Paw-Paw took us to Glen Rose, TX this weekend for a road trip adventure. Our first stop was Dinosaur World. It's a kitschy little place and perfect for the preschool set. We ate a picnic lunch we toted along, then walked through the trails to see the giant dinosaurs. Spencer also got to do a fossil dig and was able to keep three items he found. He selected a shark tooth, ammonite and a piece of dinosaur bone. We decided to make one more quick trail run-through afterward and this time we imitated what we thought each dinosaur would sound like. We laughed so hard! Funny moment: I told Spencer he could pick out a souvenir in the gift shop and he said, "OK. What type of thing do you recommend?" He picked out a rubber pteranodon (like the one on the sign below) that he said he wants to hang from his bedroom ceiling and I also "recommended" a dinosaur dot-to-dot book.
Our ultimate destination was Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, just up the road. We stayed overnight in the Foothills Safari Camp in "tents." Some people call it "glamping" (glamour camping) since we had electricity, A/C and a bathroom - and that is just my speed! The tents are situated close to a big watering hole, so all evening we saw various deer coming to drink. There were a couple of other families staying there, so Spencer got to run around with some kids for a bit.
 |
| Daddy and Spencer at the Oryx tent. |
 |
| Paw-Paw had the Grevy's Zebra tent to himself |
I made a tactical error and didn't come prepared with all the food and drink we needed, so we had to run back into town for dinner. We had yummy food at The Green Pickle and then headed back to camp. We roamed around with flashlights, listened to the wind in the trees and tall grass, and investigated a really weird sound that turned out to be a huge deer herding all the lady deers. We were prepared to stay up as late as Spencer wanted, but he was tired so we told Paw-Paw goodnight and then started our nighttime routine.
Spencer planned to sleep in a sleeping bag on top of a mattress between us. I lay down with him to read books and when we were done he announced that he was ready to go ahead and get in bed with me. We slept just fine and I enjoyed snuggling with my little guy.
We all fell asleep by 8:30PM, so we were wide awake at 6:30AM. It was so quiet and peaceful at the camp. Spencer and I got dressed and set out to take some pictures, climb a tree and roam around. Then we all had breakfast at the pavilion and afterwards Spencer got to play with those kids again.
 |
| Spencer took this one. See the cold front coming in? |
|
|
|
We packed up and headed out after breakfast because we had a reservation for a family safari tour. It was cold and a bit rainy, so the animals weren't as active as usual, but we really enjoyed the safari. The property is so scenic and our tour guide was knowledgeable and really nice. Spencer asked lots of questions and was a little trooper in the chilly wet weather.
Glen Rose is such a neat area. There's even more to do, including the Dinosaur Valley State Park where you can see real dinosaur tracks. I would love to go back soon and stay at the camp again.
Thanks to Paw-Paw for a memorable weekend!
p.s. You can see more pictures in the
November web album.
Spencer and I went on a long hike today, just the two of us. I want to always remember the effortless way he took his jet backpack on and off, either to add
a treasure to our collection or to get a drink from his water bottle. His super loud, raspy "whisper" voice while we were tracking a snake (it was actually a bicycle tire track that we pretended was made by a giant snake). The way we left clues to help find our way back - either rock stacks or arrows made from sticks pointing us in the right direction. How he told me he was okay when he tripped and fell down because he has "strong skin." The way every so often he would take my hand, not because he needed help navigating a tricky incline or fallen tree, but just because.
