Let it Snow. Let it Snow. Let it Snow.

Montana is in the Northern Hemisphere, right? We woke up to falling snow and cool temperatures, but our plans for the day include inside activities in the morning. Maybe the snow will let up and the sun will shine and raise the temperature to 70. Maybe not.
We heard that Butte got 7″ of snow. Good thing that we got out of there.

We went to visit The Museum of the Rockies and were totally absorbed by its excellent displays. The temporary exhibit runs through September and features reproductions of King Tut’s Tomb.

We dodged the many school groups visiting, but were glad to see that students still have the opportunity to expand their horizons and enjoy such exhibits. The museum may be best known for its outstanding dinosaur display. More than just a collection of dinosaur bones, which I personally find interesting enough as I remember the Vernal, Utah Dinosaur Monument; this exhibit focuses on the entire growth and development of the dinosaur and its environment. Some fascinating finds in the museum include the largest T-Rex skull in the world, a female named B-Rex, the first identifiable female of the species and a bone fragment which contained both soft tissue and blood vessels.

T-Rex Skull

The theory that this museum emphasizes is that birds share common traits with dinosaurs. Guess that means that T-Rex would be like an Airbus, but since it is a non-avian dinosaur, guess it would never be airborne anyway. We briefly spoke with Jack Horner the paleonologist at the museum, which is part of Montana State University. He pointed out the similarities that birds and dinosaurs share, including things like hollow bones and feathers.

We were so absorbed in the museum that we didn’t realize that we had spent a few hours there. It’s definitely a place to plan on spending several hours. We never even saw the planetarium, which is also part of the museum.

A new exhibit called Dinosaurs under the Big Sky is scheduled to open in June.

We got a recommendation for a good Mexican Restaurant, so headed over to La Tinga. I was pleasantly surprised to have jamaica(hibiscus tea) offered as a beverage choice and ordered a glass of that along with a queso fresco and avocado taco and a cheese quesadilla. Robert had a carne asada burrito. We both agree that this food was as close to what you would get in Mexico.

La Tinga
The tortillas where freshly made as we watched from our seat at the counter. The salsa to add to the dishes was muy picante. If you eat here, remember to bring cash as they don’t accept checks or credit cards.