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A Hidden Paradise In Texas, These Cabins Overlook A Private Waterfall
196 Plays8 months ago
Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of Not Your Average Bucket List by OnlyInYourState. We are cruising along through Season 4 with some really incredible hidden gems. And today, we’re heading over to Texas for a one-of-a-kind accommodation. We’re going to be talking about these really cool cabins in Glen Rose, Texas, and also discuss the neighboring park known as Dinosaur Valley State Park, which seems really neat. We featured the Anderson Creek Cabins before on OnlyInYourState in an article written by Katie Lawrence titled: A Hidden Paradise In Texas, These Cabins Overlook A Private Waterfall.
Things we’ll cover in this episode:
- What are some interesting things to do in Glen Rose, Texas?
- What can you see at Dinosaur Valley State Park?
- Where can you stay near Dinosaur Valley State Park?
Podcast Timestamps:
[00:01:1] First impressions about Dinosaur Valley State Park.
[00:12:08] Let’s talk about Glen Rose, Texas!
[00:16:30] You can rent a cabin overlooking a waterfall in Texas!
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Get In Touch!
If you have personal experiences with any of the attractions mentioned above, call or text 805-298-1420! We’d love to hear your thoughts on these places and maybe even share your clip on the show! You can also reach out to us via email at [email protected].
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Transcript
Introduction to Glen Rose, Texas
00:00:06
Speaker
This is Not Your Average Bucket List by Only In Your State, a podcast about exploring the hidden gems right in your own backyard. Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of Not Your Average Bucket List by Only In Your State. We are cruising along through season four with some really incredible hidden gems. And today we are heading over to Texas for a one of a kind accommodation.
Dinosaur Valley State Park Exploration
00:00:32
Speaker
I'm here with my co-host, Sarah. Hi, Sarah. Hey, Marissa.
00:00:36
Speaker
For our episode today, we are going to be talking about these really cool cabins in Glen Rose, Texas. We're also going to be talking about the town of Glen Rose, Texas, and the neighboring park known as Dinosaur Valley State Park, which all seem very neat and can come together as this really cool day trip. We featured Anderson Creek cabins before on Only in Your State in an article written by Katie Lawrence.
00:01:03
Speaker
And so we're going to kick it off with a little combo about Dinosaur Valley State Park, which this was my first time hearing about it. I don't know if you've heard about this park before. I have not, but it is like right up my alley. I don't know about you. I was a big dinosaur kid. I just felt like, oh, sorry. First of all, I spit.
00:01:23
Speaker
I'm so excited about dinosaurs. I know. It sounds like a part that I would love to see. It's something that's really neat and it has some things in the area that would be really fun for the whole family to go to. I haven't heard of it before. To me, it's like if I'm going through Texas, I would definitely want to swing by this place.
00:01:51
Speaker
I've lived in Texas before and I've never heard of this before. I'm kicking myself that I didn't get to visit because this state park is in Glen Rose, Texas. It actually features dinosaur footprints that have been preserved into the bed of the Paluxy River that date back over 100 million years.
00:02:13
Speaker
Yeah.
History of Dinosaur Discoveries
00:02:14
Speaker
Cretaceous period, dinosaur tracks actually there. To me, whenever I saw it, I'm like, well, these are fake though, right? You know what I mean? They have to be here.
00:02:27
Speaker
No, it's like they are just ... It used to be a shoreline of an ancient sea and it was just buried in there. I think basically it was preserved in the seabed and after all of the erosion and a millennia passed and then they are just left in the riverbed that you can literally just walk up and see dinosaur tracks, which is amazing.
00:02:50
Speaker
it really is if you think about it because it's like where else in the country can you walk in the footsteps of these prehistoric creatures that it's like you know yes I know that there are certain the river for example it has to be um like a certain level for you to be able to see these tracks it's not like you know that you can just like pop on in whenever you feel like it but like what a really cool
00:03:16
Speaker
slice of history that you can't really find too many other places in the United States like this. No. I mean, for one, much of the United States was beneath a prehistoric sea, so a lot of the fossils we do see are
00:03:31
Speaker
like trilobites and little sea creatures and things like that. Out West is a little bit different, but I feel like for the main swath of the country, you don't really get to see this kind of fossil.
