to visit the local vineyards, we learned that wine tastings don't happen after 5:00 PM. Alas, we will have to return later in the summer to hike the fruit and wine trail.
