However, we did cover several subjects during the short rides that we took this afternoon after the day's work was complete!
First thing we did was ride into the nearby town of Hot Springs and collect all the murals reported by their tourism map. You've already seen the one that featured the sidecar, here's there rest:
Minnekahta Avenue
Bison by the police station
Water scene on the side of Evan's Plunge, a local water play facility
Old pioneer scene next to a BBQ joint
Military mural at the Foreign Legion Post
Explorations of the town of Hot Springs done, we headed towards the Mammoth Museum, site of the largest concentration of Mammoth remains discovered in the whole world, with 58 Columbian and 3 Woolly Mammoths found so far.
Martha at the museum's lobby
A closeup of the large area currently under excavation,
very extensive works, all viewable in air-conditioned comfort
A replica for folks to visualize these magnificent beasts.
Another exhibit, besides the Pygmy, Columbian and Woolly mammoth displays; was the flat faced bear remains. I found those more fascinating....guess I'm more of a bear guy than an elephant guy!
A comparison of the skulls of the largest bear species vice
the flat faced bear....
A nice bone display with a picture as a guide/visual aide
"How would you like to encounter one of these while riding?"
The museum visit done with, we motored on south towards the Angostura Reservoir Recreation Area. Folks, this is a great place, with nice RV campgrounds, water facilities for boats, nice trees lining the reservoir and providing some nice Fall Colors!
But first, some Fall Colors we had seen before and now stopped to take pictures of at the Allen Ranch Campground, also a nice place for one's RV.
At the Angostura Recreation Area, we found a nice spot for what turned out to be a mild and pretty much cloudless sunset. Still, as the sun set in the western horizon, it lit up the nearby Fall Colors quite nicely.
The setting sun went away, leaving clear skies and dulling colors to illuminate our path back to our campground.
Not many miles covered today, but still a good afternoon/evening's worth of riding.
11 comments:
Critter count: Two large herds of deer checking us out as we left the Reservoir and a half dozen horses just sauntering up the road without a human in sight guiding them to safety. It may not have been many miles but the colors were a true surprise (thinking it was too late in the season for any colors) and the critters provided an element of worry to the ride...
Wow, Martha! A herd of horses, or a herd of bison.......watch out! Beautiful pictures. Looks like fun.
Not sure there were enough to qualify as herds but enough to give us pause!
This is right up my alley. Beautiful murals, and your rig fits right in. I am a big fan of archeology, so I'd go check out the old bones, too. And the weather plays along in order to provide the right background for the fall colours. Ah, you are blessed. Enjoy your stay!
You would have loved the museum SonjaM....thanks for the comments
Very nice - I've wanted to start a collection of all of my mural photos and do a post....so maybe I'll make that a priority soon.
Motoventures, folks do seem to like murals....
Those murals are so colorful, but not as nice and the fall colors. :-)
Mother Nature always wins in the art department Trobairitz! :)
A lovely ride after work. You certainly had a good day for it. And the color palette -- both the murals and the stream side ride are outstanding.
In regard to your question about running into the bear on a ride. The Vespa and I would be fine. The bear would see us as just another bird flitting about. The URAL on the other hand -- that's a bison or other cow like meal. You would try and ride away but something would eventually break on an encounter and that would be that.
Another reason why I'm still riding the Vespa -- bears.
Probably a correct assumption there, Steve Williams, that a Vespa would outrun the Ural as both tried to outrun a marauding bear. Thanks for the comments re the murals and the stream side pics.
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