To kick off Spring Break I played hooky from work for a day to take a quick day trip to Dinosaur Valley State Park with the family.  I haven’t been to Dinosaur Valley since I was a kid so it was fun to return with my own children.  The park is located in Glen Rose which is just outside the DFW area.  I’ll hit a few highlights starting with a new program the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has started at select state parks…  (Don’t miss the photo gallery at the end of the post.)

Texas State Parks Junior Ranger Pack

Dinosaur Valley has backpacks filled with exploration tools and materials that are free for kids age 7-12 to checkout.  My observant wife noticed this new program while exploring the Dinosaur Valley website.  At Dinosaur Valley the backpack can be checked out at the main gatehouse where admission to the park is purchased.

The park ranger was kind enough to let our six year-old check out a pack.  All the materials in the bag were new and based on the journal had only been used a few times before.  Included in the bag were: binoculars, magnifying glass, compass with other tools, track identifier, field guides, crayons, and an activity book.

I thought the activity book was great!  The book challenged the kids to do more than simply run around and bounce from site to site. (Not that there is anything wrong with kids running free and having a good time being a kid.) There was a ‘sound map’ activity where the child sat in an area with their eyes closed and listened to the sounds in their environment and then drew them out on a map.  Another activity guided them through using four of their five senses on a nature hike…no tasting please.  Other activities included a matrix for identifying birds and a mapping activity.  At one point a park ranger saw our daughter with her Junior Ranger Park and made it a point to ask her if she had any questions.  There are several areas in the activity book where kids are encouraged to interact with park rangers.

The Junior Ranger Pack is a great idea and it is one that I hope the state parks system is able to continue.  For a full list of participating parks you can click here.

In the park…

I am guessing a good number of my regular readers have been to Dinosaur Valley State Park before.  It is worth noting that over the years they have discovered additional dinosaur tracks.  The same erosion that exposes new tracks also destroys previously exposed tracks.  The park is ever changing in that regard.

The girls were excited from the very beginning of the our visit when they saw the large dinosaur models that greet visitors just inside the entry area.  The 70-foot Apatosaurus and the 45-foot Tyrannosaurus Rex make an impression on visitors young and old.  The girls (including Mommy) enjoyed running around in front of the T-rex pretending they were dinosaurs.

Our young family visited two of the four track sites.  (You can view a map of the park here.)  We hit track site #2 and #3.  The main track site is a great place for exploring along the Paluxy River.  My wife and I were a bit nervous as our two year-old has no fear of water and often went racing towards the river at full force.  Some sections of tracks have been roped off to preserve the area as much as possible.  We arrived at the park shortly after the 10am opening time so there wasn’t too big of a crowd down at the main track site.  We enjoyed exploring along the river and the various trails.

Our kids are used to eating pretty early so we found a nice table in the picnic area.  Our oldest daughter pulled out the sketchbook from the Junior Ranger Pack and started working on a drawing of a scene along the river.  The picnic area was very clean and the tables were spaced out so families could enjoy some privacy.  There is a really nice pavilion on the river at this location that can be reserved for special events.  There is also a nice little playground where we let the girls play for a bit.  I appreciated the no alcohol policy of the park.

After lunch we ventured to site #3.  From the overlook parking lot we walked west on the trail a bit and found the path down to the river.  There was a nice sandy area on the river between site #2 and #3 where the girls enjoyed skipping rocks across the Paluxy River.  By this time the park was getting pretty crowded and our girls were wearing out so we decided to make our exit.

Dinosaur Valley State Park will definitely be on our list of places to return when our youngest child is a bit older.  In a few years the girls will really have a fun time exploring and hiking.  I would have loved to make the trek back to Wildcat Hollow waterfall but it was just too far for our young family.  There are also lots of great tent sites set back in the woods that would be fun in the future.  Park admission is free for guests 12 and under and $7 for everyone else.  Our day of adventure in the park cost a whopping $14 which is a steal!

Dinnertime Devotionals #10

Typically on Tuesdays I have a faith-based post but we had such fun at Dinosaur Valley that I wanted to write about it immediately in case other families were looking for a good Spring Break activity.  I did want to make sure that my weekly Dinnertime Devotional guide made it out on time for those who have been using them weekly.  This week the topic is love… Dinnertime Devotionals 10