Roadside Woolly Mammoth
(Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center)
7621 Granite Hill Dr, Riverside, CA 92509
Get there with Google Maps by clicking HERE
Date Visited: Unknown
No dinosaurs ever lived in these parts. The sculptures are just that… sculptures. Not bones, fossils, etc. However, as Mary Burns, Executive Director of the Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center told me, there WERE woolly mammoths in the area. And, in fact, they have a mammoth’s tusk in the back which they are working on. It is a fossil and they painstakingly pick the dirt away to reveal the tusk underneath. The photo is of Mary working with a dentist’s pick and a close up of the revealed tusk.
The purpose of the site is to serve educational needs of kids. So, it turns out this isn’t such an “odd” or “curious” site at all. They provide a place for kids to go on field trips etc. I saw “scouts” there as well. They are only “open” to the public Saturday, so I was lucky. I assume schools, etc. can visit during the week. The Center is within a nursery and I neglected to figure that out. There are rocks, mineral & fossils on display as well.
This is the website for Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center.
When I first began this wild idea of writing a blog, I wasn’t sure if I could do it. I didn’t know if I would actually be able to carry a “conversation” alone. I’m sure those of you that know me are laughing your a$$ off right now. “Imagine, Joe, not being able to talk!!! That’s all he does!!!” At any rate, misguided as it was, I decided I needed a “muse.” Someone or something to help out, fill out the blank spaces, etc. And so, my sock puppet companion, “Ora Lee” was born. Many thanks to my co-worker and friend, Emma, who actually contructed her. It was a great, albeit short-lived idea. Turns out, I can be a blabbermouth all by myself. R.I.P. Ora Lee.
As you drive along the 60 Freeway heading east of Los Angeles, CA, you may see this elephant, no mastodon (looks wrong to me, but spellcheck says it’s correct), NO… Woolly Mammoth on the north side of the freeway. It certainly got my curiosity up.
Please forgive this photo. It was taken from a moving vehicle. Not smart, I know. I was young & dumb. Now I’m OLD and still dumb!!! LOL
As it turns out, the mammoth is part of a display at the Jurupa Mountains Cultural Center, a educational non-profit organization that has a few dinosaur sculptures on display too.
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Thanks again!
Joe
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