Activities Beyond Dinosaur Tracks
00:03:44
Speaker
These were found in the Glen Rose Formation, they say in early 1900s, 1908.
00:03:51
Speaker
And it was, yeah, there was a lot of confusion around, like, there are some, like, arguing theories behind what they were, but it's really just dinosaur tracks that, yeah, are in this riverbed, which is crazy.
00:04:05
Speaker
would have been my probably one of my last guesses that dinosaur tracks if I was in that meeting and I was like, no, definitely can't. There's no way these are real dinosaur tracks. And then lo and behold, here they are. And there's a whole state park dedicated to it, which I think is really neat because even if you're not a dinosaur fan, which sorry,
00:04:28
Speaker
Nobody listening to this podcast. But even if it's like dinosaurs aren't your jam, you could still go to the park and there are a ton of things to do, which again, like you said, very family friendly.
00:04:41
Speaker
Yes. And I do love that Glen Rose is the dinosaur capital of Texas, which of course are dinosaur tracks, but I just love that tagline. Like I'm absolutely going to go to the dinosaur capital of Texas. And as you said, they, the dinosaur tracks are in the riverbed. So they might be, um, the trails might be closed due to wet conditions at the rivers high. And you can always look at the parks, Facebook page, Twitter accounts, stuff like that to see like what the conditions are.
00:05:07
Speaker
And you can also get the GPS locations of the tracks in your phone because there's a certain area where like the highway crosses the river and where you should park and how to actually get the specific tracks because it's not like they're all the way up the riverbed. It's only one specific area. However, if you are going to the riverbed, think about this, ultimate day, dinosaur, date, and or family trip.
Favorite Dinosaurs Discussion
00:05:33
Speaker
Too much alliteration. I know, but never.
00:05:36
Speaker
But you can learn about these dinosaur tracks. You can educate yourself about what time in the history of the earth these were made, what creatures might have made them. You can learn all about dinosaurs with your loved ones and then pack up.
00:05:52
Speaker
picnic to enjoy by the river. You can go kayaking. You can go on a guided horseback ride nearby with the Eagle Eye Ranch Carriage Company, and you can even camp nearby in primitive lots. So this isn't just a day trip. If you want to make a whole thing out of it, which I would suggest because nearby Glen Rose actually has a lot of attractions, learn about nature and dinosaurs and all the stuff. It's great. Yeah, because they do really have so many amenities that you probably would want to spend a couple of days
00:06:21
Speaker
doing different things because there are hiking trails and equestrian trails biking like you said. It's a whole bunch of stuff outside of just dinosaurs, but that is the main reason why people go is because I think it's that these tracks are primarily belong to sauropods and theropods and only visible when the water level is low.
Glen Rose Attractions Overview
00:06:45
Speaker
What a cool experience. I wish that I had known about it when I lived in Texas because I definitely would have gone. I've never seen a real dinosaur track in person before. I'll nerd out. Yeah. I've seen little fossils and things and usually they're shells or ferns, things like that, but not actual tracks.
00:07:04
Speaker
And also I'm one of these people when I go to a museum, like a natural history museum, and I'm seeing things in front of me, like this is like a replica. They're not having like the old bones out here, right? Like these are all fake bones based on real bones. Anyway, it's a whole thing, but you can see the actual evidence right there in front of you, touch it, just like enjoy it. And I don't know, it's fun. Question though. Yeah. Uh-oh. Yes. Favorite dinosaur. Oh, it would be a Brontosaurus.
00:07:33
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, my love of Loch Ness monsters. So I feel like it probably goes hand in hand. But yeah. Isn't there a whole like scandal around the brontosaurus? Do you know about this? Oh, no. Oh, no. No. We're canceling the brontosaurus. Yeah. Long necked son of a bitch.
00:07:58
Speaker
So, how hard did you cry during Land Before Time? Was it bad? Oh, yeah. Let's not even talk about that. That was a tough one. Still in therapy today for that one. Honestly, if I talk long enough about it, I think I would cry.
