Big Foot Tracks at Dinosaur Ridge

When we began planning our trip, I knew that I wanted to see dinosaur fossils. Dinosaurs never lived in Florida, so, though we have lots of fossils around, we have no dinosaur fossils. Colorado has plenty of them.

Conveniently, Denver---actually, Morrison--- has a little museum and outdoor hiking area where we were able to find just what I wanted to see: dinosaur tracks.

No, not that one. That is the bottom of a kid's sneaker in the gift shop. Isn't that clever?

And not this one. It is just sunlight shining through a cut-out in the roof.  Again: clever.

Here is what I came for:

Another sign said, these tracks were made by animals that were 20-30 feet long. 

A hundred million years ago, this hill that is now rock was a flat  mangrove swamp on the edge of the interior seaway. (While I can buy that it was flat and wet, I can not quite wrap my brain around the time frame.)

The rocks below show the impression of the roots of the mangrove trees.

Here is the wave  print in the stone that looks just like wave prints that we see at the beach today.

Here are a couple of the colorful displays outside the gift shop.

By the way, when you are flatlanders who start their day at sea level, this little hill up to the fossil display can test your lungs, as it is over a mile above sea level. The road is only for the tour bus, walking, and biking (at break-neck speeds down!)