Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens

For the last weekend before school we loaded up the kids and headed to Galveston to visit Moody Gardens. Our first stop was the Rainforest Pyramid.

The adventure began in the butterfly house, where the bugs found Emma irresistible.

Lots of flowers on the floor. Here's my favorite. No idea what it is.

Up in the canopy, we found several wild animals. Since Claire was reluctant to have her picture taken, these furry, feathered, and ferocious beasts filled in.

Overall, a pleasant way to end the summer.

Dinosaur Life Cycle

As a favor to our faithful readers, Claire wanted to demonstrate the life cycle of the dinosaur. Luckily, just outside the Natural Bridge Caverns is the Dinosaur Park.

First up, the dino baby emerges from the egg.

With proper care and adequate feeding, the little baby grows into a juvenile.

And finally, the creature reaches its full size.

While it may appear frightening to our younger readers, Claire was able to climb its back for this picture. The ever patient Emma joined in to complete the lesson.

Natural Bridge Caverns

We spent a few days last month in Austin, Texas. One stop was a visit to the Natural Bridge Caverns, located between Austin and San Antonio.

The cavern we explored was 180 feet below ground. While the temperature is a constant 70 degrees, the humidity is a constant 99%. Here are the intrepid explorers at the bottom of the cavern.

A note for you fellow Aggies - I was there, too. I'm not in the picture because I was behind the camera. I know, confusing.

Moving on, since these caves are wet, you see a number of stalactites and stalagmites. Here are some of the cool things we saw:

The upper right of this one looks like a face.

More to come as I sort through the pictures from the rest of our journey.