In 1909 Earl Douglas, a paleontologist working for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, discovered what came to be known as the Carnegie Quarry where 10 species of dinosaurs have been found. Ninety-five percent were plant eating sauropods and the rest were meat eating theropods. Finding dinosaur bones in the Morrison formation is not unusual but finding completely articulated dinos is almost “inconceivable”. Usually dinosaur skeletons are headless due to the fragile nature of the skull.
The wall was still being excavated when I first visited the site in 1977 and again in 1992 when Rebecca and I took Lindy, Leah and Landy here. The now finished enclosed bone wall is a marvel to behold. There are fully articulated and disarticulated dinosaur skeletons that are easily viewed in a two level platform allowing visitors to get very close to the remains and even touch the bones of these long gone critters. Thanks to the Laramide orogeny mountain building the beds are lifted to a near vertical position for our viewing pleasure.
There are stress and strain meters mounted on the bone wall to monitor movements in the sandstone formation because of the plastic shales that are just below these priceless fossils. Dinosaur National Monument is a magical place that transforms all who visit into childhood once again.
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I cannot even wrap my mind around the fact that something like those creatures used to roam the earth.