I have been looking forwad to going to Dinosaur National Monument since we got to the USA.

Our first activity was the Dino Discovery Trail. This was our first chance to spot fossils on the side of the path. We saw an Ichthyosaur and other vertebra, a femur, and lots of unidentified bones.

Next we went to the fossil quarry. When I walked in all I could see was bones. I’d never seen so many fossils before. It was breath-taking!

This is only 1/7th of what used to be here. Some of the names of the dinosaur fossils I saw were Allosaurus, Camarasaurus, and Stegosaurus. I learned in my junior ranger book what some dinosaur names mean. For example:

1. Allo saurus = other lizard
2. Camara saurus = chamber lizard
3. Stego saurus = roof lizard

I made up my own dinosaur name: pachy ceras giga saurus meaning thick horn savage giant lizard. Would you be scared to meet this dinosaur?

Lots of complete skeletons have been found here and sent to museums around the world.

These are some of the dinosaurs on display at the quarry. To get my junior ranger badge I had to spot nine types of dinosaur behind the Allosaurus picture starting on the left. I really enjoyed the activity because the mural was so detailed.