Last Thursday was the best day to go sightseeing. It was sunny and clear. The days before and since have had pouring rain. We decided to buck the traffic in LA and go see the La Brea Tar Pits. Very surprising to see them in the middle of expensive Beverly Hills. Of course, they were there long before Beverly Hills. They were first discovered around 1905. In just 5 years they unearthed over 1 million bones of prehistoric animals. The animals went down to get water and got stuck in the tar and couldn't get out. Then the predators came and couldn't get out either. The tar is a thick sludge. In the museum there are tubes to try and lift out. No way. We saw young guys who couldn't even do it. To get there we went on Wilshire Blvd, thru Beverly Hills and onto Rodeo Drive. It is the most expensive 3-4 block shopping area in the United States. Amazing to see how the "other people" shop. On our way out we went thru the not so good areas of LA and Hollywood. Quite a difference. The traffic in LA is crazy, crazy. Cars pass you on the shoulder to get past the back ups.
The colored flags are where they have located bones of the prehistoric animals. If you look closely, you can see the shape of the bones. The dark areas are tar, not water. This is Pit 91, where they have found the most animals
This is a lake at the front of the property. The small dark areas in the lake are tar bubbling up to the surface.
These are crates full of tar they found when they were digging for a parking garage at the County Museum next door. Each 5 x 5 crate weighs 3 tons. The bigger ones are 12. They are filled with tar and bones.
We had seen the real touristy sights many years before and had no desire to fight traffic another day.
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