Reliving the Jurassic Park at Glen Rose, Texas

Have you watched the movie, Jurassic Park? When we went to the Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas, we were thrilled to pose with the dinosaur models there and it reminded me a lot of the Jurassic Park movie (although in the movie, they were real dinosaurs).

There were two dinosaur models near the entrance of the park. Those were built by Louis Paul Jonas (1894 – 1971) under commission by Sinclair Oil Company for its exhibit at the New York City World’s Fair of 1964 and 1965.

Apatosaurus: Deceptive Lizard

Formerly known as Brontosaurus, “thunder lizard,” Apatosaurus was among the largest land animals that ever lived. One specimen measured 75 feet long and probably weighed 33 tons. It’s interesting to note that despite its huge size, its brain was just the size of a human fist. It lived in the Late Jurassic, from 160 to 140 million years ago, and roamed western North America from Montana to Oklahoma to Baja California. Its long neck allowed it to browse on young, tender twigs and needles at the very tops of trees like pines, firs and sequoias. It needed to eat a quarter ton of food per day.

Tyrannosaurus Rex: King Tyrant Lizard

The tyrannosaurus rex (or more popularly known as t rex) was a spectacularly fearsome beast, the largest carnivore ever to walk on earth, One specimen measured 50 feet long and may have weighed 8 tons. Its monstrous 3-foot jaws bore 60 serrated teeth up to 7 inches long, perfect for slicing through flesh. It lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 100 to 65 million years ago, and stalked western North America from Montana to Texas. Though too massive for long or rapid chases, it may have dined on easy prey, like young sauropods or young duckbills, or even scavenged dead carrion. It was certainly capable of intimidating smaller predators away from their kill.

More than a million years ago, getting close to this dinosaur would have meant that you’ll be their snack. So glad that gigantic animals like this are just a thing of the past.

PS. I had my share of photo ops too….

Suggested Posts for You:

Picnic At the Park in El Paso, Texas A Visit to the Park