Hey everyone! I have to say documenting my family's recent vacation here on Hive has been fun. I have discovered that I highly enjoy sharing my memories with the Hive community. But most of all I know that whatever I load in the Markdown box, will be here for me to enjoy long down the road. Back in the day we had to take film to get developed. Then take those photos, and put them into binders. Now we just publish a post to the Blockchain, and scroll to look at the past. How awesome is that!? Ok I will stop rambling, and get on with my archiving project.
Leaving off from part 4 of our family vacation.
Our last day in the Hotel, and best believe we took advantage of the free Continental Breakfast. When in Rome...
After we headed out. With no exact plan in mind, we decided to head Downtown, and see what the day brings before we had to leave back to home. As we made our way to Downtown I saw Sunset Drive, and decide to get off at this location. Still driving, and unsure on what to do. I wanted to drive by the Viper Room, but it was still a ways down. The baby was getting a little fussy, so I made a right hand turn. We then came up on a park, and then it occured to me it was the place we originally came down to LA for! The La Brea Tar Pits. But then we discovered it wasn't. It was actually Echo Park Lake. Then an actual plan came into my mind. Lets go to the Tar Pits. Yes I know, I am a genius, even though my wife would say otherwise;)
The Pits where actually close by too, so we only had to drive 15 miles. Which means a good 40 min! Again such a cool city, with so many cool sites your side is on a swivel, but..A big but too, not the kind I like. THE TRAFFIC HERE SUCKS! That negative energy quickly washes aways when I think to myself, at least I don't live here.
Located right smack in the middle of a large urban area lays the Tar Pits. It was so cool to finally see these in person, and find out what they really are. The lake where you see the recreation of the Mammoth stuck used to be a pit from an oil mining operation back in the 1800's. Over the years water has collected, forming the lake.
But what lies beneath it is a deadly trap. Many animals have met their demise in this area. In fact the Tar Pits have been collecting bodies for the past 50 thousand years!
Pictures can never do this place justice. I say this because you can smell this sticky substance as soon as you step foot at the park! It is actually Asphalt. If you ever have smelled a fresh paved road, then you would know exactly what the Tar Pits smell like.
This is what this area looked like in its heyday of oil mining. It was a source of extreme wealth!
Even till this day oil the Asphalt oozes from the ground, up onto the surface! Scattered around the park you can see cones where the seepage as come up.
And we where to see up close, and personally how sticky this stuff really is. It is no wonder why so many animals died here.
This is why eventually it was realized what the real wealth located here really was. Fossils!
Just think of these Pits as a time capsule, showing us the secrets of the Ice Age, and what LA used to look like. But where do they keep all of these fossils?
At the on site Museum! What used to be an ugly field of oil rigs, now houses a state of the art Museum where anyone can go, and enjoy. So sit back, and enjoy a little preview of what is housed in this beautiful building.
Come, and take a walk with me!
First we are greeted by some tusks from a Mammoth. Which this is where I learned that Mammoths used to live up, and down the California!
The previous Museum from the day before was a mix of natural history, with a main focus on Dinosaurs. Here at La Brea, it is all about the Ice Age.
On the left is a Antique Bison, or Ancient Bison. Then on right is the Extinct Camel. It is so crazy to think all these where found not far from these displays!
Then another famous Ice Age mammal, the Saber Tooth Tiger!(No babies were harmed during this post)
This may have been my favorite exhibit. Those are are skulls of Dire Wolves. All found feet away! Just think thousands of years ago, a pack of these Carnivores saw an animal stuck in the Tar, and saw easy prey. Only to meet their end. Over, and over, and over again.
Even human tools have been found on site. I am not aware if any human remains have been found in the pits, but who knows. Sh*# happens.
I thought this was very cool. It is an Arrowhead made from the tar. So glad we decided to handle some, and get a good fell for it. Because seeing this really put it in perspective.
This is something that was actually not found at La Brea. It is actually a replica of the most intact Mammoth ever found. Her name is Lyuba. Found in Russia, and was so intact they even found her Mother’s Milk in her stomach!
All in all we spent a total of a few hours here exploring. I would say a half day is a good amount of time to get a good fill of everything. With 3 kids it was the perfect amount of time. Have you been here before, let me know in the comments!
After we went on a search for some good tacos, and we did not have to search hard.
Then after we decide to cruise to Beverly Hills, since it was nearby, and we could just enjoy the scenery from the car. I have to say it was fun. We actually ended up driving to the Fresh Prince's house. However the house was blocked by shrubs, but you could still make out the house from a small opening. But we bumped the theme song of the show as we passed through the neighborhood. Something I am sure the residents are very familiar with. After that we called it quits, and decided to get on the HWY 5, and head back home. It was so much fun! But we were very happy once we made it back, and got in our own beds. This concludes our family vacation. :)