Ruth's Life is Good: Thursday 1-6 Hiking Dinosaur Valley Trails

Friday, January 7, 2022

Thursday 1-6 Hiking Dinosaur Valley Trails

Let's go hiking

We woke to a cold morning of 27 degree with a north wind. It only got up to 41 degrees. It was cold and windy all day.

We had pancakes for breakfast. Afterwards we went on a 5.5 mile hike. We started the hike at site 17 on the Paluxy River Trail. It goes for 1.9 miles along the river. We took the paved section that goes to the track sites for .5 miles. Then we crossed the river via huge rocks that people use to see dinosaur tracks. On the other side of the river we picked up the Limestone Ledge Trail, that's 1.5 miles. We hiked this trail until it Y's with the Black-capped Vireo Trail, which is 2.7 miles. When we met up with the Overlook Trail, which is .5 mile. We hiked to the overlook, where we saw a great view of the Paluxy River and the field of beautiful prairie grass. It was windy so the grass was swaying with the wind. Then we got back on the Limestone Ledge Trail to get back to Paluxy River crossing. When we got there we met a few people just starting their adventure. We took the Paluxy River Trail back to the Minnie.

During the hike we hiked through trees that protected us from a lot of the wind. The Limestone Ledge Trail looked over the Paluxy River, we had to climb over and walk in between boulders. The trail was challenging at times with lots of climbing up in elevation. The Black-capped Vireo Trail went through trees and parts of it was in the open, when it was in the open it was very cold, especially when a gust of wind came up. We sat on a bench to rest and drink some water. When a gust of wind came up we got up and continued our hike. After enjoying the view from the overlook we had to start going down hill. We met a couple coming up to the overlook. We said our hellos. It was challenging going downhill because of the loose rocks. Overall the trails were great and we had a super hike.

Trailhead marker for the Black-capped Vireo Trail

At overlook

Paluxy River from the trail

Larry on the bridge that we had to use to get over a ravine

When we got home it was time for lunch, we had tostadas. It was a long time since we had them and the were good.

In the afternoon I played my games. Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and the Event: Tri Peaks Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 3 minutes and 11 seconds, which put me in 9th place in my group. Larry read.

After playing my games I went on an hour and a half walk. I took the paved section of the Paluxy River Trail to the park store, where there was two dinosaur models. The models were from the 1964-65 New York World Fair. They were Tyrannosaurusrex (king tyrant lizard) and Apatosaurus (deceptive lizard). Then I walked the Monarch Trail, it was a short nature trail. As you walk the trail there are signs about the animals in the park. Before heading back I stopped at the park store and bought a Sea Salt Caramel Moon Pie. When I got back to the Minnie I walked around the campground five times to get my steps. By the end of the day I did 28,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.