Dinosaur Valley State Park

This past weekend we went on a camp out with our homeschooling co-op to Dinosaur Valley State park.  Mom and Dad parked the camper there for us on Thursday, so all we had to do was show up.  (Very nice!!! Thank you Mom and Dad!)  Brooke and Caleb spent most of their time playing with friends. (Thank you to the Clays and Menzies for putting up with them!)  Clare makes it a bit difficult to be too far from the camper.  You are either carrying her or you have forgotten something she needs immediately!

On Saturday, one of the park rangers gave us a tour of the tracks with a short discussion of what could be found at this park.

Therapod (I forgot specific dinosaur) foot print abo. 113million years old

Some of our group looking at the Therapod footprint.

Our group being a Sauropod ankle. (Again, I forgot the specific dinosaur).

At one point, we lost a few of the kiddos.  Will found them in this cave.  The park is very cool because you can really see the different rock layers.  There are a number of very solid limestone layers, but in between there are very soft silt and sandstone layers.  As erosion happens, the soft layers go away, but the hard limestone layers are there above and below creating some pretty cool overhangs and caves to hide in.  

 

After the tour, Brooke, Caleb, and I went exploring.  We found this.  The ranger told us that this is tube worms.  Not the tube worms exactly, but the tunnels they dug.  Some of the tunnels have segmentation that looks like the tube worms.  This is likely because one died at that spot.  She dated this around 113 million years old.  

The river is very nice and spring fed like the Frio, but so much closer.  This might have to become a go to spot for my family.

Just a pretty picture of my red by the river.  

Clare wanted to be just like her Brooke and be a fire bug.  It was only slightly terrifying.

After staying up well past 10 the whole weekend, they all passed out on the way home.  Not the best picture, but you can tell that I have a full and tired backseat.