Entry No. 15 — the Grand Junction file — filed under: offbeat-museum
Pioneer Town Museum
“Jaws of death, renamed in 2020 — dug out of the Mancos Shale by a teenager in 1975.”
Twenty-four buildings of resurrected frontier town — the 1907 jail, the Lizard Head Saloon, a working blacksmith shop — but the welcome center holds the real prize: a skull cast of the mosasaur a Cedaredge teenager dug out of the Mancos Shale in 1975, renamed Gnathomortis — jaws of death — in 2020. The Charles States building keeps a 40-inch dinosaur footprint cast from a coal mine where miners tunneled beneath hundreds of tracks. Out front, three multi-sided 1916 Bar I silos sit on the National Register.
The move: Tap out each other's names in Morse code at the Austin Train Depot, then drive Highway 65 straight up the Grand Mesa for a lakeside picnic.
📍 Before you go Enter through the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway Welcome Center on Highway 65 at the south edge of Cedaredge — the three tall wooden silos mark the spot, with a free lot beside them. The town itself runs seasonally from Memorial Day weekend into early October; off-season it opens for group tours by appointment, though the silos and welcome center are reachable year-round. The grounds are flat, hands-on, and pet-friendly. Pair it with the climb up Highway 65 onto the Grand Mesa, which starts rising right past the parking lot.
- 📍 Cedaredge
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 388 S Grand Mesa Dr, Cedaredge, CO 81413
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4
last checked: 2026-06-11