00:08:13
Speaker
Oh yes, for sure. But no, the drama around the brontosaurus is that the brontosaurus wasn't like they swapped heads. Like it was actually like the body of an apatosaurus or something and the head of something else. And just someone put them together and like came up with this new. Yeah. It's a, it still existed. Not saying that it's canceled. It just might've looked very different.
00:08:35
Speaker
Oh, not even that. Hold on. I'm just going to Google brontosaurus drama. I'll send it to you. Okay, short version. The Apatosaurus was discovered first, the brontosaurus second. Later it was determined that they were the same genus. So brontosaurus was no longer considered a valid Texan. So basically,
00:08:56
Speaker
It was just like renamed, but it was already discovered. So they just like, oh, we discovered a new thing, but it was actually just, I think, another kind of a patasaurus. Still exists. Still a long neck, delightful creature. Phew. Wow. You almost got me. I am so sorry, listeners. We've got here to talk about Dinosaur Park and all the drama. Dinosaur drama on the next episode. What is your favorite dinosaur?
00:09:23
Speaker
Um, gosh, that is, that is really difficult. Um, Oh, I really like, um, Oh gosh, what is the, hold on.
00:09:36
Speaker
I like Stegosaurus's. Um, that was probably my favorite growing up. Like I had a, uh, you know, like the dino riders toys, like where they had like, so I had like a Stegosaurus. I was like, you know, mechanic and batteries. And I really liked that one. It's still at my parents' house to this day. So I should probably steal it. Um, I loved, um, triceratops because of Land Before Time, Sarah and my name's Sarah. So I'm like, Oh, we're the same. I'm also a little jerk.
00:10:06
Speaker
And, uh, yeah, I mean, I love, uh, and then like, uh, what's the one? Was it not a Pachyasaur? The one that has the hard head and be head-butting, like the really thick skull. Is it a Pachy?
00:10:22
Speaker
Oh, it's a longer name than what I was expecting. A Pachycephalosaur. Okay, that makes sense. I had your cephalos and stuff. The Pachycephalosaur. Let's say the Pachys. I like them. Interesting. Those are good ones too. Pterodactyls too. I mean, those were...
00:10:39
Speaker
Oh, and there's those giant carrion birds, like the Argentavis. They were just basically like vultures, but gigantic, like huge, huge, which is, yeah.
00:11:01
Speaker
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Exploring Glen Rose Beyond Dinosaurs
00:12:03
Speaker
Dinosaur fans will get a kick out of going to this park, but also Glen Rose because we did mention that this is the dinosaur capital of Texas. So there are multiple dinosaur related attractions, including the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, the Creation Evidence Museum and Dinosaur World.
00:12:24
Speaker
And this world looks cute. It's basically a walking loop and it has like dinosaurs set up in the wild. And I was going through the reviews and like, Oh, this is for kids. But then I saw quite a few adults like look, guys, don't take it seriously. It's for adults too. This is a nice little walk and you can go through and see all these dinosaurs set up and you can see
00:12:42
Speaker
brontosaurus out in the wild and like little babies. It's cute. I would go. I would too. I feel like I would definitely take my nieces and nephews to things like this because they would have a blast. But also, I still would have a blast as an adult walking through these things. Because just sometimes, even if you just pretend a little while, what it would have been like to have been alive back then? Or we all kind of just forget that these
00:13:11
Speaker
dinosaurs were roaming the earth and just doing their own thing and they were here and you know as driven by uh by the state park but like just what a cool thing to kind of just let your creativity go for an afternoon.
00:13:26
Speaker
Yeah. And if you're like me and have a specific set of phobias and the museums are a little dicey for me. So like if there's a natural history museum or a dinosaur exhibit in a museum, it's too dark and scary and there's like water things in there and it's bad news bears.
00:13:42
Speaker
However, you're out in the open, you can go on a sunny day, you can see these dinosaur tracks, there's no claustrophobia, and I know that little kid sometimes too, I feel ya. If you're going on a dinosaur enclosure and you're in the dark, it's scary, but this is like...
