The University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History has to be the smallest museum that I've ever been inside of. It was very cool, but dang it was small. The outdoor section was very cool though, I mean seriously look at this fish.... LOOK AT THAT GUY!
Anyway, Past is Present exhibit was actually quite beautiful. The mural on the back walls was bright and it made the rooms looks alive. Each picture I took I attempted to take the railing out so it would seem more real, so this is the scene of a still being built WikiUp... a strange and much more advanced teepee. Each individual reed of plants is tied togehter with a small straw knot. If you were to sleep in this and sneeze in the morning, this whole thing would collapse on top of you. Still, really cool to see this scene.
Fishing was the best way to get food for these guys. Not to be too obvious, but there are a few water ways in Oregon, and fish are far from eager to get caught. Seriously, these fish would get caught so easily it was like the gloomy gray Oregon weather made them all depressed and they were looking for the easy way out. This incredibly long net was used as a fishing net, and its elongated neck was helpful because the fish saw a branch of a tree instead of a large creature standing on the shore line. This allowed the fisherman to stand further back and not spook the fish. This next tool is a personal favorite. In modern times, us southerners call this puppy a GIG, we use her to kill frogs and snakes to eat. The fisherman used it for spearfishing. It's pretty neat.
This is a snake.
The black and white bands classify this as a non-venomous California King-Snake...he's a nice guy.
THE COOLEST THING is definitely this house though. It was small, but it is definitely an easy to build shelter for Native Americans in this region. The roof was slanted for rain, and the wood was thick for wind, animal, and nature shelter. This also gave the Natives a sense of home, and this scene is quite beautiful. A small, wood-planked dwelling aside a large redwood. The redwood had plants of all kinds growing from its body, and it added to the shear bliss of a house like this. How cool.
That was pretty much the whole museum. My hunger took over, and I walked very fast after this room so I could make it to Mongolian Grill before I passed out.
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