Dinosaur Ridge

In an effort to get as much outdoor fun done as possible before the baby comes, we went up to Dinosaur Ridge to see what kind of cool fossils we could see.  The trail from the visitor's center takes you up a road that winds around a ridge.  Along the side of the road you can see fossilized footprints, sand, branches, and dinosaur bones. 

Footprints (made more visible with charcoal)

Another footprint

 

The dark red patch Cambrie's hand is resting on is a dinosaur bone.

When we first got started it was really hot and it made for slow going from the girls.  I didn't complain too much, it was just the right pace for me.  The longer we walked, the cooler it became until it eventually started raining.  We were all very happy with the cool down.  While we wished we could have seen even more dinosaur bones, we all had a good time and were glad for the Saturday excursion. 
 

We strayed off the beaten path to climb to the top of the ridge.  In the background you can see Red Rocks Amphitheater.

 
The "ball" that Jeremy is trying to catch in his mouth is a geological anomaly made by a mineral pocket when the rock was forming.  It was one of my favorite sights of the day.

 

Back at the visitor's center the girls were digging for dinosaur bones...or just filling their buckets with as much gravel as possible.