While waiting for RV parts, Lee and I drove to Bozeman to see the Museum of the Rockies. Bozeman is a university town nestled in the foothills of the Bridger and Gallatin mountain ranges in southwestern Montana. It has a nice downtown area with a few up-scale shops. It seems to cater to tourists and students alike. We drove through a canyon carved by the Madison River:
And arrived at the Museum of the Rockies:
This museum houses the largest paleontology collection in the U.S., and is affiliated with Montana State University and the Smithsonian Institution. World-renowned Dr. Jack Horner is Curator of Paleanotology. And, my Academy of Natural Sciences membership got us in for free!
We started with the outdoor Lewis and Clark exhibit, which includes a model of the ship used by the Corps of Discovery to travel upstream on the Missouri River. If you recall, Lee and I saw another model of the same boat at a South Dakota rest area. The one at the rest area is built to scale, and is larger and sturdier than the one here in Bozeman.
This one is instructive however in that it includes the metal bars that support canvas sheeting to protect crew members from the elements. [Please do not use the image below without permission.]
The museum is best known for its paleontology collection, although it includes exhibits on native cultures and Montana history as well. The paleontology section includes the largest T-Rex skull ever found:
And the greatest number of Triceratops, from young to old:
There are several life-sized fleshed-out models of dinosaurs:
and a miniature diorama that features dinos in their habitat:
Lee liked the exhibits that included the actual fossils, with explanations of how a paleontologist determined what species the bones represented.
Plesiosaur!
A volunteer docent gave a tour for 1 1/2 hours (!) through the paleo section of the museum:
The day ended with a fabulous sunset. I have always heard people say that sunsets over the ocean are beautiful, but I have never heard that sunsets over the mountains are. And yet, we have seen the most amazing sunsets this trip, created by mountains.
