Joyride with the Joneses
Follow along on our family journeys!
Alibates Flint Quarries/Lake Meredith
Visited: March 2018
Duration: 2-3 hours
Accommodations: Stayed with friends in Sanford, TX
The last stop on our Spring Break National Park Trip was in Sanford, TX. Chris and I met some fantastic people and we love them so much we planned a trip to see them. Then added a bunch of National Park Service Sites to the trip. Luckily they live about 20 minutes from one, how handy!!
We loaded everyone up and headed to Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument. We did not stop at Lake Meredith Visitor Center because you could do both at Alibates. When we arrived we had no idea what to expect.
Alibates Flint is a beautiful red rock only found in the panhandle of Texas. It has dated back to the end of the last Ice Age, 13,000 years ago. The flint was quarried by the Paleo-Indians. They used it to create spears to hunt the animals that roamed the Great Plains. This is the sharpest rock to exist. It breaks in a predictable pattern when struck and can be formed into the finest deadly point.
In 1965 Congress declared Alibates a National Monument (the only one in Texas) to preserve the native peoples quarries.
Below is a picture of what this beautiful rock looks like.
When we arrived we grabbed Junior Ranger books and watched a short film on the 2 parks. We then went through the museum to check out what the rock looks like and how it was used through the centuries. We walked out the door and went on a small hike to look for flowers and animals known here at the park. It was our first roadrunner we encountered that had us excited. The kids finished up their Junior Rangers and we went for a ride on the road to the dock. Gorgeous!
We headed back to the visitor center and by now the Ranger was back from giving a tour of the quarry. He swore the boys in as Junior Rangers for both Alibates Flint and Lake Meredith.
Then offered to teach us to use an atl like the native people did. We signed right up for this!
First a little safety lesson, then we learned how to the natives did it.
Throwing the atl was the highlight of the trip. After a bit we were doing great at this (some of us anyways).
Here is a video of my oldest hitting the target 🙂
Then came the fun part. See who can throw it the furthest!! I can’t tell you who won, I will let you guess.
What a great experience. This place was beautiful, fun and educational, that’s all we really ask for in a NPS stop. Have you been here?? Did you love it? You know what I said each time one of the boys hit the target?? Atl boy, good job 🙂 🙂 🙂
That concludes our National Park Spring Break Trip for 2018. I hope you had a chance to read all the posts of the wonderful places we stopped along the way. If not be sure to click Spring Break on the tag and it will take you to each stop. I hope you enjoy! Here is a picture of each kid’s Junior Ranger haul from this trip! Backpacks and vests are filling up fast.
Joyride with the Joneses 
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