What Did We See? Critters!

No matter how few possessions you own or how little money you have, 

loving wildlife and nature will make you rich beyond measure.”
― Paul Oxton

Of course the boys will be introduced to Texas wildlife on our adventures. They live somewhat in the country and have already experienced quite a bit (scorpions, centipedes, tarantulas and the like). And we have already noticed that WE see more creatures when we are with them as they are on a slightly different eye level and they are moving along faster than we are. This is going to be a great partnership in the wild.

Here are a few of the observations from our few days in the summer heat. Except for the lizards, most of these observations are from Dinosaur Valley State Park. So, let's just say these are from Bell, Somervell, Hamilton, Coryell, and McLennan Counties.

Insects

Question Mark

Hackberry Emperor

Reptiles

Cooter (we rescued it from the middle of a country road)

Common Spotted Whiptail

Another Common Spotted Whiptail

And just one more Common Spotted Whiptail

Birds

Northern Cardinal

Northern Cardinal

Great Blue Heron

Northern Mockingbird

The resident Greater Roadrunner greeted us as we returned the guys home.

Mammals

Fox Squirrel

Plants

Greenthread

Meadow Pinks

Texas Thistle

Lemon Beebalm

Roots of trees along the river at Dinosaur Valley. I needed someplace to put this shot. These would be challenging paths.

Mustang Grapes

The grapes

Purple Leatherflowers - these are favorites of mine.

Leatherflower detail

Inland Sea Oats

Whitemouth Dayflower

Did Columbian Mammoths drink Dr. Pepper? Day 3

Down here
the layers of earth
are comforting
like blankets.

The soil I think of
as time. Below the caliche
I sift through sediment
from thousands of years.

Though the sharp desert light above
is another world, its pulse
courses through me.

When the mastodons
and ground sloths roamed,
its pulse coursed through me.

When the Hohokam
in the canyon
ground my pods
in the stone
its pulse coursed through me.

When the new gatherers
of the desert
learn again how to live here,
its pulse will course through me.

And I say, I will be ready
if the drought comes.

And I say, go deep
into the Earth.

And I say, go deep
into yourself, go deep
and be ready.”
~ Eric Magrane The Sonoran Desert: A Literary Field Guide

We see part of our responsibility on these adventures is not just to make sure our companions are fed, but that our companions get to experience food they might not have eaten before. So we headed to the nearest taqueria for breakfast tacos before hitting the road for Waco. 

Why Waco? Well, why not Waco? 

You can buy a ranger figure in the Mammoth Monument gift shop. I'd never seen one of these before.

Our first stop was the Waco Mammoth National Monument* before we headed on to the Dr. Pepper Museum.** We knew the mammoths would be fascinating, as mammoths are (actually - DH and I have visited the site before and are always willing to go back). The Dr. Pepper Museum was a revelation - totally different experience from our previous visits. There are two buildings with much to see. We were surprised, but happy to look around. MS is a Dr. Pepper fan, so that stop was planned for him. He doesn't drink a lot of soda, but when he does it's Dr. Pepper. JS is more a lemonade guy. We each got a "free" soda with our admission fee.

This machine was amazing. Of course it was modified and just for display. But the rows of 7 Up bottles moving along made me happy.

An old piece of advertising - even I don't remember sodas for a nickle...a dime maybe...definitely 15 cents.

Lunch was at Sonic - another first for the young fellows along on this adventure. Hey, we only go to the best places! Stick with us.

[There are more photos somewhere. I'll add them as I find them. It's enough for now to document the trip and note the success of what is like the first of many with these two new Texans. Travel with young folks is fun. They are insightful. Stand by.]

NOTES:

* https://www.nps.gov/waco/index.htm
** https://drpeppermuseum.com/
 

Dinosaur Footprints? Pie? Movies? Storms! Day 2

If history repeats itself, 

I am so getting a dinosaur! 

~ anonymous 

From the 1964 New York World's Fair* in Flushing Meadow, may I present T-Rex and Dino the Brontosaurus (yes, he had a name). DH saw them in NY when he was a child. MS and JS are one generation away - their Dad saw them in Flushing Meadow too.

