Hello, rain...good to see you again!

It was pouring rain this morning as I left Newport, OR.  I was hoping to visit the nearby Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, but the wet stuff put a major damper on that plan.  I quickly made a last minute addition to the day's agenda, and headed north.  I arrived in Hillsboro hungry, so I had a nice lunch at an Indian buffet...I LIKE Indian food!  Afterward, I made the short drive to Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals. Most of the rocks and minerals on display were donated items, and they had a really nice collection.  I was particularly impressed by their petrified wood gallery...dig the petrified pine cones!

The museum also had some pretty fossils...plant life, sea creatures, dinosaurs, and insects, too.  I thought the bot fly larvae fossil was interesting.  Some people have very unpleasant experiences with bot fly maggots...like when they get inside their bodies! 

Since it was raining in Portland, too...no big surprise...I did another museum to get out of the weather.  The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is one of those hands-on institutions that kids love.  I didn't much get into those exhibits, but I found a couple others that were informative. Race: Are We So Different explained how race is viewed in our country through culture, history and biology rather than appearance.  Then, there was Grossology: The Impolite Science of the Human Body.  This exhibit consisted of many hands-on models to explore the grossest aspects of the human body, but in a humorous way.  You'll never think about snot, poop, barf and farts in the same way after experiencing this one!

Well, all good things must come to an end.  Tomorrow, is the home stretch...literally.  I'm spending the night in Portland, and I'll make the 4 1/2 hour drive back home in the morning.  I think it actually may not be raining when I get back!