Dinosaur River Expeditions Owner Traces his Love of Land to Paleontologist Uncle

Dinosaur River Expeditions owner Tyler Callantine spends his days in and around Dinosaur National Monument, taking his guests on thrilling whitewater expeditions in Utah and Colorado. But he’s not the first one in his family to find joy in exploring the area around Vernal, Utah. His great uncle was a famous paleontologist who excavated the nearby Carnegie Quarry and discovered the only known skeleton of a dinosaur-era crocodile.

As a young man in the early 1900s, Callantine’s great uncle “Pop” (J. LeRoy) Kay joined forces with a friend to excavate the Carnegie Quarry. The quarry is located in what is known today as the Dinosaur National Monument where Callantine runs his high-adventure guided river rafting trips.

One of Pop’s best-known fossil finds was achieved by accident. When his brother-in-law, just 10 years old, came to the quarry to offer his help, Kay wanted him out of his hair, so he sent him to drill a blasting hole in a nearby sandstone outcrop. To his surprise, his young brother-in-law followed through, and Kay filled his four-inch hole with powder and lit it off. Chunks of rock blew out of the hole from the force of the blast, containing the skeleton of a Mesozoic-era dwarf crocodile that scientists would name Hoplosuchus kayi (the “kayi” honoring Pop Kay).

The fossil was 7 inches in length and astoundingly well-preserved with an intact skull and armor and its limbs folded up beneath it. No other bone of this insect-eating, dwarf crocodile has ever been found. In fact, it has been designated as the best small-vertebrate skeleton found anywhere in the fossil-rich Morrison Formation of the western U.S.

Pop Kay went on to serve as the Curator of Paleontology for the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. The skeleton he discovered is on display today in the Jurassic Hall at the Carnegie Museum.

Like his great uncle Pop, Tyler Callantine loves discovering the secrets and beauties of the Uintah Basin. Callantine’s company is Vernal’s only locally-owned and operated whitewater rafting outfitter. Callantine and his wife, Jennifer, have more than 26 years of combined experience with chartered river rafting trips in Utah, but he says that the work never gets old.

“Maybe I inherited my appetite for discovery from my Uncle Pop,” said Callantine. “After all of these years on the rivers, they remain fascinating and full of secrets to me. I love introducing our guests to the wonders of the land and water in this part of the country.”

The Callantines take their guests on breathtaking adventures on the Yampa River as well as the Green River through the majestic Gates of Lodore.

Most employees of Callantine’s company are natives of Vernal, allowing them to better connect to the community and the river. They make it simple for guests to enjoy their journey by providing safety equipment, delicious meals, and transportation to and from the take-off and return sites.

In conjunction with their rafting adventures, guests can enjoy the nearby Flaming Gorge Reservoir as well as Dinosaur National Monument, which features one of the largest natural displays of exposed dinosaur bones anywhere.

To learn more about Dinosaur River Expeditions, call (800) 345-7238 or go to www.DinosaurRiverExpeditions.com.

About Dinosaur River Expeditions

Family-owned Dinosaur River Expeditions offers thrilling whitewater rafting adventures in Northeastern Utah. The only locally-owned and operated outfitter near Dinosaur National Monument takes guests whitewater rafting in Utah along the breathtaking canyons of the Green River, through the Gates of Lodore, and along the mighty Yampa River of Colorado.