In the late1800's Medicine Bow, Wyoming was an interesting spot. It was located along the transcontinental railway and had a diverse mix of western ranchers and cowboys, as well as numerous upper-class easterners. Why? Dinosaur Bones. Dinosaur bones had been discovered east of town on Como Bluff.
Caught up in the mix, two friends O.C. Marsh and E.D. Cope had a falling out, and became bitter rivals in the race to find new and better specimens to send back to their respective institutions. I'm not going to go into the details of their rivalry, but lets just say that neither let much stand in their way. If you're interested in finding out more, just google "fossil feud" or "dinosaur bone wars" and you can find quite a bit of information.
Near Como Bluff is a dinosaur bone cabin. It's made up of 5,796 dinosaur bones and bone fragments. It was originally built as a tourist stop along the old Lincoln Highway. It's no longer open, but it still makes a good stop for pictures and out of curiosity. At one time it was called "the world's oldest building", but I'm not sure if it's still marketed that way. Somewhere in the eastern plains of Colorado is a building made out of petrified wood that would be fun to see, as a companion building to this one.
Nearest City: Medicine Bow, WY
Location: N 41° 51.895 W 106° 04.400
Time Needed: Brief Stop
Difficulty: Easy
Kid Friendly: Yeah
Additional Info:
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