Visitors can enjoy unique attractions at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and Colorado. While visiting here, I found myself constantly shifting my field of view to things above and below me. Colorful tilting rocks in vast landscapes showed geology in action. Petroglyphs and pictographs told stories of Indigenous people from long ago. An amazing collection of dinosaur fossils took me even further back in time.
The Monument also includes places to hike, fish, river raft, picnic, and camp. There’s a visitor center in Utah, and another in Colorado.
The small Visitor Center in Utah features informational exhibits and a store.
A fall view by the Bend Whitewater Park in Bend, Oregon. The path leads to two benches surrounded by fall leaves. You can also see a few realistic-looking Canada Geese sculptures in the foreground.
While visiting Wyoming, I noticed the interesting pose of this happy Hyopsoduswortmani fossil at one of our stops. To me, it looked like a dog asleep on its back.
I thought I’d try to draw what it may have looked like based on the fossil. The first drawing is in pencil.
The second one is pen and ink, drawn with a dip pen with a pointed nib tip dipped in ink.
On the last one, I added a light wash of acrylic paint.
You may have noticed the Hyopsodus I drew is smiling. Do mammals smile?
Here’s a recent picture of one of my dogs, hogging both dog beds. You be the judge. 😉
Here’s a pretty lavender-colored High Desert dahlia seen on a garden tour in Bend, Oregon last year. These popular plants prefer full sun and good drainage. Though this one was seen in July, they are treasured for blooming well into the fall months.
This was one of the many flowers in bloom we saw on the tour. I think the color of this one made it my favorite High Desert dahlia seen that day.
If you’re travelling to Wyoming and like dinosaurs, consider stopping at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center (WDC) in Thermopolis. In 1993, dinosaur fossils were discovered near here at the Warm Springs Ranch. Fossils discovered here and elsewhere are on display at WDC. Visitors will see fifty-eight articulated dinosaur skeletons and a wide variety of fossils.
You’ll see dinosaur skeletons large and small in the display hall. Some are real, others are recreated from casts of fossils.
Remember the Velociraptors in “Jurassic Park?” Here’s one, blending into the background.
I especially liked this one because it shows a Tyrannosaurus dinosaur attacking a Stegosaurus.
We saw this large Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis, tree at Fort Clatsop, Oregon. This is where the Lewis and Clark expedition spent a long, wet winter in 1806. Lewis noted how this tree was commonly 27 feet in girth, with some trees reaching 36 feet around. This tree’s height averages 125-180 feet, and may reach over 250 feet. Sitka spruce can live up to 800 years.
Indigenous people used parts of spruce trees in several ways. Roots and cedar bark were woven into baskets and hats. The pitch was used as a varnish, to waterproof canoes, and chewed like gum. Various parts were used to treat diarrhea, constipation, and back aches. Sitka spruce was thought to possess “mystical powers and provided protection against evil thoughts.”
The tree’s fine-grained wood is both strong and lightweight. It is used in turbine blades, aircraft, sailboats, racing sculls, and oars. its unique qualities also make it a favorite in making musical instruments, including guitars, harps, violins, pianos, and flutes created by Native Americans.
Here’s the view as we were driving across the Columbia River into Hood River, Oregon on a recent trip. You can see Mount Hood peeking over the hills on the left side of the picture.
We happened to be there when the annual Association of Wind + Watersports Industries event was taking place. Here’s a picture of the Hood River Bridge from the Oregon side. Can you see all the windsurfers out there?
Here’s a picture of a white cosmos up close, taken a couple of days ago in Bend, Oregon. Cooler weather is on the way so it may soon disappear. They are one of my favorite flowers!
When I looked through my Oregon photos, it was hard to narrow it down to only ten pictures for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge of Tell us why. These are the photos I chose, shown by category.
Oregon photos of history
Sometimes you take a picture and when you look at it later on a larger screen, you say, “Wow!”
I took this picture of an old homestead without fussing with the settings first. It almost looks like one of those old-time stereoscope images. I like this photo because it captured a glimpse of history.
I took a lot of pictures of the Spruce Goose aircraft in McMinnville and described it in a recent post. When I saw the lines in this photo, I knew it would look great in black and white.
Majestic mountains
I noticed I had many portraits of majestic mountains when I browsed through my Oregon photos.
The first photo, is of Steens Mountain, in southeast Oregon. The lupine was in bloom so I focused on its purple flowers. This 50-mile long mountain is one of my favorite places in Oregon. I like taking pictures that show its powerful presence.
When I went on the High Desert Garden Tour in Bend, Oregon in July 2022, I was impressed by a couple edibles & more gardens. Their yards had edible plants in the front, sides, and back.
These are gooseberries growing on a shrub in full sun. I remember a gooseberry plant at one of my childhood homes.
These radishes were in a raised bed. We grow them as well and I love their spicy taste.
Raspberries! One of my favorite fruits. Over the years, our dogs have enjoyed eating them off the vines so we have to pick them fast.
These three sandstone formations are located in Tillamook Bay, north of Garibaldi, Oregon. Known locally as The Three Graces, they’re also called Crab Rocks. If the tides are low, they’re a great place to explore when out kayaking. Check tides before venturing there.
The Oregon coast has several seastacks near the shore. These are smaller in stature, but still very photogenic.
Florists and gardeners use red flowers to represent a wide variety of emotions and characteristics. You may associate them with love, but they have many other meanings.
