Natural History Museum of Utah: Bones and birds

When I left Richfield, UT this morning, it was drizzling lightly.  But, it didn't bother me that much because my road trip outdoor activities are done.  I spent the day in Salt Lake City.  I got a much needed car wash for my Outback, and had a very tasty kimchi ramen for lunch.

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I spent the afternoon at the Natural History Museum of Utah, located on the campus of University of Utah.  The museum had a great collection of fossil bones from excavations located in the state.  In addition to mammals such as saber tooth cat and wooly mammoth, they had dinosaur bones, too.  I was particularly impressed by their display of horned dinosaur skulls.

There were also displays on native peoples, both ancient and more recent.  They had a rock with petroglyphs excavated from private land by request of the landowner who was afraid it would be vandalized or stolen.  Researchers meticulously restored many moccasins found during archeological excavations.  Quite a feat considering their age.

I was most impressed by their special exhibit on Birds of Paradise.  Not the flowers, the real birds.  Now, I'm familiar with the birds and I though there were a few different types.  Little did I know that there are 39 types of Birds of Paradise, all found on the islands of New Guinea.  A researcher and photographer spent 8 years getting photos and video, and documenting the lives and behaviors of these beautiful birds.  I certainly learned a lot from the exhibit...and an accompanying exhibit on pigeons.  They had some taxidermy examples of birds, but I find stuffed animals kind of depressing.  I much prefer to see live specimens.  Here is a headdress from a New Guinea tribe, though.

Tomorrow, I have a whole lot of driving to do...probably in the rain...and another museum visit.  It's getting closer to my road trip coming to an end.  Only two more days!