00:13:57
Speaker
G-rated, super easy. Plus the Fossil Room Wildlife Center has over a thousand exotic animals that are in herds, unless you can see cheetahs and wildebeests and rhinos and all the different things there too. So it's not just dinosaurs, it's a lot more.
00:14:15
Speaker
Yeah, and even the Paluxy River that we talked about, you know, while it's known for its dinosaur tracks, people do, they swim in this river. They tube in this river. It's beautiful. There are limestone bluffs and rope swings and, you know, hot Texas
00:14:30
Speaker
afternoons. This is the place to go. Not everything in this town, despite it being the dinosaur capital of Texas, is dinosaur related, but there's still so many things that you can do.
Unique Accommodations in Nature
00:14:42
Speaker
The nearby Somerville Expo Center, they have rodeos. There are livestock shows, concerts, trade shows. There's a lot going on in Glen Rose that would make for a fun weekend.
00:14:53
Speaker
Yes, in addition to, I know you were saying about the river, but there's also nearby the Big Rocks Park that has a lot of these giant smooth rocks there. So if you are into sunbathing or just want to hang around, it's also somewhere you can go to just chill out.
00:15:07
Speaker
Yeah, it seems like a really cool place. I would recommend for just like an afternoon weekend. There's a historic downtown square, which has a lot of shops and restaurants and boutiques. And it is just a very historic place, you know, it's not solely all about dinosaurs, although that's a cool add on. But just like any small town that we've talked about, especially in our small town getaway season,
00:15:32
Speaker
There's a lot going on, so it's kind of cool if you created your own itinerary for a couple of days and just went out and explored the area.
00:15:41
Speaker
Yeah. And, and one final thing, I'm not sure how it's not in downtown, obviously, but there is the command ship peak nuclear power plant and there's a visitor center there. So I don't know if anyone here's a fallout fan new series launching in April, I think go watch it. Um, but no, if you want to look at, learn about nuclear power, it's, um, it's nearby. So you can, and it's just like a unique thing to where, I don't know. It's weird. Maybe it's growing up watching the Simpsons. I don't know, but I'm just kind of fascinated with it, which I would visit and see like, what's the deal, you know?
00:16:10
Speaker
Yeah, no, definitely. That would be a fun learning experience. I mean, you and I talk all the time about how when we visit places and when we travel, we like to learn new things. Absolutely. Yeah. So that's why I think Glen, this Glen Rose town and area is really neat because first of all, I didn't even know it existed until this. And not only that, but just this dinosaur park and these accommodations that Katie Lawrence, who's our Texas writer, she found
00:16:39
Speaker
which if you want to plan a weekend in Glen Rose, we are recommending that you go to the Anderson Creek cabins. We're going to drop the link in the show notes so you can see, but what was your first impression of these cabins when you took a look?
00:16:54
Speaker
So first impression, a cabin with a waterfall sold. But also there are so many other ones there like they have like the like the creek view and like all these different styles of cabins. And it just seems like the perfect place to stay if you're just having a nice relaxing weekend or something. What about you?
00:17:10
Speaker
Yeah, I absolutely loved that they tie in nature to each of these cabins. It's like each of these cabins offer something truly unique when you're staying there. So to me, you know, yes, obviously the article, just to let you know, the article we're talking about, it's titled A Hidden Paradise in Texas. These cabins overlook a private waterfall.
00:17:32
Speaker
So there is a waterfall cabin, which is insane because if you think about it, there aren't too many places where you'll have your own 25 foot waterfall on a property that you can enjoy these views of waterfalls from the comfort of your front porch of this cabin. I mean, I would literally, and the view is great because you have, you know, this is a little waterfall crest and you have foliage.
00:17:56
Speaker
foliage around it, I guess. But I could just sit there all day, put a fire together, and just sit for a solid 12 hours watching the waterfall. Yes, no, same. Because I love a good water feature, especially when you have an accommodation that's either overlooking the ocean, a lake, a river. But there's something about just flowing water to me that is one of the most soothing sounds. And yeah, I would rent this cabin to stay just for this waterfall.
