La Brea Tar Pits

 Our first day in Southern Calfornia was spent at the La Brea Tar Pits.  In that area of Los Angeles, tar seeps to the surface from oil reserves deep underground.  Back in the last ice age, the tar would get covered with water or leaves, animals would walk into it, get stuck, and the rest is history.  Or archeology.

  The first thing we did when we arrived at the tar pits was go to an observation pit.  We could see a partial escavation of a mastodon from a block of tar.  They also had a neat exhibit where you could try and pull the weight of your leg out of a chunk of tar.  Anthony was fascinated.

  On our walk across the grass to the museum, my sister Erika spotted a small bit of tar seeping through the grass.  Despite my admonishions to not touch, Anthony did.  He discovered it was very sticky and tried to wipe it off in the grass.  Of course, then the grass stuck to his tarry finger.  (I had told him not to touch the tar, but he was very curious.)

  Anthony enjoyed seeing all the skeletons—mastadons, mammoths, saber tooth cats and the like.  We took a break to visit with a docent and he told her about how his Aunt Erika found tar and he touched it.  She asked him what he learned.  His response, “It was a mistake."