Tumbleweeds in the Land of the Lost

As I mentioned in my Pterodactyl post, the Tumbleweeds spent a rainy afternoon at Dinosaur World in Cave City, Kentucky.

Sure, a walk through the forest among fiberglass dinosaurs is an attraction aimed at children (and we have none) but the tiger-striped T-Rex that we have passed so many times on I-65, seemed to beckon us with his tiny, tiny arms. 

So we gave in and visited and I hugged his leg.

See the blue thing
at the bottom?
That's me.

There are over 100 dinosaurs in the park, scattered among the native vegetation along a leisurely half mile walk. It was foggy and rainy the day we went which added to its appeal because:

A: It seemed more prehistoric. 

B: There were very few people. And even fewer children hogging up all the fun stuff.

For the most part, the dinosaurs weren't too cheesy and the way they were nestled in the trees and bushes looked almost natural.

Coelophysis
A meat-eater and space traveler.
In 1998 a Coelophysis skull
traveled to the space station Mir
on the Shuttle Endeavor. 

Liliensternus
A fast and agile meat-eater
from the Triassic Period.
The crest along its snout is thought
to be for dinosaur sexy-time.

Whatchoolookinatasaur
(I made that one up)

Some were more cheesy than others.

Tsintaosaurus or Kidnplayosaurus?

You decide.

Dromiceiomimus
Real name, fake color.

The Velociraptor should be fearsome and wily like in Jurassic Park XXII.

Instead they did this:

Velociraptor with giant man-hands and crazy eyes.

They had a playground for children only (why do they always get to do the fun stuff?) but Kentucky is a very safety conscious state and the kiddies had to put their cigarettes out first.

Ashtrayomus

Also for children only was a "fossil dig" area, but the joke's on them because I saw a Dinosaur World employee planting the "fossils" in the sand for them to find. Kids are such sissies.

There was a giant puzzle that wasn't for children only, so we put it together. Upside down. Because we're rebels like that.

Stegosaurus
A plant-eater with a
brain the size of a walnut.

Woolly Mammoth
A baby Mammoth was found in Siberia in 2010
fully preserved, hair and all.
It looks like a deflated
Chewbacca.

T-Rex sneaking up on a Triceratops.
I'll bet he's on his tiptoes.

Ultrasaurus herd.

These plant-eaters weighed
up to 80 tons.
That's a LOT of leaves.

It was a nice way to take a break from the road for a couple of hours. Even without kids.

Pterrific Pterodactyls in Kenptucky!

 Pterosaur World would be more accurate.

Recently, the Tumbleweeds went back in time a few million years, to stroll among prehistoric creatures in the Kentucky forest.

I took a least 2.7 times eleventy pictures, so I'm going to break up this exciting visit and today's post is only going to concentrate on Pterodactyls. Because I love them.

Here at Confessions of a Tumbleweed, I like to be facty when I can, so I have to start with this:

I know that I am using the term Pterodactyl incorrectly. Pterodactyls are a subset of the order that is pterosaur. But I like the word Pterodactyl. And not only that, I capitalize it on purpose even though it shouldn't be while at the same time I refuse to capitalize internet.  

I'm such a rebel.

I fell in love with Pterodactyls from the first moment I saw them as a kid on that Sid and Marty Krofft documentary tv show from the '70s, Land of the Lost.

Also I can make the most annoying terrifying Pterodactyl sound ever. I would love to post the sound here, but I'm afraid it would diminish the it somehow. You know, how the early Native Americans thought that having their photo taken would steal their souls? Like that.

We have passed Dinosaur World in Cave City, KY several times; it's right off of I-65 in the south west part of the state. In fact, in the last month it seems as if we were on that stretch of road 47∛ times.

Sometimes it happens that way. We get stuck in a worm-hole of sameness: pick up a load at point A. Deliver to point B. Then deliver from point B and go back to point A. Then again.

It was inevitable, after seeing the billboards so often, that we made the time to visit Dinosaur World. And I'm glad we did.


I *really* like Pterodactyls.

I ordered this cake the last year when we were home about a month after Himself's birthday.

The bakery in our town has the best birthday cakes ever--the frosting hurts your teeth it's so good--and the elderly baker wrote down my order with such aplomb, that you would think the tiny Wyoming bakery got orders for Pterodactyl cakes all the time.

Wickets, Worm Holes and Wonders

Velociraptor in Casper, WY.
He's giving the squinty eye to the price of fuel.

Do you have a reliable internet connection?
Are you distracted easily?


I don't and I am and that is a very bad combination indeed.

For several days we have been in the land of spotty internet signal and you would think I would use that time wisely to add and subtract numbers, but I don't. 


I’m actively avoiding it and bugging Himself with all manner of pointless conversation.

Example:

Me: Hey, what was the name of your 5th grade teacher?

Himself: I don’t remember.

Me: Mine was Mrs. Griffin and she made fun of me one time because I said purty instead of pretty, so on the last day of school I put a ketchup packet on her seat.

Himself: Uh-huh.

Me: You know that way when she sat down it would explode all over her ugly dress.

Himself: Wow. You were a rebel even way back then.

Me: I know, right?

Me: So. Who was your first crush?

Himself: I don’t remember.

Me: You have a terrible memory, what are you repressing?

Himself: What’s our profit margin this month?

Me: Don’t try and change the subject. I think you were abused by a traumatic experience as a kid and you have somehow suppressed it all these years. What are you afraid of?

Himself: Nothing. You don’t have internet do you?

*crickets*

The elusive tiger-striped T-Rex of Kentucky.
 

When I do have a good internet connection, instead of writing Nobel Prize winning blog posts, I look up things on the List. The List is a place where I write down all the things I come across in life that I need to know more about; words I don't know, plants I can't identify, the lyrics to Good Times. This is why I love the internet. I can find out anything with just a few clicks. The problem is that there is no end to the internet or to the things I don't know.


**Aside**


Spell-check wants me to capitalize internet but I refuse to even though I can't stand to see that squiggle under it every time I don't. I think it's a little presumptuous of the internet to want a capital I and I'm not giving in to the pressure, I'm slave enough to the internet as it is. Besides, I'm pretty sure that's how HAL got all uppity. (Did you know that in the French version of 2001: A Space Odyssey it's not HAL it's CARL? No wonder they always surrender, who's scared of Carl??)


Anyway.


Let's say I want to know what the difference is between crickets and grasshoppers (their antennae). That will lead me to wonder about the British sport of cricket (it's boring) but I will learn that the phrase a sticky wicket originated from cricket not croquet as I had thought and only Americans call the hoops in croquet wickets and that a form of croquet is played at the Burning Man Festival that involves glowing Magic 8 Balls. 


This is how time sucking worm holes are created and before I know it the whole day is gone. On the plus side, I won't remember any of it, so when I look it up again, it's all new to me.

I'm fairly certain that King Kong
wasn't a dinosaur, but I'll have to look
it up tomorrow. Again.