More than 26,000 years ago large Columbian and Whooly Mammoths were trapped and died in a spring-fed pond near what is now the southwest edge of Hot Springs, South Dakota. They sunk into the clay ridden mud and were fossilized - entire bodies were preserved.

One day thousands of years later, an excavation crew was digging at the site getting the site ready to build houses when the tractor hit something really big. It was the preserved fossil body of a gigantic Whooly Mammoth! What?!

Some great scientists and community members were able to preserve the site, and build a football stadium sized building around the site and, like the Ashfall fossil bed site - paleontologists continue to uncover them. This means we get to see the fossils and watch the scientist do their amazing work!

Okay, so the boys and Glenn and I were truly blown away. Seriously, we've seen a lot of bones in the woods and wetlands behind our house. But we have definitely never seen bones this big! Hard to believe an animals this large walked on the same earth we walk on now!