A turtle was crossing the road leading up to Dinosaur Valley State Park.** It was moving at a smart pace, but we couldn't be sure it would make it safely across the road. We pulled over and the shelled creature was escorted to the other side of the roadway before we headed out in search of prehistoric footprints on the bottom of the Paluxy River. 

Texas Cooter or River Cooter - I'll know soon enough from curators on iNaturalist.

We tried the main track site, but recent rains had raised the level of the river and the water was moving swiftly. Cool heads concluded a visit to this particular viewing area should be left to the early fall. So a trip around the area gave us all a good view of the park.

The rocks immediately in front of the guys are often above the surface and useful as stepping stones.

Finally, tracks were found by wading at the "ballroom" site.

As disclosed by responses on the park's Facebook page, the park is not accessible except for the paved areas. Still, a visit to the dinosaur statues and the museum in the Office/Visitor Center building would be instructive if one is in the area. [If you REALLY want to closely examine the footprints, wait until the river is low - usually at the end of the summer.]

Now, why else might one want to travel to this part of Texas? One word - PIE!

Just south of Glen Rose is Hico. This sleepy little town was a perfect stop for lunch and PIE! The Koffee Kup (right across the road from the Exxon Station) and near downtown serves 16 varieties of pie. So we ate lunch (hamburger, BLT, beef tips, chicken fried steak) and pie. Okay, DH and I had cake served with our lunch specials so we didn't get pie, but the young 'uns did. There you have another best - best dessert of the trip!

Blueberry and banana pie!

Apple pie!

Hico has a neat downtown and we could have stayed longer, but we needed to get back on the road. Still, we saw a little of it and will want to come back when we have a little more time to explore.

Some rules are easy to follow.

What is going on in there?

The Wiseman  House Chocolate factory was busy...but the workers took time to give us a quick wave before getting after it. No, there was no "I Love Lucy" ***moment.

We then traveled down narrow roads and through small towns we had never seen. Fairy, Texas (population 31) has an interesting history**** and, basically, two buildings. Nary a fairy was seen as we moved along to Cranfills Gap. We took a small detour in Cranfills Gap to see St. Olaf's Church,***** a 100 year old structure where services were held in Norwegian until 1927.

We could tag this shot with almost any location. Traveling in the summer in Texas always means you will be dealing with road repairs.

We finally reached Gatesville and our hotel. Well, the place where we stayed. It was pretty basic, but there was a pool. Okay, it turned out there was a dead bird in the pool...but we would discover that later.

We ate Italian food for supper. MS probably made the best choice...and had leftovers for a midnight snack.

That evening we headed to the "last drive in" or so they call it. We got settled and watched as others pulled out yard furniture and adjusted their pickup trucks. Aladdin (the new one) started. And, soon enough, a front blew through with blinding rain and wild lightning. We were in a tornado watch, but not a warning and we continued to watch the movie as our weather-exposed neighbors packed and left.

Just driving in and looking at the sign made me smile.

The weather was threatening.

Just a little bit of the lightning we watched.

I sat in the car and watched the radar, debating whether we should take shelter somewhere.

 The weather was bad. The movie was pretty good. And we had a good night's sleep.


NOTES:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abYJ3MjQpm8

**https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/dinosaur-valley

***https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnbNcQlzV-4
****https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32656096/fairy-fort 
        https://likethedew.com/2009/04/16/a-fairy-texas-tale/#.XTUTqFB7lE4
*****http://saintolaflutheran.org/

All Aboard! Summer 2019 Adventure Day 1

I like trains. 

I like their rhythm, 

and I like the freedom of being suspended between two places, 

all anxieties of purpose taken care of: 

for this moment I know where I am going.
  ~ Anna Funder, Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall

Tuesday -- The Best-laid Plans:

We three - MS, JS, and I - were to board the train in Temple, Texas at 11:25 a.m. for a short trip to Cleburne. Our trip was scheduled to take 1.5 hours. DH* would drive up the highway with most of the luggage and pick us up at the Cleburne train station. Then we would all go to lunch. Yeah, that was the plan.

We waited at the station, checked out the museum (it's cool - you should go!), parceled out notebooks, pens, and activity books from the dollar store. We talked to other folks in the waiting room. We watched as the ticket agent shook his head when we said the train was supposed to leave at 11:25. "It's running an hour and a half behind schedule."**

Heading back to the waiting room after we perused the museum.

