Category Archives: Family Adventures

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

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Snowbirds are on their way, flocking to Texas to escape northern winters. No, they are not the two-legged variety driving RV’s. These feathered visitors arrive by wing. Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, near the Texas and Oklahoma border, hosts up to 30,000 migratory birds October through February. Just west of Sherman, Hagerman North Texas Ramblings Hagerman National Wildlife Refugeprovides wetland habitat for thousands of Canada, snow and Ross geese each winter along with ducks, heron and songbirds.  Cormorant troll the waterways their long necks like submarine periscopes, great blue heron look like prehistoric pterodactyl against the sky, and thousands of snow geese honk a continuous serenade. In total, over 300 bird species call the refuge home. It’s a veritable birder’s paradise.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge offers a four-mile, self-guided auto tour. Ideal for birders with limited mobility, the driving route gets you up close to thousands of birds without ever leaving the car. The best part, your parked car serves as an effective birding blind!

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge has recreational activities beyond birding. In addition to the driving route, the refuge has miles of hiking trails. You’ll find additional bird species along with many local animals like armadillo, rabbit, fox squirrel and the occasional coyote, bobcat and feral pig. Trails cover a variety of habitat from prairie to marsh to woodland. The Meadow Pond trail is along an unpaved service road that is an easy hike for families with small children. Enjoy a packed lunch at one of the many picnic areas scattered throughout the refuge.

The area’s history is as interesting as the migratory birds wintering at the refuge. Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge is named for a town now under Lake Texoma. Founded in 1904, Hagerman boasted 250 residents, church, school and cotton gin.  In 1943, the Army Corps of Engineers built Denison Dam. The dam submerged the town and created one of the largest man made reservoirs in the United States. Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge was established shortly thereafter in 1946 in the area near the former town site.

The refuge is unique in other ways, too. Among flocks of geese, you find oilrigs. The grasshopper-styled rigs date from 1951 when oil was discovered in nearby Big Mineral Creek. While the Army Corps of Engineers bought the land for the Denison Dam project, they failed to purchase the mineral rights. As a result, privately owned and operated oilrigs have removed millions of gallons of oil and natural gas from the refuge.

So pack your lunch and head out for a winter hike to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. Don’t forget your binoculars and bird book!

Details. Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge is located at 6465 Refuge Road, Sherman. It is a day use facility open from sunrise to sunset. Visit the Friends of Hagerman website for information on free tours and talks at the refuge.

Update: Unlike past years, only about 3,000 snow geese are at the refuge this winter (2014). The refuge is still a fabulous place for bird watching. 

Johnson City

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Johnson City, in Texas Hill Country, is a great destination for families. Here are three family-friendly activities you’ll not want to miss during your visit.

Sauer-Beckmann Farm. Travel back in time at the Sauer-Beckmann Farm, a living North Texas Rambling Sauer Beckmann Farmhistory farm located in the Lyndon B Johnson State Park and Historic Site. The farm gives visitors a look at Texas Hill Country life at the turn of the twentieth century. Costumed interpreters perform farm tasks like canning fruits and vegetables, milking, and soap making. A dogtrot styled farmhouse outfitted with turn of the century furnishings offers kids a glimpse into what it might have been like to live in Texas Hill Country a hundred years ago. During my family’s visit, our son shared the chores by fetching eggs from the hen coop. The Sauer-Beckmann Farm is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is no charge for touring the farm though donations are welcome. Nature trails collocated at the farm make for an easy hike, even for small children.

LBJ Ranch Tour. At the Lyndon B Johnson National Park, your family can explore recent American history by taking the LBJ Ranch Tour in your car. An audio CD narrates the tour route and highlights aspects of the Johnson presidency. The tour also examines factors that influenced him during his childhood years. Stop at the re-creation of his birthplace, and visit LBJ and Lady Bird’s gravesides. Learn about his vocation as a schoolteacher and his dedication to education, including the formation of the Head Start program. The tour highpoint is a stop at the Texas White House. Guides conduct tours inside the home from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. The downstairs portion of the house has been restored to its 1960s appearance. The show barn and airplane hangar contain many of LBJ’s automobiles and his presidential plane. The driving tour is free though there is a $3 fee for the Texas White House Tour. You can obtain your driving tour pass and audio CD at the park visitor center.

