Leonardo died 77 million years ago, probably drowned in a flood. His body was buried quickly in fine sediment, before scavengers could disturb it and before decomposition could destroy the soft tissues. Over millions of years, the skin and muscles desiccated and mineralized, preserving details usually lost to fossilization. When researchers examined Leonardo, they found not just bones but the outline of his body, the texture of his skin, and the contents of his last meal: ferns, conifers, and magnolia. Only about 10% of his skeleton is missing. He's the most complete dinosaur ever found, a window into what dinosaurs actually looked like in life.

Leonardo was discovered in 2000 by volunteers from the Judith River Dinosaur Institute, working on the Westby Ranch near Malta. The find began with bones spotted on an eroded hillside - nothing unusual in Montana's badlands. But as excavation proceeded, the team realized they had something extraordinary. Leonardo lay on his side, skin impression visible, chest cavity intact. The excavation took years. The dinosaur was transported to Malta, where the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum was created to display him. The museum opened in 2005. Leonardo has been studied by researchers from around the world, yielding insights into dinosaur biology that bones alone could never provide.

The Great Plains Dinosaur Museum is modest - a former car dealership converted to exhibition space. The collection goes beyond Leonardo to include specimens from the rich fossil beds of north-central Montana: hadrosaurs, ceratopsians, tyrannosaurs, and marine reptiles from when Montana was covered by an inland sea. Many specimens were found by local volunteers and amateur collectors. The museum runs educational programs, hosts paleontology camps, and sends volunteers into the field each summer. Budget limitations are constant; the museum operates on donations and grants. What it lacks in polish it compensates for with authenticity - these fossils came from nearby, found by ordinary people.

Northern Montana sits on the Judith River Formation, a geological unit rich in Late Cretaceous fossils. When dinosaurs lived here, Montana was a coastal plain bordering a shallow sea that split North America in half. Rivers deposited sediments that preserved animals in remarkable detail. Erosion now exposes these sediments in the badlands - the broken, barren terrain that early explorers found so hostile. What's hostile to farming is excellent for fossils. Every spring, winter erosion reveals new specimens. Ranchers and farmers have found major discoveries on their land. The Judith River Formation has yielded some of paleontology's most important specimens, and Malta is its informal capital.

The Great Plains Dinosaur Museum is located at 405 North 1st Street East in Malta, Montana. Hours vary seasonally; call ahead. Admission is charged; donations are welcomed. The museum offers summer field programs where visitors can participate in actual fossil excavation. Malta is on US-2, the Hi-Line route across northern Montana, about 280 miles northeast of Great Falls. The nearest commercial airports are in Great Falls or Billings. The drive across the Hi-Line is long and empty - prairie, grain elevators, small towns - but the museum is worth the journey. Combine with Fort Peck Reservoir and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge for a full Hi-Line experience.