People. I love a fossil. I love to go to museums with nice little identification labels. I love to ponder the ancient world that was so very different from our world. (Hello, yes - I’m a massive nerd, of the library sort.) If this is you, then visit the Fossil Butte National Monument!
And! I got my National Park Service passport stamped! I always love an opportunity to get another stamp! (Again: Nerd. Happy.)
The building is out in the desert of Wyoming, so the low profile is appropriate. It’s surrounded by mountains, and just beautiful in that way that empty desert landscapes are!
Look at all of these display cases! It’s so cool to see these fossils left showing us some of the different animals that were alive in different times. So many awesome things - I just get lost staring at them and trying to recreate everything in my own mind so I see it all. (I mentioned the nerdy thing? Right? Right.)
When I was a teeny kid my dad used to show me fossils he had found on their farm, from when he was young. And we read a lot of dinosaur books together, so I was very ready to go with an assortment of fossil facts to entertain company! (Train your kids to do clever tricks; otherwise - why bother having them???)
Fossils! They are like art - so beautiful!
There is a five mile scenic drive you can take to enjoy the area. It does clearly say this, but I totally missed the part about how rough it was. The first couple of miles are nicely paved, and after that the road is basically a gravel road - including a 17% grade hill at one point. (If you aren’t familiar with that kind of hill, it’s VERY STEEP and a little scary!) I spent time working to be sure I didn’t glance off too long and fall off the side of the mountain. This was the top of the drive - and there was room to turn around here! It was a little scary, but the views are beautiful.
And on the way out, I checked out the Historic Quarry Trail. I live in an area with a lot of quarries, so this part resonated with me! It was a nice trail, though I didn’t spend too much time on it.
Take some time to look at history today. Spend some time doing some nerdy fun things this week. After all, it’s probably the best stuff to do!