Day 1C Los Banos Park and Museum, Sunset - Page 2

(#4 on the map.) It's nearly 2:00 in the afternoon now, and technically we're still only an hour from home, so we still have 6 hours of driving to do today. So much for having lots of time! Still, we decide to take the more interesting 99 south instead of the barren I-5, which means cutting across on 152 through Los Baños.

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elf1 > But the real treasure is the docent on duty. We're the only ones in the museum the whole time we're there. He's a native of Los Banos and an historian with several published books on local history. He accompanied us unobtrusively, answered our questions knowledgeably and pleasantly, and volunteered information that we might not have thought to ask about.

elf1 > Like, instead of the mere label "hand carved sheep brands", he noted that they were made of sycamore and were used, not with heat, but with a temporary coloring for after shearing.

elf1 > This photo is for Team Small Dog, who likes taxidermy.

elf1 > I took photos of some of the key families. Now my sieve-like brain remembers nothing about them.

elf1 > More key persons from this area. One of the key families belonged to the boarded-up house, which belongs to the school district (as does the museum building), and there aren't currently funds to do anything with it.

elf1 > There was a little display on turn-of-the-century dentistry, including this box filled with replacement metal teeth.

elf1 > Here's the dentist's foot-powered drill (the drill is hanging from the post to the right of the treadle). Boy, bet that felt good!

But the real treasure is the docent on duty. We're the only ones in the museum the whole time we're there. He's a native of Los Banos and an historian with several published books on local history. He accompanied us unobtrusively, answered our questions knowledgeably and pleasantly, and volunteered information that we might not have thought to ask about.