Ian's Scout Troop is earning the rock climbing merit badge this weekend. In order to participate, he must have a current tetanus shot--no exceptions!!! When we pulled out his records, we saw that his Tdap expired August 2015. Oops! So, off we went to the Department of Health Services to get a new one. Unlike the clinic in Logan, which used to be a walk-in, we learned that we needed to schedule an appointment here on Tuesdays or Thursdays. And they were booked until mid-April for immunizations. However, the nice lady informed us that the health department in Sonora, TX, is not a very busy clinic and would for sure have openings. We called there and made an appointment for Tuesday morning.
Sonora is 90 miles north of Del Rio. It is a small town of about 3,000 people. We found the health department with no trouble and got poked. Then we had another adventure planned to make the trip worth the effort.
And to think we could have seen it all here!
Alas, there was no parade on Mulberry Street, so we went to The Eaton Hill Nature Center. It is a quaint renovated home, donated by the Eaton family, that houses displays of rocks, animals, bird nests, butterflies, a dinosaur model, and even a mammoth tusk that was found at the local golf course in 1991!
We met the new director, Mike Price (it was his 3rd day on the job) who is a fellow herpetologist. He is a native Texan whose specialty is venomous snakes. His personal library is available for visitors to browse, and the children spent a long time looking through books.
Numerous short trails wind around the center and the hillside.
We walked one of the loops.
Native American Wickiup Replica
Erin grinding seed pods with a mano and metate
"Oh dear! Mom is making us write in our Nature Journals again!"
(what happens when we have impromptu field trips)
We learned a new shrub: Agarita.
It is very sharp, like most of the plants.
This is the Texas State Flower: the Bluebonnet.
Moss on rocks
The lichens were amazing!
Tree Lizards (Urosaurus ornatus) were our only reptile sightings.
Apparently there are 2 other species of Sceloporus in the area.
More raccoon tracks! We have yet to see a live one.
Dallin watched tadpoles in Jimmy's Frog Pond (we assume Jimmy was a member of the Eaton family). Mike said that the tadpoles will grow into Rio Grande Leopard Frogs.
Thanks to the Internet, for helping us find this fun distraction. We want to take Dad with us next time we visit. It was still a bit cool for a lot of the lizards and snakes, so hopefully we will see more critters when it warms up more.
