Fossil Butte National Monument

Sept. 3, 2024

A former inland sea, this park is all about fossils. They can only be found on display in the visitor center, but it is worth the trip. Everything from large plants, tiny fish, stingrays and bats to a huge crocodile. The restroom has an entire wall of fossilized poop! There are active excavations going on at this site and the Nature trail leads you through aspen trees to the face of the cliff. I started on the old quarry trail also, but a thunderstorm rolled in. It is extremely exposed, so I opted to return to the car instead of chancing a bolt of lightning and becoming one of the fossils.