00:18:27
Speaker
It should be noted that the waterfall is seasonal. We're in Texas, things tend to dry out during certain times of the year. It is recommended that you call before you book to see the status of the waterfalls.
Community Insights and Programs
00:18:40
Speaker
But even if you don't get the waterfall cabin, there are a couple of other cabins on the property that are, I feel like just as unique
00:18:48
Speaker
And it's got this whole desert vibe going on, which you and I talk about all the time is like, what a cool aesthetic to enjoy cacti galore. But yeah, I would definitely add this one to my bucket list 100%. This looks like a really unique place to stay.
00:19:08
Speaker
And then also, we did have a post on Facebook for all the recommendations for Dinosaur State Park, as well as Glen Rose. And there were so many people, because I haven't heard of this place, and this is my own bias, I get that. But I'm like, oh, okay, so it must be, you know, people come there and they're not super passionate, wrong.
00:19:28
Speaker
People love Dinosaur Valley State Park. Multiple are saying people would hunt for dino eggs on field trips. You'd go and visit with your kids. You'd go to the dinosaur loop. You'd go, let's see, definitely look at the... Jeremy says, go on the hiking trails, go for a swim, look at the dinosaur footprints, and then let's see. A lot of others say, definitely check out Glen Rose if you're in the area because it's a cute little town.
00:19:58
Speaker
And lots of, I mean, I think it's the best place to take kids. You know, if you want to teach them something and give them in real life experience learning about dinosaurs, I think this is the place to do it because it's one thing learning about it in a book or watching Jurassic Park, which isn't accurate, but you know, dinosaurs. And then another is like seeing the footprints themselves. So everyone was really hyped about this place. And I think it's definitely a must visit in terms of Texas parks.
00:20:23
Speaker
Yeah, agreed. I do love the interaction on this post that we posted on our Only in Texas page.
00:20:29
Speaker
because yes, like you said, people are pumped about this park. And also they are very excited about Glen Rose in particular. Donna even posted a photo that she took that she's been walked in the dino tracks twice and she posted a photo, which is really cool. So yeah, what a unique experience this would be to kind of stay in the Anderson Creek cabins to
00:20:56
Speaker
spend time in the state park and then wander around Glen Rose. Everyone seems super friendly there, so it sounds like it would be a fun community to kind of just like immerse yourself in. I also saw a lot of feedback that the park rangers are really passionate about what they do. They are great for educating kids and things like that and having to chat with them, which
00:21:16
Speaker
I began to appreciate over the past few years is just like really interacting with park rangers, whether they're state parks, national parks, and just letting them share their passion about what they do and what they know. So definitely make sure to stop and talk to a ranger if you're in the area.
00:21:29
Speaker
Yeah, that's a great point. I love to pick the brains of Rangers whenever I come across because, you know, they're there and this is their job and they are extremely knowledgeable about, especially the park that they're in. And yeah, like you said, there's a level of passion to it that, especially in national parks, I love speaking to national park Rangers. Oh my goodness.
00:21:51
Speaker
man they really you know they probably see a lot too just especially with humans coming in and whatever but uh humans you know they i always just appreciate their attitude it's always uh you know really optimistic and really
00:22:06
Speaker
They see some of those National Park Rangers see millions of people in a year and it's like they still have that same level of enthusiasm knowing that this might be your first time going in. I think that's really neat. My nephews have been doing the Junior Park Ranger program for the National Parks and it is so cute to watch them get sworn in and like to do the little quizzes. I was helping them this summer over or this last fall complete some of their activities, which I didn't get a Junior Ranger badge, but whatever.
00:22:36
Speaker
Oh, not salty about that at all. I was just like, trying to be sworn in, in the background. Like, yeah. Oh. Next time.
Encouraging Exploration of Hidden Gems
00:23:10
Speaker
Only In Your State is an award-winning travel publisher that uncovers hidden gems and local favorites across the U.S. We have a presence in all 50 states with a passionate following of fellow travelers looking to get out and explore. Head on over to onlyinyourstate.com to find the best attractions in your backyard and beyond.