June 28, 2013 Dinosaurs and Dams

Another beautiful day - blue skies and sunny and warm. 

Here is our site:

The Fort Peck Interpretive Center and Museum is one half mile away via the nature trail so off we went:

We entered the center and this is who greeted us - Yikees!

Some of the most complete T. Rex fossils were found in this area. In 1988, ranch Kathy Wankel discovered one such fossil when she spotted a bone in the sediment around Fort Peck Lake. This fossil is now known as Wankel T. Rex. In 1997, another fossil was found approximately 20 miles southeast of the Interpretive Center. It is known as Peck’s rex and as of last week will be on loan to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History for their upcoming Dinosaur display.

More T. rex facts:

Think about the above - small brain, lots of head space and long teeth - Yikees.

And only found in this area of the world - must have had some good eats here - .

T. rex attacking another dinosaur...

Many fossils of dinosaurs have been found in this area of Montana and they are still being found.  For a fee, anyone can participate in a dig.  Someday we may check into participating for a few weeks.

There was a lot of information on the fossils found in the area and many dinosaur skeletons (replicas).  Fascinating!

Surrounding the lake is the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, the second largest National Wildlife Refuge in the lower 48.  The Interpretive Center had a nice diorama on the animals within the refuge.

One day, I am going to see and take pictures of one of these animals  - aren’t they just magnificent!

The circle of life:

The center also had three movies that we watched: The Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge; The Building of the Fort Peck City and Dam; and The Lewis and Clark Expedition (through this area).  All were wonderful.

The museum also contains a section on the building of the dam.

The Fort Peck Dam is the largest hydraulically filled dam in the world; the largest earthen dam in the U.S.; the 2nd largest dam of any type in the U.S.; the 3rd largest earthen dam in the world; and the 8th largest dam of any type in the world.

The dam creates Fort Peck Lake which is the fifth largest man made lake in the U.S.

There is some great information at this site: http://www.fortpeckdam.com/

Life Magazine’s first ever cover was on the Fort Peck Dam:

http://life.time.com/history/life-magazine-first-ever-cover-story-building-the-fort-peck-dam-1936/

More pictures tomorrow.

The dam powerhouse (left) and Interpretive Center (right):

What a wonderful place to visit - if you are in this area, plan on a few hours at the center.

Late afternoon, we went to the Glasgow Elks for dinner.  I always love going to the local places - we find out a lot of information on the area.

We found out that there is a local buffalo herd that just added three babies.  So on the way back home we made a side trip to that area to see what we could see.

Beautiful:

The road:

Past the fish hatchery:

Past the river:

YEA! We found part of the herd but they were far away - and did not see the babies.  But further down the road, we did see this guy - .

What a treat!

Enjoy today!