A popular day trip for Dallas-Fort Worth urbanites, The beautiful dog-friendly town of Glen Rose in the countryside 80 miles southwest of Dallas was once aptly known as “Glen of Roses.” Along with its relaxing atmosphere, the town is a favorite as a gateway to Dinosaur Valley State Park, one of the state’s best sites for viewing evidence of dinosaur habitation. In fact, Glen Rose now has a new moniker: The Dinosaur Capital of Texas.
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Glen Rose Barbecue
Hammond’s Bar-B-Q, Glen Rose
“Whoa, here Tis,” says the sign at Hammond’s Bar-B-Q. And, indeed, here it is. Tender brisket, fall-off-the-bone tender ribs, and slightly spicy sausage, all served up in a genuine barbecue joint atmosphere, complete with a sawdust-covered floor.
We enjoyed plates of thinly sliced brisket and spicy ribs, plus a sausage sandwich. Unlike central Texas hot links, the sausage here is fat ‘n sassy, a much larger concoction than many joints serve. Hammond’s promises “country cooking all the way.” Check out that promise with the mustard-based potato salad or finely chopped coleslaw. The plates are served with a molcajete of barbecue sauce and that Lone Star favorite, Texas toast. These fat slabs of white bread are tossed in the pit for a few minutes, a fine complement to any meal and good enough to eat like cake.
Hammond’s doesn’t serve alcoholic beverages during the annual run of “The Promise.” This religious drama plays in Glen Rose every fall and summer and draws crowds from around the South. When the production ceases, you can buy beer in a tin building next door called the “Galvanized Palace” and carry your beverage into the restaurant.
Area Attractions
Cleburne State Park. Located about 20 miles east of Glen Rose near the community of Cleburne, this state park is a favorite with mountain bikers. The park’s Cedar Lake is great for a dip; this no-wake lake prohibits the use of jet skis and other personal watercraft so it’s nice and quiet! Info: 5800 Park Road 21, Cleburne; www.tpwd.state.tx.us.
Dinosaur Valley State Park. It’s not just everywhere you can compare your footprint to the footprint of a dinosaur…but here’s your chance. This unique state park contains real dinosaur tracks right in the bed of the Paluxy River. Wade in the river (some tracks are submerged, some are in the banks, depending on the water level) and touch the tracks made by Theropod and Sauropod dinosaurs. You’ll also find plenty of swimming, hiking on trails, picnicking and camping, and you can’t miss the two fiberglass dinosaur models in the park: a 70-foot Apatosaurus and a 45-foot Tyrannosaurus Rex. Info: 4 miles west of Glen Rose; take US 67 to FM 205, continue for 4 miles to Park Road 59; www.tpwd.state.tx.us. Fee.
Dinosaur World. This outdoor museum features over 150 life-sized dinosaur models. The park doesn’t sell food but you’re welcome to bring a lunch and use a picnic table. Info: 1058 Park Road 59; www.dinosaurworld.com. Fee.
Meridian State Park. Located 27 miles south of Glen Rose near Meridian, you won’t find dinosaur tracks at this park but be on the lookout for fossils in the limestone formations that surround Lake Meridian. The lake itself is encircled by a hiking trail; you’ll also find plenty of water fun as well as camping and picnicking. Info: 173 Park Road 7, Meridian; www.tpwd.state.tx.us. Fee.
Don’t Miss: Fossil Rim
Fossil Rim
Vacationers hear the cry of a red wolf, a sound that soon becomes a long howl accompanied by the songs of fellow wolves. Reaching for binoculars, the travelers spy a wildebeest and a small herd of springbok headed down to the watering hole for an early morning drink.
These guests are on safari, but not in Africa. They’re touring the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, a 3,000 acre privately-owned conservation center southwest of Fort Worth.
“Imagine yourself going to Africa without the plane ride, the shots or the worries,” says Christine Jurzykowski, co-owner of Fossil Rim. “There are two main differences between what you experience in Africa and what you’ll see here. Here you will see more animals in a shorter time, and here you will not see something like a cheetah killing a gazelle. Otherwise, in terms of behavior, you will witness things here you would see in Africa but you will do it in extreme luxury.”
Texas is dotted with drive-through animal parks, but Fossil Rim is in a class by itself, combining entertainment with education and scientific research. This one-of-a-kind project is the brainchild of Jim Jackson and Christine Jurzykowski. Jurzykowski is a former film producer whose New York film company produced everything from commercials to feature films (including The Handmaid’s Tale).
Visitors have their choice of a self-guided scenic wildlife drive at their own pace and in their own car or a guided tour in a tour van (guided trips must be booked several days in advance.)
Day visitors enjoy a nine-mile drive through the ranch, feeding animals along the way. This drive winds through four areas, each containing free-roaming animal populations moving in herds. You’ll probably see sable antelope, Grevy’s zebra, oryx, and greater kudu, as well as gazelle and ostrich. The highlight for many is a chance to feed the reticulated giraffes, shy, silent giants that tower nearly as high as the oak trees.
Halfway through the drive, guests can stop at The Overlook for a chance to pet a pot-bellied pig at the petting farm, shop in the nature store, grab a burger at the snack bar, or stretch their legs on a short nature walk.
The best attraction at The Overlook is, as the name suggests, the panoramic view. Here, from atop the fossil-encrusted rim for which the ranch is named, guests can see across the valleys and surrounding hills. For these exotic species thousands of miles from their native lands, this Texas ranch is more than just a new home. By providing protection from the forces which have brought them near extinction, Fossil Rim offers the endangered species something more: hope.
Participants enjoy a game drive in open vehicles led by naturalists who point out and identify the animals roaming free on the ranch. Guests can also go behind the scenes to talk to veterinarians who care for and study these exotic species about which little is known. There are also nature walks, bird watches, horseback rides, hikes, and expeditions to study 66-million-year-old fossils on the ranch. Once an inland sea, this region is rich with fossils. In more recent times the Comanches camped here, adding their own artifacts to Fossil Rim’s archaeological heritage.
One of the most exciting activities at Fossil Rim is a trip to the Intensive Management Area, a part of the ranch open only to safari visitors and those who take part in behind the scene tours. The IMA houses species such as red wolves, long-legged maned wolves from South America, cheetahs, black rhinos, and Attwater’s Prairie Chickens.
Although it might seem that the cheetah and the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken, a native of the Texas coastal plains, have little in common, they share a sad fate: both risk extinction without the efforts of agencies like Fossil Rim. This facility has the first of only three captive populations of the Attwater’s Prairie Chickens in the world (less than 500 are living in the wild). When settlers first crossed the coastal plains to settle the West, these chickens numbered over a million.
Fossil Rim’s cheetah breeding program has been highly successful, so much so that now approximately 20% of all cheetahs in the U.S. trace their lineage back to the center. The cheetahs are housed in a long, narrow containment, permitting them to race around their enclosure at the blinding speeds they would clock in the wild. In addition to the breeding program, Fossil Rim also conducts several research projects aimed at increasing the cheetah’s chances of survival. In one such project, Fossil Rim, along with Washington, D.C.’s National Zoo, is studying the cheetah’s reproductive physiology. From this project came the first surviving litters of cheetah conceived through artificial insemination. The cubs were born in 1992.