[Posted by Sarah] We had to check out of our house in Hill City by 10am and couldn't check into to our cabin in Custer until 3pm so we drove south to Hot Springs, South Dakota, to check out the Mammoth Site.
The Mammoth Site is an active archeological dig but housed inside the museum. The story goes that the land had been bought for a housing development but bones were found during early excavation work. A non-profit corporation was founded and purchased the property in order to preserve the fossils and continue digging and uncovering them.
The site was once a hot springs pool. When mammoths would go into the pool, the rocks were too slippery for them to get out. The mammoths and other animals who got caught in the pool would die and their bones became fossilized over time. We got lots of great pictures (see above).
The museum also had lots of interesting displays including a replica of a mammoth bone hut that was supposedly common in Russia and other eastern European areas as well as other Ice Age animals and artifacts.
After our tour of Mammoth Site we drove back to Custer and got settled in our cabin there. That evening we hiked into the Forest Service land behind our cabin (pictures above). Christopher spotted some deer tracks in the dirt and we also found a great orange mushroom.
Tomorrow we go to see Jewel Cave....
The Mammoth Site is an active archeological dig but housed inside the museum. The story goes that the land had been bought for a housing development but bones were found during early excavation work. A non-profit corporation was founded and purchased the property in order to preserve the fossils and continue digging and uncovering them.
The site was once a hot springs pool. When mammoths would go into the pool, the rocks were too slippery for them to get out. The mammoths and other animals who got caught in the pool would die and their bones became fossilized over time. We got lots of great pictures (see above).
The museum also had lots of interesting displays including a replica of a mammoth bone hut that was supposedly common in Russia and other eastern European areas as well as other Ice Age animals and artifacts.
After our tour of Mammoth Site we drove back to Custer and got settled in our cabin there. That evening we hiked into the Forest Service land behind our cabin (pictures above). Christopher spotted some deer tracks in the dirt and we also found a great orange mushroom.
Tomorrow we go to see Jewel Cave....
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