TO WYOMING

SATURDAY, 11th JUNE.

It was well worth the return journey to the Dinosaur Park this morning.  Although we had a late-ish start (one might think we're on holidays), there wasn't a huge crowd when we arrived so we had no problem in getting seats on the shuttle bus for the short drive to the Quarry Exhibit Hall where the dinosaur fossils are on display. About a hundred years ago a large quantity of fossilied dinosaur bones was uncovered in the mountains, many were sent to universities and laboratories for study purposes, and a special purpose hall was built to house, protect and display the remainder to the general public.  We were amazed by the number of bones that were embedded in the rocks and impressed by the overall presentation.

After leaving the Dinosaurs, we headed north and a little west to Evanston in Wyoming, enjoying some very pretty scenery along the way, stopping to view the stunning Flaming Gorge Reservoir and paying a visit to the Fort  Bridger Historic Site.  Established by Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez in 1843 as an emigrant supply stop and trading post along the Oregon Trail, the site was obtained by the Mormons in the 1850s and then became a military outpost in 1858.  In 1933, the property was dedicated as a Wyoming Historical Landmark and Museum.  We spent an interesting hour or so wandering through the buildings which had been preserved and restored and checking out the small museum.  By this time the drizzle had increased  in volume and we completed our day's journey in rather heavy rain.  Jody's Diner was right next door to our motel so we decided to treat ourselves to an evening meal, it'd been a long day.