Exotic Resort Zoo. Take a walk on the wild side at the Exotic Resort Zoo (235 Zoo Trail, Johnson City). The animal park boasts 60 different species and 500 animals. You’ll find the animals on the open range and in a petting zoo environment. Zoo tours are available daily. Tractors pull trailers outfitted with a canopy and seats. Zoo guides narrate the Texas Hill Country safari. Be sure to buy at least one bucket of food pellets for the hour-long tour. Bison, zebra, ostrich, antelope, llama, aoudad and emu abound. The animals converge on the safari mobile for handouts and some will even lop next to the moving vehicle for their treats. Beware the very friendly camels. Omar, the older of two camels, sometimes steals an entire food bucket from unsuspecting visitors. Cabins are available for rental on the zoo property and make an ideal spot for family reunions.

Autumn at the Arboretum

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Dubbed Pumpkin Capital USA, Floydada farmers grow over 15 million pumpkins each year. To celebrate the bountiful harvest, Floydada hosts Punkin Days the second weekend in October.

Did you miss Punkin Days?  Never fear, you can still see 65,000 Flyodada pumpkins and assorted squash at the Dallas Arboretum.

Fall colors.  Autumn is ideal for exploring the arboretum. During the seasonal, Autumn at the Arboretum, pumpkins line the walkways, North Texas Ramblings Pumpkins Dallas Arboretumhay bales anchor 10-foot tall arrangements of plants and squash, and mums burst with color in the floor beds.  Who knew, squash came in so many different shapes and colors.

Pumpkin Village. Be sure to check out Pumpkin Village, a series of storybook cottages with pumpkin facades.  I’ve never seen so many pumpkins in one place before. Designed after pumpkin-themed children’s stories, kids love exploring each of the playhouses. And of course, there is Cinderella’s carriage pulled by straw horses! On the outskirts of Pumpkin Village, you’ll find more hay bales, this time outlining a two-foot high maze, ideal for the littlest of explorers.

Especially for kids. During Mom and Me Mondays, and Tiny Tot Tuesdays, Pumpkin North Texas Ramblings Pumpkin Village Dallas ArboretumVillage rocks!  In addition to exploring the storybook cottages, youngsters can feed goats at the petting zoo, get their faces painted, and participate in Kindermusik activities.

Details:  Autumn at the Arboretum runs September 20 through November 26.  Mom and Me Monday and Tiny Tot Tuesday activities are held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Dallas arboretum is located at 8525 Garland Road, Dallas.  The Dallas Arboretum is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More on the arboretum…..

Fossil Rim

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Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is an ideal family day trip. Once a hunting ranch stocked with North Texas Ramblingsexotic animals, Fossil Rim is now a nationally recognized conservation center located southwest of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. This unique park offers North Texans an opportunity to go on safari without ever boarding an airplane. Spanning 1800 acres near Glen Rose, the sprawling complex is home to over 50 species. Wildebeest, zebras, and giraffe roam over land resembling the Serengeti, just with a few more rolling hills than the African version.

The drive. A scenic, nine-mile drive allows you to observe the animals up close from the safe confines of your car. Be sure to purchase a food sack at the visitor’s center. You’ll make instant friends with the long-necked ostriches and the ever greedy addax who seem to take turns stopping vehicles for handouts. There are fallow deer, Thomson’s gazelles, kudo, and bongo. The park’s antelope herds are nothing short of impressive.

Fossil Rim offers several ways to enjoy the preserve and its inhabitants. The self-guided drive is the most common way to see the park. Visitors must remain in their vehicles but are welcome to stop anywhere along the drive to feed the animals. Each vehicle is restricted to one food bag, but that is enough to make countless two and four legged friends along the way. Expect to take a minimum of two hours to travel the circuit. Stop at the Overlook, the drive’s halfway point, for lunch with tables available for picnickers. I recommend a visit to the Overlook Café for both the Fossil Rim Burger and the awesome view.

Guided tours. For an even closer look at the animals, try one of many guided tours. The Behind the Scenes tour is available daily and other specialty tours occur on a scheduled basis. My family went on the Discovery After Dark, a monthly tour. An open-air vehicle took us through the park at dusk. We learned about Fossil Rim’s successful cheetah and white rhino breeding programs, fed the shy bongo and were delighted when a giraffe stopped by for dinner – there is nothing quite like a giraffe eating out of your hand!

Details. Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is a not-for-profit organization and member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The center is involved in Species Survival Plan® programs for over a dozen species including rhino, oryx and zebra. Fossil Rim is also engaged in SSP programs for North American animals too like the wolf and our own Texas Attwater’s prairie chicken. Located at 2155 County Road 2008 in Glen Rose, the wildlife center is open daily. For more information, visit their website at fossilrim.org.

