The Dinosaur Diamond Tour
Offered exclusively to Museum members! Membership information can be found in FEE section below.
This tour is aimed at adults. If you are a family, and would like to do this tour then please send a message to Sonya Norman (contact at end). If we have enough interested families, then we might add a second tour. The price for children, who are the 3rd or 4th person sharing a 2-bed room with family, would be approximately $2100.
ITINERARY
Day 1 May 28 Tucson to Window Rock (350 miles)
We begin our journey by shooting straight north, upstrata into the Mesozoic. We stop in Snowflake for a picnic lunch at Pioneer Park, then continue to the red sandstone of Holbrooke. Holbrook sits along historic Route 66, and this part of the route was Dinosaurville! With a visit to one of the old rock shops, we get a peek into the early days of cross-country motoring and themed roadside attractions. Mid-afternoon we arrive at the Petrified Forest National Park, where we are introduced to the Archosaurs, or the “ruling reptiles” of this Triassic park. We will stop at the Rainbow Forest Museum, the Painted Desert Visitor Center, and/or at the Crystal Forest for a walk through petrified, jasper logs. Then, on to Window Rock, New Mexico. Lodging: Quality Inn Navajo Nation Capitol.
Day 2 May 29 Window Rock to Monticello (195 miles)
We wake up this morning in the Navajo Nation’s capitol. Across the street from our hotel is the Navajo Nation Museum, Library, and Visitor Center, as well as a small animal park. We also take a walk around the Window Rock. Our morning drive traverses the Lukachuki Mountains, and includes a stop at the Tsaili Dine College for lunch. Mid- afternoon lands us in Blanding, Utah at The Dinosaur Museum, where we will focus on Feathered Dinosaurs, Eggs, and Babies. The last visit of the day is to Edge of the Cedars Museum and Park in Monticello, which houses an amazing collection of Fremont Culture artifacts, and will stay open until sunset. Lodging: Abajo Lodge. (B, L)
Day 3 May 30 Monticello to Price (180 miles)
Make yourself attracktive today, because this will be a morning of trackways! An hour north of Monticello are the Poison Spider Dinosaur Tracks of the three-toed Allosaurus, the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracks, and the Copper Ridge Dinosaur Trackways likely left by Apatosaurus and Diplodocus. Mid-day lands us in Green River, Utah where we stop at the John Wesley Powell River History Museum to learn about the early pioneers who charted the West by traveling the Green and Colorado rivers. These same waters carved the lands of this tour. (And, there is a dinosaur exhibit!) Outside the museum, an outdoor pavilion overlooking the Green River will be ideal for our picnic in the park. Late afternoon we arrive in Price. If the group feels up to it, we will visit the Eastern Utah State University Prehistoric Museum which features the Huntington Mammoth, more on the Fremont Paleolithic culture, and provides our first glimpse at Utahraptor. If the group instead chooses an early evening, this visit can take place the next day. Lodging: Legacy Inn. (B, L)
Day 4 May 31 Price to Vernal (173 miles)
The first order of business this morning is to visit the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in Jurassic National Monument. It is a one-hour drive (in the wrong direction), but definitely worth it. More than 12,000 individual bones belonging to at least 74 individual dinosaurs have been collected here. The working dig site is known internationally for having the densest collection of Jurassic-era dinosaur fossils ever discovered. Upon our return to Price we stop for lunch, then continue to Helper, where the coal mining museum tells of life 100 years ago in this region. Continuing along the Indian Canyon Scenic Byway we enter Ashley National Forest, as the road climbs through steep cliffs into a forest of pinyon pine, juniper and Douglas fir before cresting at the 9,100-foot summit. Then we roll on down to Vernal, where we will spend three nights. Lodging: Dinosaur Inn & Suites. (B)
Day 5 June 1 Vernal: River Trip or Day of Rest
