Dinosaur Bones, Ohlone Reed Boats, and Historic Menus at the Carmel Valley History Museum in Carmel Valley, California by Ruth Paget
It is built in the Monitor style that is still used for horse stables and cow barns throughout the Western US. The Monitor style has a raised central aisle with two lower flanking sides. Windows between the lower sides and central aisle let in light and let breezes through to remove hot air that rises from below. Hay can be stored on a second floor built into the raised aisle.
The label for Junipero Swiss Cheese from the Schoch Dairy in Prunedale outside Salinas shows a modified Monitor Barn the family uses for their dairy.
What everyone comes to see at the Carmel Valley History Museum is the dinosaur hip bone found while plowing a local field. According to the museum’s exhibit label, scientists need to find dinosaur teeth to identify if the hip bone belongs to a mastodon or mammoth.
A picture of a mammoth and mastodon shows why they are hard to tell apart.
A Rumsen Ohlone tule reed boat is a living tradition made by Linda Yamane from tule marsh weeds found in the marshes of Carmel Valley.
Students who are studying sustainable tourism at California State University Monterey Bay might be interested in the menu, and seating plan from Will’s Fargo Saloon and Restaurant that was in business for decades. To enlarge the menu, spread your fingers apart on the image.
There are many other fun things to see at the Carmel Valley History Museum in Carmel Valley, California including saddles, wagon wheels, plows that look like one-wheeled bicycles, and old fashioned typewriters. After your visit, you can walk in the park, picnic, or admire the Emerald City Playscape.
A ride over the Laurales Grade (10%) to Salinas follows an old cattle drive path to Salinas for market and Gonzales for fattening is a bit of a thrill ride ending for a day at the museum.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
