Somehow we find ourselves at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. It is the day before game day in a state where football is king. It seems like the whole campus has showed up at a local watering hole that also sells the best burgers in town. We wait in a very long line to order and then wait to find a table. Eventually we are seated near what I infer is the coaches table. I have no idea about the team, the coaches, or the game tomorrow, but the energy in the room is high. Sports talk is saturating the place. It has plenty of local color.

I try to tune out the athletic overload and come up with an afternoon game plan (pun intended). We are in town as a stop over on a long rv trip. Our stop was planned based on geography and drivable miles. We have no idea what Lubbock has to offer, so it is a pleasant surprise to learn that the university has a variety of free museums. Even better, they are just across the street. It is a nice that we have a few new things to do in the hours between now and our planned departure tomorrow.

Eclectic doesn’t begin to describe the collection at the Texas Tech museum. I wander past a display of 1980’s fashion (the shoulder pads and color blocking bring back a lot of memories) and into a gallery of prehistoric giant crocodiles. Nearby a gallery of electric guitars overlooks a hall of dinosaurs.

The art galleries are equally eclectic. Lucille Ball dances with Frank Sinatra in a whirl of pointillism dots. Southwest Santa rides a driftwood donkey. Native women peer out of portraits, looking graceful and sorrowful. Cattle create photographic dust clouds. The art pieces are not “old masters” but they are clearly someone’s masterpiece. Most exceed my ability. There are a few abstract pieces I am sure I could replicate.

The museum is a welcome diversion. Near the exit, an advertisement for a university facility across town catches my eye. Apparently there is a lake site that was once a large prehistoric settlement. Old bones and history? Sounds like something we should see.

We meet elephants in the parking lot. Or maybe they are supposed to be mammoths? I don’t see a lake. I do see a lot of prairie grass. Hmmm.

At the visitor center, they explain that the site was ancient and had been formed around a large lake. They have been excavating the settlements, retrieving cooking utensils and animal bones. They speculate that the settlements could be seasonal hunting camps. Today, the university protects the land and has maintained public walking trails.

The college student working reception casually mentions that there is a large prairie dog town. I am not sure that I let them finish before I was out the door and headed down the trail. I love prairie dogs.

They are happy and vocal. They watch out for each other. They bark with their whole body. I get tickled watching them jump and shake as they warn the town that there is stranger danger.

We have to walk further than I thought to find the colony. It is dry and I wish I had remembered water. Even though it is fall and the air is cool, the sun is hot and there is no shade.

The land looks and feels desolate to this hillbilly girl who is most at home in the forests and wooded hill country. I notice the prairie dogs don’t seem to mind. They are happily munching on buffalo squash. I celebrate the fact that nature finds a way. But buffalo squash won’t fill our bellies and we need water.

Texas Tech has proved itself a good steward. Our day of rest in Lubbock has passed quickly and enjoyably thanks to the Texas Tech public spaces. If you find yourself in central Texas, stop in for a visit.