The only way to survive a 13+ hour car ride is with plenty of stops along the way. Well, this one wasn't exactly along the way, but close enough! After doing plenty of research about Texas, Dinosaur Valley State Park became a must for us. We made it a quick trip (we were very ready to be at our Airbnb and done with the car) and just did the hiking trail along the river. All of the 113 million years old prints are in the riverbed, so the conditions have to be perfect to view them. We got lucky and were able to see them all!
It was much hotter than we expected, but it was much welcomed heat for these Iowans ready for summer! We reserved our day tickets in advance because the park only allows so many visitors in each day. What we didn't know is that there were tons of school groups there that day. Luckily, we were able to keep our distance, while still reaping the benefits of hearing the park ranger talk all about the prints!
While we had a very quick visit, this could easily be made much longer. There's many hiking trails, water activities, camp grounds, and so much more! There are also life size dinosaur statues, but the minis are apparently passed the age of those being cool.