As road trips go, for distance and endurance this was pygmy size.
As for destination, it was mammoth - literally (and I don't mean figuratively).
We recently acquired a very low-mileage 2006 Hyundai Azera from a widow neighbor of my parents in Montana. Dad of course can not resist a deal, so when Jennie approached for advice on how to pare down to a single car and sell the Hyundai, Dad offered a fair price with no hassle. I flew up north to pick up the new (used) vehicle and drive back to Dallas.
The plan was have A) Sue either keep the Hyundai and upgrade Grant with the 2009 Camry, which Sue was currently driving, or B) give the Hyundai to Grant. How to decide? No better way than a road trip! Let's take the Hyundai on the road and see which one you prefer. Sue drives, I pick the destination. I choose a 100 mile trip (1-way) to Waco to see the Pleistocene Mammoth Site.
The site has been excavated since 1978 and opened to the public a few years back. The excavation area is covered by a roof and walls to protect the exposed mammoth bones. We sign up for the 2 PM tour, and while waiting I get to talking with the young guide who will lead us from the Visitors Center down the trail to the covered excavation. He tells me that if I went by myself, I probably wouldn't be able to figure out what I was looking at. I call his bluff and tell him I have a Masters Degree in Paleontology. It turns out he was a student at Fresno State (as was I), in the geology department (as was I); but he got side tracked by competitive downhill skateboarding (unlike me), and did not finish his degree (unlike me). We are going on in this vein of coincidence and connections, when a lady butts into our conversation and says, "That's all very nice you two, but [pointing at her watch] it is past 2, time to start the tour." Agreed.
What the paleontologist have found so far is nursery herd of 7 cow mammoths and 9 juveniles which perished about 65,000 years ago. It is now believed a separate event at the same location about 50,000 years ago accounted for 6 additional mammoth skeletons, including a large bull mammoth. We are told no human connection to the mammoth deaths has been found, and it is postulated that they were either stuck in gumbo mud and died or were drown in a flash flood inside a steep channel of the Bosque River. I have my doubts about both of these explanations, but that is what I enjoyed about the trip; a presentation of the bones and paleontological evidence (habeous corpus) and then a discussion of the pro and cons to explain the evidence at the site.
Great scientific fun.
The official verdict at the Waco Columbian Mammoth Site - "how they died is still a mystery."
On the way home we stopped off at a Czech bakery in the recently partially destroyed town of West and bought Kolachkes, skunk eggs and pastries for dinner upon our return.
However, after driving 200 miles in the Azera, Sue was still undecided as to what vehicle she will be driving in the future. She has yet to make that mammoth decision. What will she do? It is still a mystery.
As for destination, it was mammoth - literally (and I don't mean figuratively).
We recently acquired a very low-mileage 2006 Hyundai Azera from a widow neighbor of my parents in Montana. Dad of course can not resist a deal, so when Jennie approached for advice on how to pare down to a single car and sell the Hyundai, Dad offered a fair price with no hassle. I flew up north to pick up the new (used) vehicle and drive back to Dallas.
The plan was have A) Sue either keep the Hyundai and upgrade Grant with the 2009 Camry, which Sue was currently driving, or B) give the Hyundai to Grant. How to decide? No better way than a road trip! Let's take the Hyundai on the road and see which one you prefer. Sue drives, I pick the destination. I choose a 100 mile trip (1-way) to Waco to see the Pleistocene Mammoth Site.
The site has been excavated since 1978 and opened to the public a few years back. The excavation area is covered by a roof and walls to protect the exposed mammoth bones. We sign up for the 2 PM tour, and while waiting I get to talking with the young guide who will lead us from the Visitors Center down the trail to the covered excavation. He tells me that if I went by myself, I probably wouldn't be able to figure out what I was looking at. I call his bluff and tell him I have a Masters Degree in Paleontology. It turns out he was a student at Fresno State (as was I), in the geology department (as was I); but he got side tracked by competitive downhill skateboarding (unlike me), and did not finish his degree (unlike me). We are going on in this vein of coincidence and connections, when a lady butts into our conversation and says, "That's all very nice you two, but [pointing at her watch] it is past 2, time to start the tour." Agreed.
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| Mammoth tusk At Waco Mammoth Site Excavation |
Great scientific fun.
The official verdict at the Waco Columbian Mammoth Site - "how they died is still a mystery."
 |
| Looking down upon in situ bones including finds of 22 mammoths, a camel and a saber tooth tiger tooth |
On the way home we stopped off at a Czech bakery in the recently partially destroyed town of West and bought Kolachkes, skunk eggs and pastries for dinner upon our return.
However, after driving 200 miles in the Azera, Sue was still undecided as to what vehicle she will be driving in the future. She has yet to make that mammoth decision. What will she do? It is still a mystery.
 |
| Columbian Mammoth painted life size Wife for scale |
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| We stop along the trail for a Pleistocene PB&J The rustling in the bushes turns out to be a herd of Armadillos (not mammoths as we had hoped) |
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