On a quiet spot along the Bosque River, not far above its confluence with the Brazos River, fossil and arrowhead hunters stumbled upon a trove of unexpected bones in the 1970s.
After taking one of the large bones for examination at nearby Baylor University, site excavation revealed a cache of bones stretching back almost 70,000 years into the last Ice Age.
Waco Mammoth National Monument joined the National Park Service in 2015, and continued to be operated jointly by NPS, the city of Waco and Baylor University. A large, climate-controlled building has been constructed over the excavation site.
The bones of several mammoths (a bull, a female, and two juveniles) and other extinct mammals, including a camel, lie where archaeologists found them during the last years of excavation (1990-1997).
Early excavations were kept secret so poachers would not discover the site. Volunteers wrapped bones in plaster before shipping them out. Other recovered mammoth bones are stored at Baylor.
The site has been a deep well of research into these giant animals. Other rounds of excavation uncovered a dwarf antelope, American alligator, giant tortoise and tooth of a young saber-toothed cat. The remains include one animal that scientists cannot identify.
But the mammoths are the real star here. The mammoths of Waco were true giants, Columbia mammoths that could
stand 14 feet tall and weight 20,000 pounds.They ranged from Costa Rica to southern Canada, and stayed year-round in the Waco area, which was still warm for the age.
The better-known woolly mammoths, which ranged further north, topped out about three feet shorter than Columbia mammoths. They stood far higher than modern elephants, making the Columbia mammoths seem even more unreal.
But they were here, and came back frequently to this spot.
The facility joined the National Park Service in 2015 after decades of operation by the city of Waco and Baylor University (both are still involved).
Cause of the mammoth death is uncertain. The prevailing theory occurred through a series of floods beginning 68,000 years ago, which killed mammoths trapped in a side channel and buried in mud in successive floods.
Columbian mammoths went extinct around 11,000 years ago, the same time as their woolly cousins and other megafauna that roamed North America during the last Ice Age.
As for future excavations, the mammoth site might be largely tapped out, but the park rangers mentioned they are quick to walk the creeks running into the Bosque anytime heavy rain falls in case more bones should be exposed.
A series of trails meander through the forested riverlands east of Waco, but the temperature pushed 100 degrees and shade had become difficult to find.
On the way back, I had to succumb to blatant tourism. There's West Texas, but only one West, Texas, a stop along I-35 famed for its kolaches, a Czech pastry.
The Czech Stop is not the only place touting the central European dessert, but it’s the place newbies such as myself must visit as a right of passage.
The convenience store side of the Czech Stop had a line almost out the door, so I feared a long wait for pastries. But the bakery side stood empty except for staff and us.
A giant display case filled with kolaches allayed any fears about the Czech Stop running low in the afternoon. I-35 travelers stop at all hours for the delectable treats. Sadly I had to stop at a half-dozen, a reasonable amount to consume before my Dallas trip ended. But those sweets would be worth it whenever we ate them.
While not 100 percent authentic in their shapes, these kolaches packed a strong cheese and/or fruit flavor over the neutral pastry dough (kolaches with too much dough are a crime, as they can come off as flavorless.).
The kolaches would wait till Sunday breakfast. They would still taste just as good.
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