Waco - Who Knew?

We had no set plan as we headed to Sedalia, Missouri for the Escapade. Looking at a friend's Facebook page we learned there is a new national park site in Waco, so we decided to check it out. When we arrived I posted where we were and got several responses about what to do while there. Who knew this East Texas city had so much going on?

We stayed at Airport Park, a Corps of Engineers campground on Lake Waco. This was our view for our stay.

The Waco Mammoth National Monument site just became part of the national park service in 2015. It has been run by the city of Waco and a foundation since the original discovery of the bones was made by two young boys in 1978. The dig has been conducted by scientists from Baylor University. 

The Columbian Mammoth were the largest of the megafauna of the Pleistocene Epoch. These mammoth grew to 14 feet tall and weighed up to 10 tons. Their tusks could be 16 feet long and weigh 200 pounds. I think Nanc may be standing at the wrong end of this beast. 

Here is a comparison of the size of the Columbian Mammoth, its distant relative the Woolly Mammoth found in colder climates and modern day African and Asian elephants. 

Since 1978 24 mammoths have been unearthed at the site. It is believed that they died about 68,000 years ago, possibly being trapped in a flood.

The dig shelter is built over the the fossils of six mammoths and an ancient camel. These are the remains of a large male. 

The mural shows how a flood may have caught the mammoths. The adults are trying to save a young mammoth and a camel is caught in the raging water. 

These are the remains of a female. The sex can be determined by the shape of the pelvic bones.

You can see the teeth of this female. A mammoth would have had as many as four sets of teeth in its lifetime. This helps to determine their age. 

The remains of a camel. These camels are different than modern ones as they had no hump. They did not need one because they lived in an area with plenty of water so they did not need to store water.

These are the tusks of a young female. The dirt is what was dug to expose these remains. They know there is at least one more mammoth buried here. As more money is put into the site, the dig will continue. 

Left is the size of a human femur, middle is the femur of a Columbian Mammoth compared to the size of a modern human on the right. The Waco Mammoth site is a very interesting stop for anyone with any interest in prehistoric times.

With our limited time in Waco we had to choose between touring the Texas Ranger Museum or the Dr. Pepper Museum. As you can see we chose Dr, Pepper, not the best choice. For the cost of $8.00 each for seniors, it was way over priced.

This is the drug store where Dr. Pepper was invented. 

The animation of Dr. Alderton tells the story of the invention.

The biggest part of the tour was all about the brands that the Snapple company sells in addition to Dr. Pepper. At this point I was feeling thirsty, but not one little sip was included in the admission.

An old truck, 1924 Ford, used for delivery.

An old bottle washing machine. Remember when you were a kid and would collect pop bottles and return them for two cents each so you could buy candy?

The old bottling machine.

The well was an interesting tale. It was once used for the water to wash bottles and make the soda. After the city banned the use of the urban well, the workers began to throw broken bottles in the well. It was then covered up and forgotten until they renovated the building. An archeologist from Baylor did a dig and of course found many old broken bottles.    

The office of W.W. "Foots" Clements, a salesman who is given credit for increasing sales of the soft drink. 

In another building they have the old Holt Beverage Company 7UP bottling line. I guess I am not a Pepper because, overall, I did not think this was a tour that was worth the cost. They do have a soda fountain where, of course, you could purchase a taste of the company's many products.  

As I said, my Waco education continued when I put on Facebook where we were. Several people said we had to go to the Silos. Apparently it is a business run by a couple who are on HGTV.

We were told to try the bakery but the line was too long so we checked out the store Magnolia. This is as close as I got. This is not a place for someone who lives in a house on wheels.

Magnolia has all the STUFF anyone could possibly want for home decorating. To my surprise they do not even use the silos but plans are in the offing. This is now one of those been there done that places. Nanc did say her shopping buddies would have loved it.

We did find an interesting place to eat, Twisted Root Burgers. The food was good, veggie burger for Nanc and the beer was great, but no wine for Nanc.

Overall, we enjoyed our short stay in Waco with an interesting park service site and a great COE RV park. It is a much neater city than I expected.