Mastodon State Park

Branden and I went for a drive today to see what we could discover. We saw a sign for Mastodon State Park and decided we must go there immediately... It was a good plan. As it turns out, there's a dig site something like 15 miles from our house where paleontologists have found bones from mastodons and other pre-historic megafauna. The site is currently covered over but there is a museum and some walking trails that take you to the site.

Here we are in front of the mastodon skeleton.

Here is the skeleton without us... I know that's what you really wanna see anyway. :P

This display explains the differences between mammoths and mastodons. Essentially, mammoths are larger and ate grass while mastodons are smaller and ate leaves and twigs. Also, the mastodon evolved first.

This is just a picture I like that Branden took.

The giant ground sloth was living in what is now Missouri at the same time as the mastodons. They were four feet tall and ten feet long when walking on all fours.

This is me above the dig site. You can't tell here, but I'm half-way up something like 138 stairs. As it turns out, we hiked around and ended up having to climb these stairs twice. That may not seem like a lot to those of you who are skinny, fit women but, not being one of you, I chose to not look up and just put my foot on the next step and the next one. I obviously made it. :)

A view of the walking path. It looks really pretty, and it was, but it was also 100 degrees and 80% humidity.

All in all, a good- maybe slightly sweaty- trip. Just one more thing to add to my list of places to take people who come visit me. :)