Don Eichler

Yes, these animals did roam in our backyard and to some they were very scary. What started out as a small play area for our grandchildren turned out to be somewhat larger almost four acres in fact. We had cleared an area about fifty feet by fifty feet on our property next to our home well it just got bigger and bigger.

We found a dinosaur park that was for sale while we were doing our RV travels in East Texas. There were about fourteen life size fiberglass models and some of them were very large. We thought about adding them to the grand children's play ground but how do we get them home 250 miles away. We decided to haul them home on one of our equipment trailers. However it was only sixteen feet long so some of the animals would be very long for this trailer and stick out over the front and above our pick-up as well as hang out the back of the trailer. We had some very interesting trips while making the move. A lot of people would honk their car horns and wave at us while we were on the highway.

On one trip with the largest animal loaded on the trailer we were stopped by the highway patrol. Actuly I had pulled over on the shoulder of this small county back road to check the tie downs and the patrolman stopped in the middle of the highway and motioned me over to his car. The dinosaur was longer than the trailer and it's head was over the hood of my pickup so I thought well here is a ticket for something. The highway patrolman ask do you have a license to kill those things, rolled up his window and drove off.

We finally made the move home with all of the dinosaurs with what became The Dinosaur Trail Park and later The Dinosaur Trail Cabins B&B located in Granbury Texas. We sold this property in 2004 when we moved to The Texas Hill Country, Kerrville Texas.

Back again with some more pictures of historic homes in Castroville, Texas. I wish that I could show all of the historic homes in one blog and give the history of each but there is not enough room tdo so. However here are some more pictures with names and dates of construction. Move pointer across picture for description and age.

There is so much history and so many historic homes in Castroville it is hard to choose your favorite one. These pictures are of The Tarde Hotel built in 1852 by Victor and Clarissa Tarde, natives of Calais, France. In his book, "A Journey Through Texas" Fredick Law Olmstead wrote of his arrival at Castroville in 1853: Upon the banks of the Medina River stands Castroville, a village containing a colony of Alsatians, who proudly call themselves Germans, but who speak French or a mixture of French and German.

There were many famous clients that stayed at this hotel, Robert E. Lee, Ronald S. MacKenzie, John Bell Hood, Edward Ord and Abner Doubleday were just a few. The currant owner is Jessie Caseres.

If you would like to read about the largest oil field in the world that has not been developed yet and it is right here in the good old USA. Google up The Bakken Formation. It tells about the report in April 2008 that will make you wonder why is this field not being drilled. No off shore stuff just good old dirt drilling Will produce oil at $ 16.00 per barrel an estimated to be 503 billion barrels. The biggest producing oil field found in the last 56 years.

Located in Montana, North and South Dakota also into Canada. Check it out on The Free Site, wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakken_Formation. This area is known as the Williston Basen there is enough light sweet oil to power America for 41 years being the largest reserve in the world. We have more oil in this compact area than in all of the Middle East. We need action in Washington. Read this report and ask questions.