A few weeks ago, Mr. Handsome and I ventured down to the massive state of Texas to visit some military friends who are stationed there temporarily. They live three hours west of Dallas in Abilene, and one thing we noticed was that the area is a lot more arid than we had expected. There were some small trees, but nothing the size of what we are accustomed to here. The temperatures were in the high 90s (around 38 degrees Celsius), which I have noticed is a lot more difficult to handle while pregnant. Abilene is a large town that has plenty of amenities, but it is as much in the middle of nowhere as it gets.
We spent most of the weekend chatting and playing games (indoors) with our friends, but we did venture out to see a few things. Redbud Park in Abilene has a prairie dog habitat that we enjoyed walking around.
Mr. Handsome laughs because I thought the prairie dogs were cute, all while having a strong dislike for squirrels. He says that doesn’t make sense, since prairie dogs are ground squirrels, but I told him it makes total sense because prairie dogs don’t have a busy tail, and that is one of my least favorite features of squirrels.
From the sign at the habitat, we learned that prairie dogs are vital to the short-grass prairie ecosystem because they help fertilize the soil. Prairie dog colonies are located in the Southwest, sections of the Rock Mountain states, and the most western part of the Midwest. Have you ever seen one?
Once I was pregnant and did not know it yet and bought puppies on an impulse. It is an instinct, I guess, to just love the cute little creatures!
LOL!
Who doesn’t love cute squirrels?!
Thanks Ellie, love the post. I never knew a prairie dog was actually a ground squirrel. I’ve seen the nice exhibit of prairie dogs at Zoo America at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. Milton Hershey started the zoo over 100 yrs. ago after a man gave him a dozen prairie dogs. ..Jane
I had not idea, either. That’s a neat story. Did you visit the Hershey chocolate themed park as well?
Ellie
Yes we did, also Chocolate World, love to smell all that chocolate!!! Jane
That would be a blast! I love chocolate. Do they give free samples?
We got something free, but I can’t remember if it was chocolate or something else. It was years ago. I know you love chocolate, sweets for the sweet… Jane
Aww. 🙂 I’ll have to make a trip out there someday.
I lived near there when I was little. Way back then, you’d tour the factory itself, not the Disney-type train ride & simulated tour they have now. You used to walk on steel catwalks above the actual machinery churning chocolate. The aroma was incredible. At the end of the tour, you’d get a full-size Hershey bar, a packet of cocoa, and a folder of recipes (I still have mine). I guess with safety concerns, either food or personal, and the inability of a factory that size to handle the visiting crowds, they shut down the plant tour and opened the separate Chocolate World exhibit, which is nowhere as interesting as the actual plant tour. That was in the early 70’s.
I haven’t been there in ages – burnt out on it and the tourist crowds – but I do know that at the end of the new tour, there’s an area where you can buy all sorts of chocolate souvenirs, and a place to buy refreshments, with a tropical greenhouse area where you can sit. It feels great in there in February, which is a good off-season time to visit.
Hershey Park was also free when I was growing up. It had the zoo which, looking back, was not the best for the animals (small cages, concrete outdoor areas, etc.). That wouldn’t fly these days. There were some basic rides, and a bandshell where they held free concerts. My parents often took us there on a Sunday to ride the carousel and listen to the music. It was either band music the whole family would enjoy, or they’d have a band and a singer. I remember at 4 or 5 being entranced by the woman in the pretty dress singing “Stranger in Paradise.” I can’t hear that song now without thinking of that Sunday.
Back then, the whole town was a great place for the locals to take visitors and relatives. The smell of chocolate permeated the air. The Hershey Kiss street lights amused everyone. One wrapped in silver, the next one unwrapped chocolate, and so on down the street.
To me, it’s not the same there since the theme park went crazy and the original factory closed. Milton Hershey made that town from his own vision. It started as a quiet little factory town in the rural dairy fields of PA. He never intended it to be a theme park or a tourist attraction. The factory employed the workers, the nearby housing was affordable for them, and the park was where they were supposed to relax on Sundays. It stayed that way for a long time. Milton’s benevolence remains with the school he established, but the rest of the Hershey experience is completely different now, and will never be the way it was 50-60 years ago.
Thanks for sharing! Sounds like it was a neat place back in the day.
Not only have I seen them. I grew up in west Texas and went to college in Abilene at Hardin-Simmons University. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Congratulations on your pregnancy!
Very nice! Abilene is a neat town. Thank you. 🙂
Ellie
Would love to see a prairie dog😯
Out of topic but out of curiosity, what books did you read during your college years. Any nonfiction?
That’s a great question. During college, I didn’t have time for outside reading. My journalism classes assigned a lot of books on the art of writing and the history of journalism, and I also took some history classes with textbooks. I took a couple English classes, as well. For those, I read some Shakespeare, which was pretty good (I had also read some in high school). I took a class that assigned ‘Dracula’ and ‘Frankenstein,’ but I wasn’t a huge fan of those. What books do you enjoy?
Ellie
Thanks for replying, Ellie!
I have enjoyed Julius Caesar of Shakespeare…partly because it’s based on a true story.
From the classics, I tend to enjoy ones with a touch of romance in them, such as Jane Austen novels, rather than adventure ones, such as Robinson Crusoe. (I tried reading Robinson Crusoe, but it was just not working for me.)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (excerpts from school) and A Restless Wave by Sen. John McCain are two books that I want to read.
I read several Jane Austen books in high school, and they were great. (As part of my homeschool education, I took an online, intensive English class that went through a bunch of Shakespeare and Austen books.) Haven’t read the other books that you mentioned. Have you seen the Jane Austen movies?
Ellie
I have watched Pride and Prejudice, 2005 version.
This happens with me every time I watch a book-turned-movie, but I imagined the characters-especially Mr. Darcy, very differently. LOL
Yet, Keira Knightley makes a great Elizabeth and everything ended up being fine.
Sometimes I have to wonder what Jane Austen would have thought to hear that her books have withstood the test of time (about 200 years?)
I know, I think she would have been very shocked, especially to see them acted out on a screen.
I like classic books with themes that were considered a bit shocking at the time of publication. I won’t name specific titles, but there are many. I admire that the authors took risks. Often books in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were serialized and printed one chapter at a time in papers or magazines. Each chapter reads like a short novel, with a cliffhanger that didn’t get resolved until the next chapter was printed. I enjoy that literary style.
My voracious classics reading habit started when I had to pick up the neighborhood school carpool crowd every afternoon. I’d get there a half hour early to get a parking spot. To pass the time, I’d read. I went through countless British and French classics during those school years. Even after carpool ended, I continued reading daily.
BTW, I’ve been to the Bronte parsonage house in West Yorkshire, England. It was very moving to be in the same rooms where the sisters sat and wrote.
Very neat! Sounds like you are an avid reader. I would love to visit England one day.
Hi Ellie, I love your piece on Prarie Dogs. We saw a colony in Sputh Dakota. Fascinating. I do have a question – Last Christmas the two of you went to a hotel in Nashville ? that was beautifully decorated for the season. You had such incredible pictures. Which hotel was it? We are planning a trip to Nashville during the season and I’d love to stay or at least see that hotel. Thank you!
Hi Barb,
That was the Opryland Hotel. It is spectacular at any time of year, but especially at Christmastime. Are you coming in December? Here are links to the posts that mention Opryland:
https://nashvillewife.com/christmas-at-opryland-hotel/
https://nashvillewife.com/date-night-at-opryland-hotel/
https://nashvillewife.com/2-million-pounds-of-ice/
https://nashvillewife.com/christmas-lights-in-nashville/
Ellie, thank you so much.
I’ve never seen a prairie dog. They are really cute but I think squirrels are cute too. On a different note, when will you announce the gender of the baby? The suspense is killing me!😉
Good question. I’m planning to announce it soon. Just have to think of a clever way to do it. 🙂
Hi Ellie, I have a post request. I know you are a Baptist and, since I’m not, my first association with your Christian denomination is Baptism itself. Yet, I don’t see a lot of Baptists being willing to share much about their own Baptism (as opposed to other important life events). Is it a private matter or are you willing to share about yours?
Great idea, Iris. I’ll add that to my list of posts to write. 🙂
Ellie
What a coincidence! I live in Abilene and know that park well. My dog likes to watch the prairie dogs while we are on our walk! Hope you enjoyed our little town! 🙂
How neat, Brianna! We did enjoy Abilene. We were only there a few days, but our friends took us to a really good fruit snow cone place (Show Cones, I believe) a couple times, as well as a couple other places. Lots of unique things about Abilene.