Hot Springs

Drove up today through Nebraska. Stopped at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, which is really great if you're into fossils. Not so exciting if you aren't. Then we stopped by the Museum of Fur Trading.  Excellent museum that covers fur trading across the entire continent. Amazing artifacts and explanations of how the fur trade helped to establish the United States.  "The Revenant" costumes on display, as this museum was the technical advisor for Period Authenticity on the film.

There is also a little trading post which was actively used for many years.

Despite the record-breaking heat, that's our intrepid trader awaiting us at the door where inside it's a cool temperature because most of the trading post is built into the side of the hill.

Our last stop for the day was the Mammoth Site, which is an ongoing archaeological dig in the middle of the city. They have found the bones from over 61 Columbian and woolly mammoth here. There was a Hot Spring that was so attractive to the mammoth that they fell in but could not get out.

It was so hot today that by the end of the day all we could think about was jumping into the pool back at the RV park. They named it Hot Springs because of the natural Hot Springs waters that bubble up here, but today it was just plain hot everywhere.