Natural Mystic


"There's a natural mystic blowing through the air; if you listen carefully now you will hear"

I think Bob Marley puts my feel of La Brea Tar Pits into words quite well.  There is something quite amazing and mystic about this place.  Anytime I mentioned that if I was ever forced to go to Los Angeles, I would have to see the tar pits, people looked at me like I was nuts.  Why would anyone want to see something so dirty, nasty, and frankly quite lame?  I do not have a terrific answer, because there really was not much there.  The fascination is nothing more than a love of science and history.

I love the reflection of the tree in this tar bubble.  See, there is still beauty in the mundane!

This pit was much thicker.  I thought it was fun the way it looked after the bubble popped.

Quite the variety of leaves, twigs, and plant matter have collected in the sticky substance that makes up La Brea.  I know it is kind of nasty, but just think of all the creatures that got stuck in them too!  Bison, wolves, birds, extinct camels and sloths, etc.  It's really very interesting.

There was a lake pit too.  I would not call it a lake.  It was really more of a small pond with guck solidifying around the edges and bubbling up to the surface.

Of course, all the paleontologists working on fossils found in the pits were on lunch break, so I did not get to see them at their craft, but their tools are pretty spiffy.

These are just some of all the dire wolf sculls found in La Brea.  Isn't it fun how no two are the same?

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