July 18 (Day 199) - Dinosaurs in Dinosaur!

Today was a moving day. I moved the 87 miles west from Craig, CO to Dinosaur, CO. I am heading west towards Utah at the moment. I hope to spend several days tracking down a number of species in Northeastern Utah and Southern Idaho in the next 7-10 days. I had my eyes open for Sage-grouse along my route today, but, predictably, none materialized. There was a fair amount of up-and-down today, so the ride was moderately challenging. The only notable bird highlights were a Golden eagle and only my second Ferruginous hawk of the year!

Had some big hills today

Right now I am trying to decide if I want to search for Sage-grouse at Dinosaur National Monument tomorrow. This is supposed to be a decent spot for them, it's just that it will require a steep climb, a potentially 60-mile detour, and perhaps a night of camping. If I get the bird, great; If not it will be an incredibly painful miss since I will make exactly zero miles along my planned route. Its just really, really hard trying to decided how to handle these nearly impossible to find species. Things are also getting complicated by the fact that I will have to dedicate a day or two in the next week to finding both Rufous and Calliope hummingbirds. I thought I would just pick these up along the road, but it looks like I will actually have to put in effort to tick them. UGH......

Anyway, we are staying in a really funny town. Dinosaur, CO is the town adjacent to Dinosaur National Monument. This area is world famous for the incredible dinosaur skeletons that have been excavated from the hills north of town. "Town" might be a bit generous; Settlement might be a bit more appropriate as there really isn't that much here. However, the town does seem to have a good sense of humor and strong sense of identity as EVERYTHING here is dinosaurs, dinosaurs, dinosaurs! Even the streets are named after dinosaurs!

Today is one of those days I want to write a clever and super entertaining entry. The problem is that I am so wiped out at the moment I just don't have energy to do much beyond the basics today. If we end up camping in Dinosaur NM, we won't have internet tomorrow night. I'll update everyone at the next chance that I get!