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LLELA: Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area
November 25, 2008 by Texasholly
Filed under activities
The Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area is a little secret tucked away here in the ‘burb. It is one of my very favorite places to explore with the kids. Pictured above is the main house in their 1860s homestead recreation. All the buildings present were relocated to LLELA from other places around the ‘burb and reconstructed with amazing detail.
The day we visited, it was cold. Very cold by Texas standards, but a hearty group of moms and kids from GLECPTA (Greater Lewisville Early Childhood Parent Teacher Association) braved the 30 degree weather for the adventure.
LLELA provided 3 educational guides that lead us on a trail full of treasure.
We came across antlers, animal tracks, snake skins, beaver skulls, and many other things that delighted the kids. This is a wild turkey track in a dried up puddle that was amid 9 other kinds of animal tracks.
Reid’s favorite treasure was the turtle shell. “I don’t think anyone lives here anymore…” he said.
The easy trail (we had several 2 year olds that kept up with the pace) weaves through the acreage toward the 1860s homestead.
Once at the homestead, we toured the buildings and learned about what life would be like if we had lived in that time period. There is a smoke house and house made of mud in addition to the full-size family home pictured at the top of this article.
The guides taught us to make butter. The kids all participated in the butter making (and eating) while singing a tune from that era, “Churn, Butter, Churn”.
We spent 3 hours exploring LLELA. On past trips we have spent between 1 1/2 hours and 2 hours. The nice thing is that there are porta-potties throughout the park and you are never very far from the car. There are covered picnic areas near the parking and benches to sit on in the homestead area.
More information about the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area can be found here.
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Cecil Carter on Thu, 22nd Apr 2010 5:03 pm
i might actually drive down if I had ANY idea of where this is. Is there a map?