past:
present:
Bamberger Ranch Field Trip
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On February 8th we went to the Bamberger Ranch. Before we reached the cabins we took a short detour. We stopped at the Blanco River. This river was a watering hole for dinosaurs. There were many footprints of dinosaurs like the Alamosaurus, and each of the footprints was the size of a bathtub. |
| After the Blanco River we unpacked our things and we rode in a trailer to sites around the ranch and saw dinosaur tracks. We also went on a fossil hunt. There we learned about many new and interesting fossils. Then we went to the lodge for lunch. |  |
After lunch we played a game to identify dinosaurs. It was called Dino/Dino Not. We learned that any animal from another period besides the Jurassic period were not dinosaurs. We also learned about many different dinosaurs, one was an armadillo that was as big as a bus.
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After lunch we took a hike down to the river. On the way we learned how to trim cedar trees so they look nice and you won’t have to cut them down and burn them. Also we learned about springs and that the springs fed the streams that ran through the land. When we reached the river we saw the rain machine and learned that it is better if you have grass than if you have cedar. |
| A The reason for this is cedar roots soak up all the water in the ground, but grass’s roots filter the water so the water in the aquifer is cleaner. |  |
On our tour of the land we encountered many animals. One of the strangest ones was the Scimitar Oryx. These Oryx are an endangered species. Mr. Bamberger, the owner of the ranch, accepted a plan that would help restore these Oryx to our planet, and he has many that now roam his property.
After the hike, a truck took us on a drive and we saw the Bamberger bat cave. Solar panels were located on top of the cave to provide lighting to the observation decks built to observe the bats’ behavior. Scientists said the lights would annoy the small groups of bats located in the cave so the deck and lights were never used. The Bambergers’ goal is to increase the quantity of the bats to one million so that they can then be observed in a large group using the lights and observation decks.
When our tour of the bat cave was concluded, we went back to the lodge for dinner. We had spaghetti, salad, a roll, lemonade, and for desert, chocolate cake.
After dinner we went to our dorms and listened to music until we went out into the night for stargazing. An astronomer accompanying our group brought a telescope in which we were able to observe planets so clearly, you could see the rings of Saturn and Jupiter. Mr. McDowell, my teacher, brought his smaller telescope and we looked at a cluster of stars called Pleiades.
When we finished our stargazing session, we went to our dorms and listened to music and had pillow fights and pillow throwing contests. When it was time to turn the lights out and go to sleep, we listened to music until we drifted off into dreams.
In the morning we took showers, packed our things and ate breakfast. We then piled into the car and listened to music all the way home to Austin. I would wish to return to the ranch sometime in the future, but for right now I have memories for a lifetime.
Bronson