We arrived in Bozeman last night. Stayed with the Smiths in their RV. Welcomed hospitality, and not out of the tent and on a more comfortable sleeping surface.
Just before departing the Smiths. Dr. Steve Smith has done very well, currently serving as the Interim Director of the Montana Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. He did pathology training at Oklahoma State, and he sends greetings to Mel, Jerry, Tony, Rez, Keith, Curtis, Roger and many others.
Two museums on the agenda today. Both in Bozeman. First is the Museum of the Rockies. Second is the American Computer and Robotics Museum.
The Museum of the Rockies is world renowned and part of the Smithsonian. It possessed the second and third complete T. rex skeletons we got to see on this trip.
At the specimen lab....
The MOR's most famous T. rex.
And a Stegosaurus. Woops, a little blurry there.
A collection of several T. rex skulls of different ages.
To me, this was the most fascinating exhibit in the museum. This is part of a T. rex bone that was discovered in the early 2000s that had intact soft tissue still attached to fossilized bone. It is still under some analysis and is not fully displayed below. Scientists have actually shown intact vessel structures in it. It was published in Science or Nature.
The MOR's current traveling exhibit is the National Guitar Museum. A nice bonus attraction for me as I love the guitar. Neat mural. Samuel snapped my photo.
The Museum of the Rockies was a success. We enjoyed it.
Next, on to the American Computer and Robotics Museum.
This museum did a good job tracing the history of the oldest computers and their development over the years. Do you recognize these? I told Samuel I had personally used all but two of these on display. He did not believe me.
Robots!!
The founders and staff of this small museum are hard working and well meaning. However, the museum was a big disappointment to Samuel. He wanted to see at least one current superpower computer. It was a modest disappointment to me, at least from a size and presentation standpoint. It exists in a small space in a strip mall-like business center. Hey, though, it was free, minus our little $5 donation.
Next, an ambitious late morning to early evening trek eastward, with a jog south to the Little Bighorn National Battlefield. We got in free due to the National Park Access Pass I mentioned in an earlier post. Now up to $40 overall savings.
Scenes and photographs from Last Stand Hill. I've always been fascinated by this battle, its history, and its most intriguing unknown points of controversy. But, being there brought it all together. I was most impressed by the vast landscapes on which the battle ebbed and flowed from Benteen's first assault to Custer's flank to the northwest to the movements of all the Indian encampments.
On to North Dakota. We eventually made it to Medora and then the Teddy Roosevelt National Park.
Unfortunately, we were told upon entry to the park that all tentsites were reserved, but not occupied. I asked permission to speak to campground host directly, and I drove up there, only to be denied twice. We ended up camping overnight outside the park in Medora Campground. It wasn't too bad, it just lacked the nostalgia of camping in the national park.
Thanks for reading.
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