Columbines are symbols of strength, wisdom, and peace. Red columbines symbolize love, intense emotions, and encouragement.
Western columbine, Aquilegia formosa
Hibiscus are symbols of youth, beauty, success, glory, and femininity. Red hibiscus symbolize romance and love.
Red hibiscus, Hibiscus sp.
Black-eyed Susans are symbols of justice, inspiring motivation and positive changes. They are sometimes associated with the sense of wonder of childhood.
Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia sp.
Poppies are symbols of remembrance and hope. The flowers are used to recognize members of the Armed Forces around the world. In some cultures, red poppies represent love and success.
Iceland poppy, Papaver nudicaule
Indian paintbrush are symbols of creativity, passion, and the pursuit of dreams. Their red and orange flowers represent fiery energy and the drive needed to achieve your goals.
Indian paintbrush, Castilleja sp.
Red flowers stand out in both wild and cultivated landscapes.
Meanings of flowers may vary, depending on the source. For this post, I relied on information on Petal Republic.
Do you need to weed? It’s not something we want to do, but it’s something we have to do.
Some weeds are pretty, but spread aggressively. I call this one the “Root of all Evil” because it can be hard to pull and develops seed heads almost as soon as it pops out of the ground.
“Root of all Evil” Stork’s-bill or Crane’s Bill
About an acre of our land is planted with landscaping, fruit, or vegetable plants. We need to weed often, especially in the spring. Today I’ll share some tips and tools that may help you when you need to weed.
Need to weed tools
Bosmere N468 Kneeling Seat for the Garden
I have tried several seats while weeding, and this is my favorite. You can sit on it as a seat or flip it over and kneel on it.
Bosmere N468 Kneeling Seat for the Garden
My dogs like when I sit on it because then I’m at their level. Shelby thinks it’s the perfect opportunity to play fetch with me.
“Monkey tree can’t pinch me!” I remember saying that as a kid every time we drove past one of these odd trees on the way to our grandparents’ house. We would try to be the first one to pinch our siblings before they could pinch us. Did anyone else play that game?
Monkey puzzle tree in Silverton, Oregon
Monkey puzzle trees, Araucaria auracana, are native to Chile and Argentina but grow well in many parts of the world. In their native habitat, they grow to a height of 100-130 feet, but in gardens in North America mature at 30-40 feet.
Their common name originated in 1850 when Charles Austin, who was visiting a friend’s garden in England, remarked, “It would puzzle a monkey to climb that.” Those triangular leaves have sharp edges and tips!
Close up of Monkey puzzle tree leaves, Silverton, Oregon
I took this picture of a foggy day at Boiler Bay, Oregon a couple weeks ago.
In 1910, the J. Marhoffer schooner ran aground here. Its engine caught on fire and the fuel tanks exploded, sending debris everywhere. During extremely low tides, you can still see its boiler, for which this site is named.
In early June, while driving the roads in Custer State Park, South Dakota, we saw these bison & bikes in front of us. YIKES!
It ends up we were driving through the Ride Across South Dakota (RASDak) annual event. The route for this six-day event changes every year. The part we saw had participants riding 37 miles from Hot Springs to Custer, South Dakota. Mileage of each leg of the 330-mile route varies by day.
Though a RASDak support vehicle parked nearby, I would be nervous being this close to bison with calves. In fact, visitors to Custer State Park are advised to “remain in your vehicle or stay at least 100 yards from bison, elk, and other animals.” I admired the bravery of these bike riders.
I’m sure the participants saw amazing sights along the entire route, but they were probably glad to get past this bison & bikes roadblock. What a great way to see the state!
Fluttering into a wild iris meadow White-faced Ibis alight Curved bills preen and probe Iridescent feathers catch fading light Casting rainbows over dusty hills Awakening dormant wildflowers Yearning for an opportunity To shine
I like to walk the trails in Norris Geyser Basin when visiting Yellowstone National Park. One day, while I walked along a forested trail, I nodded at two people passing me going the opposite direction. Another person walked some distance ahead of me. All of them overlooked something alongside the trail. In fact, they missed it by a hare.
Can you spot what I saw near the trail?
Maybe everyone passing by was looking at this geyser on the other side of the trail and missed it.
I spotted a movement from a distance and stepped towards it for a closer look.
What is that? A new kind of rabbit? Maybe a pinto bunny?
I saw this beautiful Western Tiger Swallowtail on a penstemon flower in my front yard recently. We try to plant flowers that attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. We’ve seen LOTS of butterflies this year.
We recently returned from a long road trip through several western states and spotted hundreds of pronghorn along the way. I’m a big fan of this antelope of the west and love taking pictures of them.
Pronghorn, Antilocapra americana,also known as antelope or pronghorn antelope, are quirky animals in many ways. Their scientific name means “American goat-antelope.”
In September of 1804, upon first seeing pronghorn, Lewis and Clark expedition members assumed they were goats. Captain Lewis noted the “superior fleetness of this anamal which was to me really astonishing.” Upon examining them more closely, Lewis referred to them as antelope, based on their resemblance to African antelopes.
In reality, pronghorn are the only surviving members of the North American Antilocapridae family. Goats and true antelopes are in the Bovidae family.
Pronghorn at Custer State Park, South Dakota
In this post, I’ll share more about their natural history.
Range
Pronghorn range from the southern prairie provinces of Canada, southward into the western states of America and into northern Mexico.
Pregnant doe pronghorn near Great Basin National Park, Nevada
