Happy Sunday! When I was researching what to do while in Waco, I happen to see the Waco Mammoth National Monument and just had to make it a stop.
Kathy was at heart a paleontologist. During the course of getting one of her degrees, she worked with the natural sciences department of the University of Texas at Dallas. While there she had the opportunity to dig at the the dinosaur sites in Big Ben National Park, which fostered a love for all things ancient (hey, keep your comments to yourself. I ain't that old!)
Of course that meant we couldn't pass up anything old. Whether it was Fate Bell Shelter in south Texas, pictographs in the red rim area of Arizona or the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park, we explored them. And of course there was always Big Bend. A small portion of her ashes are buried there (thanks forever, Homer).
I loved them the old stuff too. It's fascinating to catch even a glimpse into how humans lived before there were horses and cows, let alone TV and cell phones. And I can't even comprehend what it would have been like living with walking giants like the dinosaurs.
So of course the Mammoth Monument had to be on my agenda. And it was worth the trip to see the only nursery herd of mammoths in the world.
Like a lot of prehistoric sites, the mammoths were discovered by accident. In 1978, two men were hunting for arrowheads near the Bosque river when they spotted a bone sticking out of the side of a ravine. They took it to nearby Baylor College to have it examined. When the scientists at the college realized they had a femur from a Colombian mammoth, they quickly organized a group of volunteers to excavate the area.
What they found was astounding. Not just a few bones scattered about, but almost intact skeletons! Eventually 16 mammoths were found. And they are still working the site.
An interesting note about Colombian mammoths. Those suckers were big. An adult male could be as tall at 14 feet. Compare that to an African Elephant or a Woolly mammoth, both of which top out at about 10. And there's a really big one at the dig that was about 17 feet!
The photo at the top is an artist's rendition of him. See the black thing by his left rear leg? That's a baby carriage. It doesn't even come up to his knee.
Another tidbit: These aren't fossils. The bones are still decaying after 65-70,000 years. While that makes some challenges for the scientists trying to preserve them, it also makes for a quick way to determine where more may be found in the area. Decaying bone makes for good fertilizer. That means trees grow quicker. Our guide told us to pick out the bigger trees in the area. Those may just be markers for future examinations.
The park isn't big, and the path to get to the dig site is an easy 1/2 mile walk. The guide will let you hitch a ride on their golf cart if you need it. You can walk the site, but need a guide to get in to the dig shelter. The shelter is air conditioned, but that's not for our comfort. Remember I said these are decaying bones? Turns out that the Texas humidity is murder on them. If not carefully controlled, they break down quickly.
Of course, the A/C makes a visit on a summer day kinda nice, too.
An update on the rig: I did the final edit on this post sitting at the dinette. There are still a few minor things to get fixed, but nothing that will keep me off the road. I'm about 80% moved in. I want to get the rig weighed before I add any more weight. Martin Dies is a short trip from Escapees and I have an appointment with the SmartWeigh folks there. But the fridge is stocked and I got my grill, the Instant Pot and a generous selection of adult beverages, so all is go for camping!
I'm headed out tomorrow for Clear Lake Corps of Engineers park on Lavon lake, where Tex and I will spend a week shaking down the rig. After that, it's off to Martin Dies Jr. State Park for another week while I take care of a few things and pick up mail. No plans yet after that. I'll probably hit a few more parks. Maybe head out west a little. In the meantime I'm going to spend some more time getting my new home set up. I'll post some pics next week.
Later, folks.
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