On May 15th, 2019 my husband and I visited a place which would be the envy of any dinosaur enthusiast: the real life Jurassic park. The Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas is a site known for the hundreds of authentic dinosaur tracks fossilized here. This park feels like an exotic paradise taken from the footage of the classic Jurassic park itself. At any moment one could expect a giant rampaging beast to stomp down the trail just around the corner. The raging river, dense forests, cliffs, and sandy shores all make one feel as though they are deeply enveloped in the rain forest or jungle. Some of the trails are highly isolated, so an element of danger looms over hikers as they trek deeper into the unknown.
When we visited this time, the river was too high for us to see any of the dinosaur footprints. But we plan to return again when the river had lowered. But it was still worth it to visit this incredible park. There was a $7 per person admission fee, which I actually like since it prevents too many people from visiting the park at one time. I prefer fewer people around when we hike to enjoy the silence of nature and the sense of thrill which comes from hiking where few others tread. When the water is lower one can swim in the wide river across to the other side, but the trails on the opposite river were unreachable with the waters raised from the rainfall this past week.
We will be returning to Kayak here in the river, to camp here, and to hike the trails on the opposite riverbank. It will hopefully be soon that the river lowers and allows us to visit again to explore more. But this was a great opportunity to scope out the park and to experience the beauty and wonder of it before taking on the more extreme challenges this paradise had to offer. What ever lies ahead for us here, it will no doubt be an adventure we will always remember.
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