Dallas Aquariums

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Dallas is home of three great aquariums — SeaLife Grapevine, Dallas World Aquarium, and Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park. At first blush, three separate aquariums may seem excessive until you realize each offers a completely different marine experience.

SeaLife Grapevine — Best Date Night

SeaLife Grapevine is the newest aquarium attraction to open in the Dallas Metroplex. Owned and operated by Merlin Entertainment, SeaLife Grapevine is one of over two North Texas Ramblings SeaLife Grapevinedozen SeaLife attractions world-wide, with most located in Europe. Across from LegoLand, also owned and operated by Merlin Entertainment, SeaLife is situated inside Grapevine Mills Mall.

Despite its limited size, the aquarium entertains visitors with a variety of exhibits and tanks artfully constructed to look bigger than they are. Sea Life is a two-story facility allowing visitors to figuratively walk on water at the shark walk exhibit. Actually, it’s an acrylic floor with sharks and rays swimming in a tank beneath your feet – a novel change to the typical shark tunnel.

In addition to sharks and rays, SeaLife exhibits include coral reefs, touch tanks, jelly fish and sea horses. In fact, SeaLife prides itself on its successful sea horse breeding program. Honoring its location, SeaLife also has an exhibit dedicated to Texas wetlands and fish.

Don’t miss. Fin Facts painted on aquarium walls educate visitors with interesting factoids about the aquarium’s residents. Study well, as quiz stations located throughout the exhibits will check your knowledge. It’s a fun way to learn more about the animals.

Details. SeaLife Grapevine (3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway, Grapevine) is open later than most aquariums. Visitors can see the fish Monday through Saturday until 7:30 p.m., and Sunday until 5:30 p.m. Tickets online begin at $15 for adults and $12 for children. A combined SeaLife/LegoLand ticket is also available.

 The Dallas World Aquarium (DWA) — Best for Out-Of-Town Visitors

Calling the DWA an aquarium is a misnomer. This unique attraction is part aquarium, part zoo and part South American adventure. Housed in a refurbished warehouse in the historic West End, the DWA may be best known for its indoor rain forest exhibit called Orinoco – Secrets of the River. Complete with 40-foot waterfall, visitors begin their journey at the rain forest canopy and travel downward to the “river” below. Birds nest in the tree tops and habitats for other rain forest animals are situated along the walkway. A favorite is the sloth who hangs out near the Jungle Café.

A large, underwater viewing area provides a look at fish that populate the Orinoco and an opportunity to see the DWA’s Antillean Manatees, an endangered species. In addition to the unique South American rain forest experience, DWA has the standard aquarium exhibits of clown fish, sea horses and jelly fish. There are sharks, too. A 40-foot clear tunnel allows visitors to see sharks swim overhead. Other exhibits include penguins, flamingos and even a hallway with nocturnal animals like bats and opossums.

Don’t miss. On weekends the Mayan Performance Troupe performs traditional Mayan dances near the jaguar enclosure in the Mundo Maya exhibit.

Details. DWA (1801 N. Griffin St., Dallas) is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20.95 for adults and $12.95 for children. There are two restaurants located within DWA and both are worth a visit. The Café Maya affords diners a view of the rainforest and serves Mexican cuisine. Eighteen O One is located on the ground floor (no view) with an Asian inspired menu, and a kid-favorite, fish-shaped pizza.

Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park — Best for a Birthday Party

No more standing on tiptoes to see the fish for youngsters at the Children’s Aquarium. The aquarium’s recent renovation included installation of viewing windows and exhibits at child-friendly heights.  The aquarium’s touch tank is strategically positioned in the entrance foyer where a docent guides children and parents. Here kids can see the underside of a horseshoe crab or touch a slipper lobster.

The smallest of the three Dallas area aquariums, it is also the most affordable with tickets for adults $8 and children $6. The aquarium’s size is a plus for the littlest marine biologists who can become overwhelmed by crowds at larger aquariums. A newly refurbished party room is an ideal location for children’s birthday celebrations. The aquarium offers weekend party packages, which include an animal interpreter and stingray feeding. For more information contact the aquarium at (469) 554-7549.

Don’t miss. Stingray Bay is a covered, outdoor exhibit that includes a shark tank, and stingray touch tank. Velvety smooth to the touch, the southern stingray seem to enjoy their encounters with humans. For a nominal fee you can feed the rays, too.

Details. The Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park (1462 First Avenue, Dallas) is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.