Back in the town of Green River we learned about river exploration. Well today is our chance to be river rats! We will offer an OPTIONAL (pay extra) one day float trip with a professional outfitter either through Split Mountain within Dinosaur National Monument, or below Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Expect some on-board geology lessons as we move down the canyons! After we see how many are interested, we will then go with the outfitter that can best accommodate our group. We would meet at 8 a.m. and return to Vernal by 3:00 p.m., leaving the rest of the afternoon to rest. Read more about this in OPTIONAL RIVER TRIP section. If you instead opt for a day of rest, you can hang out at the hotel pool, enjoy restaurants, or explore the town. Lodging: Dinosaur Inn & Suites. (B)
Day 6 June 2 Vernal to Dinosaur National Monument (60 miles RT)
A grand feature of the Utah Field House of Natural History is the Dinosaur Garden, an outdoor diorama with full-sized dinosaur replicas. Here you can dig for fossils, visit the paleo lab, and see/touch the immaculately preserved fossil fish that settled on the floor of Eocene Lake Uinta. Come afternoon, we experience the high point of our tour: Dinosaur National Monument, its wall of bones (nestled in an ancient sandbar) and a guided fossil walk. After exploring the visitor center, we can take a dip along the shore of the Yampa River, hike in some of the sandstone canyons in the park, or take a nap under the cottonwood trees. At day’s end, we enjoy a BBQ dinner in the park. Lodging: Dinosaur Inn & Suites. (B, D)
Day 7 June 3 Vernal to Rangely (60 miles)
This morning we leave Vernal and head east to the other Dinosaur National Monument visitor center that’s just past the ’town’ of Dinosaur, Colorado. After a visit, we drive six miles to Plug Hat Butte Picnic Area for a short hike along a rim trail taking in dramatic views of the Yampa River below and the surrounding plateau, then enjoy a picnic lunch at 7000 foot elevation. Next destination: the little oil town of Rangely, which holds a few surprises. This is a fossil fuel town, and this is a fossil tour. The Rangely Outdoor Museum covers oil production, pumping, town history; and the Automotive Museum illustrates what that oil fueled: some very interesting vintage vehicles. A visit to the shores of the White River afford a possibility for an afternoon wade, depending upon flows. Lodging: The Blue Mountain Inn. (B, L)
Day 8 June 4 Rangely to Fruita (80 miles)
Today we climb Douglas Pass (8200 feet) in order to drop into the Colorado River Valley on the other side. En route we explore Canyon Pintado, named for its abundance of rock art. The area is home to thousands of petroglyphs and pictographs left by the Fremont and Ute peoples, dating back over a thousand years. We arrive in downtown Fruita for lunch. Then, we step onto the Jurassic Morrison Formation, and into the Dinosaur Journey Museum, a regional paleontological and geological museum that tells the story of life in western Colorado through fossils and reconstructions. And, it has a viewable paleontology lab. After that we take a needed rest in our hotel. Late afternoon we walk the nearby 1-mile loop Dinosaur Hill Trail. Not only does it provide panoramic views of the Grand Valley, it passes though the 1901 quarry of one of the most complete Brontosaurus specimens found to date. Or if some are seeking dino-respite, half of the group could drive the short distance to the higher (5700 feet) and cooler red rock plateau of Colorado National Monument. Lodging: Wyndham Super-8. (B)
Day 9 June 5 Fruita to Kayenta (270 miles)
Yesterday’s Dinosaur Journey Museum visit was an introduction to this morning’s activity. We have scheduled a special tour of the Mygatt-Moore Quarry with lead paleontologist Dr. Julia McHugh. For those that would like to participate in an OPTIONAL (pay extra) excavation this same morning at the same quarry, this can be arranged. (Your chance to remove matrix from an Allosaurus, Apatosuarus, or yet-unnamed dino!) Read more about this in OPTIONAL QUARRY EXCAVATION section. Depending upon when we leave the quarry, we will stop at either the ghost town of Cisco or Moab for lunch. Our drive south retraces our earlier route though Monticello, Blanding, then turns toward Mexican Hat, where we take a detour to Gooseneck State Park to admire the entrenched meanders of the San Juan River. Our drive through Monument Valley will be in the late afternoon sun. We close the day in Kayenta, Arizona. Lodging: Wetherill Inn. (B)
Day 10 June 6 Kayenta to Tucson (406 miles)
