Big Rocks Park ~ Glen Rose, Texas ~

 

I love to collect things, but I have to admit that I have a bit of collecting attention defecit.   I used to collect teddy bears and Disney figurines, but I eventually outgrew that at far too advanced an age.  Then, for a while I collected music boxes, but that didn't really jive with my minimalist desire for lack of clutter and my total refusal to dust anything ever.  These days, I collect magnets from our travels and beautiful words.   In a little velvet covered journal, I record flowery phrases and quotable quotes that I clip from magazines or read in my favorite novels.   Although some could be considered clever or humorous, most of them are beacons of everlasting optimism.  Things like:

 

And perhaps the most optimistic of them all: The best things in life are free.

 

In the traveling world, it seems to be much more opportunity to say that you get what you pay for.   So when I heard about a free park in Glen Rose that was getting rave reviews, I was skeptical.   Big Rocks Park doesn't even have a physical address, but we had some time to kill on a recent camping trip and figured it was worth a look.

 

 

No creativity was spared in the naming of this park.  Big Rocks Park is huge field of giant limestone rocks.  Over time, the rocks have been pounded and rounded by the power of the nearby Paluxy River, leaving behind cracks, crevices, and even small caves.   Probably more suited as playground for giants, these massive boulders were the perfect place to play for four small boys.   Of course, what started as a simple rock scaling outing turned into a full tilt rock hopping, hide and seek, cave seeking rumpus.    They couldn't have had more fun if we had a paid a king's ransom for the park entrance.

 

 

The Paluxy River beyond the rocks was extremely dry and provided a place for some low key fun after all that rock hopping.  Each of the boys settled into serious pursuits of fishing for minnows or rock chunking or just some good old fashioned sitting and talking.   As we scrambled back over the rocks, it seems that optimism was the winner, at least for one day.  The best things in life really are free: happy memories, family togetherness, and a bunch of big rocks.

 

 

Warning: Total wet blanket, fuddy-duddy advice ahead. (Also known as responsible parenting, by some.)

• Little kids aren't the only things that like to hide in small crevices, so be sure to watch out for snakes and the like under the rocks.
• A first aid kit might not be a bad idea, as scrapes are very likely.
• Wading in the Paluxy River nearby is a great way to pass the time, but the rocks are very slippery, so hang on.
• The rocks are probably not the best places for toddlers and young preschoolers to play without close adult supervision.  Should you take your chances and plop your two year old up on a rock thinking he will step gingerly, be prepared to be totally tortured while he balances precariously on the edge until you can get close enough to grab his hand.