Vernal, Utah
After Brad came into town we drove to Vernal, Utah for the weekend to visit some of Brad's aunts and uncles.
As a child I visited Dinosaur Land many times with my family, but Brad's connection to Vernal is his dad's family, who have lived in Vernal for generations.
While in Vernal we stayed with Brad's Uncle Verdon and Aunt Marilyn who were the most amazing hosts ever, especially when considering Uncle Verdon's failing health, and the fact that two of their youngest children passed away this year. They truly spoiled us with Aunt Marilyn's expertise on the Traeger grill, and the time they spent showing us Dinosaur land, where the other relatives lived in town, and catching us up on all that's happened with the family since we last visited 29 years ago!
On one of our little drives I took pictures of the quaint downtown area with it's potted and hanging flowers lining both sides of the street.
We also drove by Verdon's childhood home where the Manwaring boys (Phillip, Verdon, Victor - Brad's father, and Glendon) grew up doing masonry work with their father Ashel (Brad's grandfather).
Uncle Verdon said the house looks quite a bit different than it used to with the second story addition and garage taken off, but some of the stonework is still the same.
We then went to Brent's house (Verdon and Marilyn's youngest who passed away this past Spring) to help them water their daughter-in-law's plants while she and the kids were out of town.
Their home sits up on a hill and the view from their balcony was beautiful. The yard was also a landscaped work of art, mostly done by their daughter-in-law.
On the way back to Verdon's house there was once again the most amazing sunset!
I tried to capture the vibrant colors out the car window, but failed to do it justice.
The next day we got all geared up for another drive through town, and then headed down to Dinosaur Land.
While stopping at the city cemetery, I took pictures of Brad's grandparents and great-grandparent's head stones.
Our first stop was the park area along the Green River.
A closer view of Green River and popular place to run the river on rafts.
The river runs along Split Mountain, which is also the picture perfect location for several campgrounds and picnic areas.
We then drove to Josie Bassett Morris' cabin in Cattle Creek. Josie was an old frontier woman who lived in this cabin for almost 90 years, fifty of those years she lived without electricity, plumbing, or neighbors. In between her sister's visits and divorcing 4 times, she lived alone, but had many visitors like Butch Cassidy. She also brewed her own brandy and wine, and rustled cows for a living.
Uncle Verdon met Josie when he took a scout troop to her cabin for a visit. He remembers sitting in her living room which was cozy and well-kept with news papers covering the walls.
Land in front of the cabin
Little trail to the chicken coop
Chicken coop with view of Box Canyon
Brad and I taking the walking trail to Box and Hog Canyons where Josie kept 'her' livestock.
The original wooden fence which penned the animals.
The canyon which kept the livestock contained.
The canyon also protected the livestock from predators due to its steep, curved walls.
Definitely the perfect place for rustling animals since there was only one way in and out.
On our drive out of the canyon I couldn't help but take a million pictures of the unique terrain and and jagged mountain tops which were actually titled rocks that were once flat but forced upward over time.
These rocky mountains uplifted 50-60 million years ago at which time the Unitahs were created. Split Mountain and Blue Mountain (above) are actually the foothills to the High Unitahs. Vernal is located in the Uintah Basin which was formed by a prehistoric lake called Unita Lake during the late Tertiary period. Uinta is derived from the Ute Indian word meaning "pine tree or pine forest".
Scenic viewpoint of Split Mountain from Creek Road.
Another view of Green River which actually used to lay above Split Mountain but cut through it over time by water and wind.
The Green River winding through Cub Creek Valley
The Morrison Formation is a unit of rocks dating from the Late Jurassic period 155-148 million years ago.
Aunt Marilyn stopped so I could take pictures and look at these petroglyhps up close.
The petroglyhps were made by the Freemont people who lived in the area 1000 years ago, which was also 600 years during the dinosaur era.
Aunt Marilyn stopped so I could take pictures and look at these petroglyhps up close.
The petroglyhps were made by the Freemont people who lived in the area 1000 years ago, which was also 600 years during the dinosaur era.
Info on the Petroglyphs located at the carving site. I learned that petroglyphs are actually carvings in the rock where pictographs are paintings on the rock. All along the basin there were both petroglyphs and pictorgraphs created by the Freemont people.
Our next stop was the recently renovated Dinosaur Quarry Visitor Center
The visitor center itself was an architectural statement, and then add to that the beautiful views of the valley, Green River,
and the tops of the jagged mountains (and perfect cloud formations, I may add).
Our next stop was the recently renovated Dinosaur Quarry Visitor Center
The visitor center itself was an architectural statement, and then add to that the beautiful views of the valley, Green River,
and the tops of the jagged mountains (and perfect cloud formations, I may add).
The quarry was pretty amazing with all the dinosaur bones, and new bones are being discovered all the time behind the quarry, which is still an active digging site.
The quarry face contained 10 different species of dinosaurs and was an educational and interactive experience for all ages ...
Explanations of how the bones came to be ...
The actual bones in the rock with special lighting to persevere them ...
Explanations of how the bones came to be ...
The actual bones in the rock with special lighting to persevere them ...
Disarticulated (separated) bones of at least 7 different species.
Large leg & shoulder bones of sauropods (long necks, long tails, small heads) Apatosaurus and Diplodocus.
Disarticulated Stegosaurus, 15 percent of the bones on the Quarry's face are Stegosaurus.
Picture of what the actual dinosaurs looked like.
After our little trip to Dinosaur Land we drove back to Vernal and visited with the rest of the Vernal relatives ... (above Uncle Verdon's son Kevin and his new wife).
Uncle Phillip (oldest of the Manwaring boys) and his wife Aunt Ela
Uncle Phillip and Aunt Ela's oldest son Bruce, who Brad played with as a child. Bruce and his wife were actually visiting from California where they currently live.
Aunt Carol (Uncles Verdon & Phillip's sister) and her daughter Connie (also a widow) who lives with her.
Aunt Carol always has a big smile on her face!
As Brad and I were driving back to Utah county, we saw yet another amazing sunset (I guess I've lived in the trees for far too long) ...
We had such a wonderful weekend in Vernal, and can't thank Uncle Verdon and Aunt Marilyn enough for their incredible hospitality!
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