One last dinosaur trackway lies outside of Tuba City. Here we discuss how tracks can be used to determine gait and other particulars of an animal’s movement. We then continue to Flagstaff for lunch. From there, we are on the homestretch to Tucson. (B)
YOUR LEADERS
We are most honored to have the company of Advait M. Jukar, PhD on this first Dinosaur Diamond Tour. Dr. Jukar held the position of Lecturer of Paleontology, Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona until the summer of 2024, and currently is the Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. As a vertebrate paleobiologist and paleoecologist, his research focuses on four themes: ecological change during the Anthropocene, the paleoecology of herbivorous dinosaurs and mammals, turnover in Cenozoic mammal assemblages, and the taxonomy and biogeography of large mammals. Dr. Jukar also holds appointments as a Research Associate in the Department of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution; as a Curatorial Affiliate in the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History; as an Associate with the Lovejoy Center for Bridging Biodiversity, Conservation Science & Policy at the University of Arizona; and as Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences at George Mason University.
Your Desert Museum hosts will be Sonya Norman, who holds a B.S. in Geosciences from the University of Arizona, and Public Programs Volunteer Jim Malusa, PhD whose research and work have ranged from intertidal barnacle population dynamics, pinyon pine biogeography, mapping vegetation communities of the Sonoran Desert, and invasive species control.
INCLUDED SERVICES
Transportation in rental vans from the Desert Museum is included, as well as all entrance fees to sites mentioned in the itinerary, double occupancy lodging, some meals and expert guides.
MEALS
We have planned a number of picnics, as oftentimes our itinerary will place us ‘in the boonies’ at mid-day. Otherwise, we are in a town for lunch or dinner where guests will be given suggestions on where to dine on their own. Included meals are denoted by B, L or D.
FEES
This special travel opportunity is offered exclusively to Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum members. If you currently are not a member, but would like to join us, you may do so by following this link. Trip price is $2600 and the single supplement is an additional $550. We will assist in matching up singles with roommates, however if a roommate cannot be found, then the single supplement must be paid.
OPTIONAL RIVER TRIP
River trip includes a riverside buffet lunch with all the extras; transportation to and from the river; all the necessary safety equipment; and experienced guide staff. There are class 2-3 rapids, which are fine for families. However, one MUST have good balance, as getting in and out of the boat over the pontoons can be slippery business. Please read the outfitters descriptions below.
Split Canyon Trip
Flaming Gorge Trip
Additional cost: $100 -$120. When a sufficient number have indicated interest, we will send you the registration link. Send email to Sonya Norman (contact below).
OPTIONAL QUARRY EXCAVATION
Our last dino day includes the opportunity to participate in a half-day quarry dig. The behind-the-scenes and lab prep part of this experience will take place the day before. Read more about it below.
Mygatt-Moore Quarry Dig
Additional cost: $97. Send email to Sonya Norman (contact below) if interested, as we have arranged a special price.
CANCELLATION POLICY
We certainly hope that you do not need to cancel your trip, as we have a wonderful itinerary planned, however, if the occasion arises, the following describes refunds available. If the cancellation is made 60 days before the departure date, then a $200 administrative fee will be retained. If it is made 31 to 59 days before the departure date, then 50% of the registration fee will be retained. If it is made less than 30 days before the departure date, then no refund can be made. Cancellations must be received in writing or by email.
QUESTIONS
For inquiries regarding logistics and itinerary please contact Sonya Norman, Public Programs Coordinator at snorman@desertmuseum.org. For those regarding registration, please contact the Reservations Coordinator at 520-883-3025 or at education@desertmuseum.org.