Working the crossword.

Everyone got a shot at it. We did finally finish it!

I am not a Sudoku fan. They are.

We finally received the word that our train would be arriving so we headed outside.

FINALLY - the train!

At 1:30 p.m. DH sent a text from Cleburne. "I'm here," it said. [He had been so concerned that the train would arrive before he could get there. Instead he arrived well over an hour and a half before our train ever left Temple. Ha!]

"We just boarded the train," I replied. "Take a nap. You will have time."

It took some time to adjust the seats.

MS and JS discovered A PORTAL. They looked around and headed to the observation car for the last bit of the ride - to see the countryside better (and get a good look at one of the rivers we crossed). It turned out to be a bit of a magic portal. They loved the observation car.

So the riders ate snacks, worked sudoku puzzles, completed a crossword, explored the train, chatted, read our books, checked emails, took photos and laughed about our "short little" train ride.

At one point we were stopped cold (in the middle of nowhere). The conductor announced we were "stuck" (she said "stopped," but we were "STUCK") behind two freight trains. So we waited. And waited. And waited.

There was plenty of time to plan lunch while waiting. DH was concerned we find a good spot because we would be well past lunch time when we arrived (with two youngsters along we expected them to be ravenous). I checked restaurant ratings and chose one minutes from the station. (It would turn out to be the best dining of the trip, but more on that later).

Here are a few of the views out my window.

As we crossed the Brazos as a Great Egret crossed in the opposite direction.

Random country road.

Crossing at another random country road. A motorcycle was roaring up as we passed by. I love railroad crossings (perhaps from a childhood of watching the train pass the crossing near my grandmother's house.

Some ponds near a grazing area. I looked for Cattle Egrets and they were at the edge of the center pond.

What do you expect alongside the tracks?

I love the way the stacks of old ties echoed the lines of the tracks...my obsession with stacks and grids.

Proof we arrived. The Texas Eagle prepares to head toward Fort Worth without us aboard.

We finally got started again and made good time into Cleburne. Apparently Amtrack does not charge by time on the train (thank heavens!). The trip was a good one, if long, and gave us the quote of the entire adventure. [I had suggested we note the best and the worst of the trip - the best quote (people are always saying crazy things), the best food, the worst food, the best experience, the worst and so forth.] The conductor announced a reminder for travelers to "wear shoes." I got a look and a smirk from one of the boys. We knew we had the quote.***

But now it was 4:00 p.m and way past lunchtime! We navigated the one-way streets of Cleburne to find La Cima Mexican Restaurant**** was everything advertised and more. This may be the best Mexican food I've eaten. The salsa was different than any I've tasted (don't ask - I have no idea how it was made) with a perfect after-burn. Ah, it was the best food of the trip.

Beef burrito

Soft tacos

We drove on to Glen Rose for naps and then a swim at Big Rocks Park (sorry, no photos). There was no plan to swim in the Paluxy River,***** but the hotel pool had been silted in. That was not the only issue we had with the hotel. It's one we will skip on future trips. Still the guys enjoyed Big Rocks Park. It's worth another trip, I hear. They left me sleeping in the hotel and came back with slushes (and a chocolate shake for me). I forgave them for not leaving a note.

After that long and exhausting day we crashed early so that we could get an early start at Dinosaur Valley State Park - one object of our "advance party" investigation.

NOTES:

*He hates public transportation and is only too happy to drive the "train leg" of the adventure.
**NEVER ride the train anywhere if you have a tight schedule. One train we heard about in Canada when we were there last year was 18 hours late. 18 HOURS!
***"Shoes must be worn at all times, ladies and gentlemen. If you are entering the dining car, ladies and gentlemen, you must wear shoes. If you are in sleeping accommodations, you may not leave the cabin without shoes, ladies and gentlemen." A close second was not a spoken quote, but the name of a property outside of Hico, Texas. We drove past the "Last Dollar Ranch." It seemed an apt name indeed.
****Map to La Cima:

La Cima is close to the train station and right downtown. We will go back!

*****https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paluxy_River