And we’re off
24 Oct 2012 Leave a Comment
in vacation
We had a great sleep last night.
There was a slight breeze and cool winds and we slept until 7:30. We packed up the tent and went to Mcd’s for breakfast. We had to wait a bit for the museum to open, so we toured downtown Abilene and played on the giant buffalo skull sculpture.
We passed the train depot building and went into the Grace museum.
I wasn’t headed there, but it looked like an interesting stop. We toured the art galleries looking at oils and pastels of farm life, waterfowl and Texas scenes from prairie to mountains. Then we went upstairs to the kids area.
Here the girls played doctor, worked on a play, learned about the human body, optical illusions, music and just played around.
This piece of art is also a sound wall, every piece of wood produces a sound when pressed. We went to the 3rd floor and saw dioramas of history told through furniture, objects, technology and sound.
Isn’t this 1930′s kitchen cute?
This is a 1910 parlor.
A boot shop, that was very interesting to see how cowboy boots were made. Some technology that we are happy to have, washing machine, waffle maker and vacuum (not I did not say iron and ironing board.)
That was a lot of fun and a good stop.
Next we headed to the Discovery center museum.
It’s a very small creation science museum, so if you are open minded, stop in and the tour guide will show you around the different exhibits and show you how God created the Heavens and the Earth and everything in it. We watched a video about dinosaurs and dragons, does this sound like a dragon? Fire breathing, scaly, nostrils of smoke, that description is found in Job.
Job 41 12-21
I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,
its strength and its graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its outer coat?
Who can penetrate its double coat of armor?
14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth,
ringed about with fearsome teeth?
15 Its back has rows of shields
tightly sealed together;
16 each is so close to the next
that no air can pass between.
17 They are joined fast to one another;
they cling together and cannot be parted.
18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
its eyes are like the rays of dawn.
19 Flames stream from its mouth;
sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from its nostrils
as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Its breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames dart from its mouth.
This is a femur of a giant, it’s just one bone but based on that, look at the size of her!
Giants are mentioned in the Bible many times, here’s one instance.
Genesis 6:4
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
We also got a glimpse of the Titanic exhibit, everyone is getting in on that 100th anniversary (and as a side note, Maura we picked up a couple of Titanic related items for R.)
This is a really small model of the ark, it looks like a small version of the one Evan built in Evan Almighty. We interacted with the robot at the end and the girls got their pictures taken and interesting facts printed out from the robot.
Before we left the tour guide let the girls pick out a clam fossil to take home. If we had more time we would have gone through both exhibits (about 3 hours.) Admission is free and the guide was nice and knowledgeable.
We ate lunch at Whataburger (finally, that was our first meal there this trip) and headed toward Palo Duro. Along the way we saw field and fields of cotton, cotton bales pressed together and waiting for pickup and random cotton bits all over the road.
One thing is for sure, if you have a cotton allergy don’t travel in NW Texas. We reached Palo Duro without incident and got checked in.
I had said that we hadn’t been to any of the places we were camping at, well that’s true of all the places except this one.
On our TX trip with James a few years back we came into Palo Duro and went through the canyon, but we didn’t see the stone cabins. If you want to camp here, check the weather. If it’s been raining you probably won’t be able to make it back to the tent/camping area. There are 5 river crossings that you have to drive over and the river can grow to 5 feet at the crossings, but it’s usually low, and today it was non-existent (never fear, you won’t get stuck there is an alternate road to travel – it’s just the long way round.) Here are some canyon shots. Look at this cute cabin!
I love FDR’s alphabet soup CCC people, they did a great job in the 30′s building these stone cabins at the rim of the canyon. Today they have lights, A/C, fridge and microwave, but otherwise they are exactly like they were back in 1930.
The park even added these lanterns for lighting and effect.
Our cabin has a queen size bunkbed, fireplace, table and chairs, and the other items I mentioned.
We have a great view out the windows facing the canyon, it’s cute and comfortable. This was our splurge camping spot after all the free camping we did (and we lucked out, this was the last cabin available for the night), $60 is cheaper than a motel room around here and besides, we’re sleeping in a piece of history.
After dinner we walked around outside and watched the sunset. That right there is worth the price of admission. Enjoy the canyon sunset, we did.
Genesis 1
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Deuteronomy 4:19
And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
Psalm 50
A psalm of Asaph.
1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
Psalm 104:19
He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.
Psalm 148:2-4
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
