Its vertebrae protrude through the soft rock, then disappear deeper into the earth. The large, fractured boulder that gave the Split Rock fossil site its name rests on the ridge above the gully. Huge femurs, vertebrae and ribs polished by millennia of blowing sand glisten in the afternoon sun. We run our hands over the ancient legs and necks and tails and wonder at the creatures that once thundered across these hills. Since they're in no order, there's no scientific reason to chisel them out to the sandstone.
Kids love to climb on the rock and get their pictures made with the bones.
So do adults. From our vantage on the hillside, we can see across Rabbit Valley to the Museum of Western Colorado dinosaur quarry. The museum offers summer programs for the public to participate in the dig. Through Time loops 1.5 miles over a small hill and through an ancient stream channel. The 14 points of interest identify the plant-eating Apatosaurus, Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus.