Dinosaurs!!

We headed out to Cabazon Saturday afternoon. Originally, it was just going to be Karen & I and the little ones, but we ended up with an extra stowaway when Katie asked if she could join us. The plan was to actually hit the outlet mall in search of a purse for me but, when I realized we were only about 3 miles away from the famous dinosaurs, I knew we had to check them out too. I remember visiting (and climbing on the giant toes) back when I was little but that was about all there was to it at that time. Now there is a whole "museum" (to use the term loosely) in the back area with a lot of animatronic, motion sensor dinos and a bunch of static ones just on display. They also have a gift shop (surprise, surprise!) and some other activities. The kids were able to excavate rocks in the giant sand pit and, when they each found one with the name of a dino written on it, they got to exchange it for a free prize! Emma got a finger puppet and TJ chose a notepad. There was also a panning station with ruinning water and the mesh-bottom trays for sifting out treasure. You could buy a bag for about $10 inside which was guaranteed to have something... fossils? fools gold? gems? who knows... or you could pan for free and collect all your "colored treasures" (a.k.a. Aquarium pebbles) in your own little baggie. We opted for the second choice. :) We also got to climb up inside the giant T-Rex and sit inside it's mouth which was kind of shaky in the wind and a bit nerve wracking but lots of fun. I was researching this place online and apparently there are quite a few people who hate it thinking that it is shoddy and run by "religious nuts." There is a religious undertone to the place and they obviously subscribe to the "young earth" philosophy of man and dinosaurs coexisting but I figure, if you don't like it, just don't read the signs that pop up along the walkways. I still have internal debates regarding the validity of evolutionary theory vs creationism and how I am trying to make them align but that didn't play any part in our day here. Emma & TJ just thought the dinosaurs and all the activities were just really cool! And, I'd have to say I agree with them!