Montana’s Dinosaur Past
I know that dinosaurs are a big part of Montana's history, but it was interesting to stumble upon Janet Keeler's article for The Republic about her "dinosaur road trip" through Montana. - Michelle
BOZEMAN, Mont. - It's not difficult to imagine dinosaurs prowling the wide-open spaces of the American West. That's especially true here in Montana, where the state's plains go on and on and lonely highways weave ribbons through the vastness. At the crest of every rolling hill it wouldn't seem out of place to see a triceratops rumbling along.
Today we call it Montana Big Sky Country, but what has been unearthed down below is just as impressive. Perhaps more so.
I used to be quite a dinosaur geek, thanks to my son, who fell in love with the prehistoric behemoths as a preschooler. It's a common obsession of little kids, and we spent lots of time talking about terrible lizards (T. rex), earth shakers (seismosaurus) and all sorts of raptors (veloci-, pyro- and micro-). He outgrew his dino period quickly; they sank their teeth into me a bit longer.
So on a driving trip through Montana last summer, I grabbed the brochure for the Montana Dinosaur Trail (yes, there is such a thing) and plotted to visit as many of the 15 stops as I could. My goal of getting my "Prehistoric Passport" stamped at each locale was dashed when I was overruled by the other occupant of the car. Pick a couple, he said. (If we'd hit them all, we'd probably still be driving. That's one big state.)
So that's how I ended up plunking down $5 to see one of the world's largest dinosaurs snaking around the inside of a prefab metal building in Bynum and then spending a day getting up close and personal with the fossils at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.
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