Most of my friends and relatives think that they know what traveling East Tennessee has to offer, but there are hidden gems that beckon the traveler that you may not have ever known. Sometimes you just want something more than theme parks or the go kart tracks of Pigeon Forge or even the shopping of Gatlinburg. You need something educational or different to engage your mind and body, exactly like the place I'm going to tell you about that my wife and I experienced today. You may or may not have heard of it but I don't think you really realize the significance of this particular tourist destination. It is both a dig site and a natural history Museum and, as a matter of fact, one of the largest archaeological dig sites east of the Mississippi River.

The museum explains in detail the work that goes on at a fossil dig site and gives the visitor a firsthand look at what happens and how fossils are found at a dig site. The dig site, like most dig sites in the U.S., is only operated during the fair weather months and must be closed down and protected from precipitation and extreme weather to preserve what has not been uncovered yet. The museum however is open year-round.

Not only is this the largest dig site that exists east of the Mississippi, it has been rumored that they may even have found a new species of mastodon never before catalogued. This dig site is from the Miocene-era and those scientists that have examined and surveyed the area for the fossils think that an underground limestone cave collapsed, created a sinkhole, and trapped such animals as saber tooth cat, tapir, alligators, rhinos, short faced bear, red pandas, and mastodons.

This is like seeing one of the natural wonders of the world when looking at the jaw of one of the mastodons that has been unearthed. The incredible size of this creature is more than half the size of a normal elephant of today. Watching the students and their professors taking great pains to put these fossils back together so that we can see whole skeletons of the animals that they have found is just remarkable.

You must find an area that is perfect for the fossil to be preserved, because there are so many factors as to why you don't find as many fossils as you would think, the acidity of the ground, the moisture content of the ground, the type of rocks and even the climate of the area can determine whether the remains of animals over 4.5 to 7,000,000 years old can last long enough to be dug up and preserved by these scientists. Only one percent of this dig site has been excavated thus far, so it is still an active site.

We even saw how they were closing down the dig site because they are preparing the dig site for winter. If you left a dig site of this importance open to the ravages of winter without preparing it, you would lose some of the fossils that you are trying to remove, so instead of keeping it open during harsh weather they close it down and cover it and prepare it for inclement weather to come. This way they are saving most, if not all, of the fossils within this remarkable dig site.

The caverns below the watering hole of these mammals that used it for food and water were also what preserved them so well for future generations to study. It seems while feeding and drinking at least one or more of these limestone caverns collapsed underneath a heard of mastodons preserving their bones and fossilized them for our scientists to study today.

Just to give you a for instance, one of the bear skeletons found in this amazing dig site, when standing on all fours, would've been 6 foot tall or over. That would dwarf the black bears of the Smoky Mountains and would've made them almost 3 times larger than our North American black bear of the Smokies. Before man had taken his first breath these animals perished and were quickly covered over with various sediments that help preserve their bones.

I'm not going to give you any more spoilers of what they have found because the size and quantity of their find will blow your socks off. I will tell you that our guide John was knowledgeable and professional and I absolutely would recommend this to anyone visiting East Tennessee.

Gray Fossil Site and Museum is located near Johnson City in upper East Tennessee at 1212 Suncrest Dr., Gray, TN 37615 and the phone number is (423)439 – 3659. Operating hours are Tuesday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM, Saturdays from 10 AM to 5 PM and Sundays from 1 PM to 5 PM.  They are closed on holidays. Prices are extremely reasonable, self-guided general admission is five dollars each, guided Museum tour and dig site tour is eight dollars. Members receive free unlimited admission for one year. You can check at the desk for membership pricing or online. Discounts can be had for groups larger than 10 with a reservation.