Waco
We took off this morning from Dallas (really Plano, suburb of Dallas) to head south to Houston. After we figured out the several complicated interchanges, we made it out of town to the open road. Goodness, this part of Texas is flat. Our first stop was Waco, a couple of hours down the road. Below are some pictures from there.
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| First stop was a place where they found several fossils for the now extinct Colombian mammoth. The original 13 complete mammoths they found were given to Baylor university. |
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| Everything else has been left in place and is part of an active dig. If you study the picture you can make out the parts of the mammoth that died in place. At the very least, the tusks are easy to see. I was very excited to see the actual bones/fossils because in museums you usually see only models or plaster replicas. We also saw remains of an ancient camel, giant tortoise, and a saber-tooth tiger. |
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| We also hiked a short trail that was part of an Eagle Scout Project. Wally and Theo are both Eagle Scouts and I've been around quite a few projects. However, this is the fanciest project sign I've ever seen. |
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| Next up was the Brazos River Riverwalk in downtown Waco. |
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| Ward wanted to see the historic Waco suspension bridge there. |
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| I was happy to see the full-size bronze sculptures of a cattle drive. |
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| The heat was building so we decided it was time to move inside with a visit to the Dr. Pepper museum. Dr. Pepper was invented by a young pharmacist, Charles Alderton, who mixed 26 flavors for the winning combination. |
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| The museum was very well done and at the site of the former bottling plant. |
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| At the end, we got a coupon for a free Dr. Pepper. Too bad that I can't stand the stuff, but Ward was happy. |
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| And if you watch much HGTV, no visit to Waco would be complete without a visit to Chip and Joanna Gaines' Silos. |
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| However, they are closed on Sunday. |
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| Then we got on the road for a few more hours to Houston. We took the back roads looking for the famous Texas bluebonnets that are in bloom now. We saw many along the way. BTW, I think the camera did a pretty good job capturing these flowers at 60 mph. |
It was another good, but tiring day.
Until next time...
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Looks gorgeous. Maybe one day I will make it into Texas- I have some family down there but I've never been.
ReplyDeleteTexas is a big state with a wide variety of things to offer. You should visit sometime.
DeleteSounds like another great day! The bluebonnets look lovely!
ReplyDeleteSometimes, the blue bonnets were mixed with orange Indian paint brush for a striking scene.
Delete60 mph bluebonnets! Impressive photo at speed. Shutter speed fast enough to still the car motion I guess. I don't know the silo/HGTV remark connection. Or who Chip and Joanna Gaines are. I'll look it up.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with the photo, too. I got a new phone recently and it has a much better camera.
DeleteI've always wanted to see bluebonnets, and yes, you took a great picture.
ReplyDeleteI would have been so excited to see the mammoth remains. That's super cool. We once planned a vacation around seeing dinosaur footprint fossils, so you can imagine the geeky joy I get out of that kind of thing.
I also dislike Dr Pepper, and no, I don't think it tastes at all like cherry coke (which I've heard it compared to).
Too bad you missed out on the Magnolia Market. That would have been a fun stop, although sometimes I think their style is a little overdone.
Thanks for sharing your day with us!
I can imagine planning a vacation around dinosaur footprints. I am that geeky, too.
DeleteI don’t like cherry coke, either.😝
I've not seen bones getting dug up like that either, you're right, the museums usually show the finished, put together creatures.
ReplyDeleteI like dr. pepper but haven't touched the stuff in ages.
Have a lovely day.
I have found many fossils, but they were usually like a small sea shells. I have never seen anything like the mammoths.🦣
DeleteI am the anonymous comment.
DeleteYou sure found some interesting and unusual things to see. The bluebonnets though! Wow!
ReplyDeleteWaco turned out to be a great stop.
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