Roadtrip: Dinosaur Valley State Park

After enjoying lunch, live music and dancing in the town square we headed out.  We didn't have any particular destination in mind, but decided to see if there were any parks in the area.  A quick check of the GPS showed we were about 20 minutes away from Dinosaur Valley State Park so we headed that way.

Without a doubt in the last year we have put our Texas State Parks pass to good use. We have stopped in at State Parks throughout the State as we have been passing through, or made them destinations of their own

We weren't really sure what to expect of Dinosaur Valley State Park, but after a quick potty break, we grabbed a map and headed over to the giant Dinosaur statues just inside the park entrance. 

The dinosaur statues at the entry reminded us of our trip to the Dinosaur Exhibit at the Houston Zoo.

After admiring the dinosaur statues, and taking the requisite pictures we headed off to explore Dig Site 2 as recommended by the gate attendant.

The dig site promised impossible to miss tracks of two different varieties at a shallow point in the river - perfect for a little splashing. 

We made our way down the stairs, took off our shoes, and joined a host of other people enjoying exploring the tracks and the relatively shallow riverbed.

As we crossed the large rocks leading the other side I went first and held on to the boys with a death grip to keep them from falling into the water.  Ironically enough while trying to keep them from falling in I slipped on a wet rock and landed butt first on the part of a rock submerged in the water.  Fully dressed.  Without a change of clothes... Luckily my camera in my pocket escaped the drenching.

Once we made it to the other side we were immediately able to spot the tracks.

We had no trouble at all locating them, though if they hadn't of been in a marked off area we might have walked right by them and dismissed them as odd, but recent tracks in the mud along the riverbed.  Or in the case of the larger rounded tracks simply dismissed them as patterns left by the water as it coursed over and occasionally pooled in the riverbed.

It was hard to believe just how old they were and that we were walking in the same path a dinosaur had taken before us.

The boys were far more interested in the opportunity to get into the water and splash around than to look at the tracks, so we decided to let them in clothes and all.

As usual where water is concerned they had a blast splashing, kicking and running around in the riverbed.

Though it was amazing that they managed to leave in one piece as they took several tumbles on the slippery and pointy rocks as they failed to heed our warnings about not running.  Narrowly missing hitting their heads or other body parts on the uneven rocks.  After letting them chase minnows and play for a while we decided we had better head out while their luck was still holding as the sun was beginning to set, bedtime was rapidly approaching, and we still hadn't had dinner.