Welcome to The Front Porch! This is usually PJ Media's VIP community that gathers in the comments section to jabber about things outside the headlines, but today is a freebie in case you want to do the whole "try before you buy" thing. Why is it for subscribers? Well, because like all of our VIP content, this is content you won't find anywhere else on the internet; it's special, just like our members. If you don't have a membership, join us! Click this link and use the promo code FIGHT for 60% off a year's access, and not just here with us but on all of our sister sites if you choose VIP Gold or Platinum. The tea is sweet, and the comments can be spicy, so pull up a chair and join us!
Going off the Beaten Path in Texas
I am a displaced Texan, a native daughter of the Lone Star State who, through a series of life choices (i.e., marrying an active-duty Marine), is unable to live in the Motherland presently. That being said, I get Home as often as I am able to prevent very real ailments, such as Brisket Withdrawal, Red Dirt Deficiency, and Acute Twang Loss. It's important for more than my health, though: my children need to understand Texas in ways beyond geography and stereotypes. You see, Texas is going to be a part of who they are because it's part of who I am. When they look back in 20 years, I want them to know the why, when, and how of how they came to see the world and their places in it.
Last time, I wrote about Buc-ee's and our buffet of road trip snacks. Thank you to everyone who not only shared their opinions, but also their concern for the amount of sugar and empty calories consumed. Y'all can rest assured that absolutely everything (except the sour power belts — we all have our weaknesses!) was enjoyed in moderation and met with lovely amounts of protein and fiber. Today, I want to take y'all into a part of Texas that doesn't get a ton of attention but should: Granbury and Glen Rose.
About an hour southwest of Fort Worth is the town of Granbury. I became quite familiar with this town and many of its 13,500 residents in 2012 when I was working for Ted Cruz's Senate campaign — you know, back when he had a 2% name ID, and those 2% were lying. What I loved so much then and still do is the physical beauty of the place. Gently rolling hills, plenty of backroads, pastures of cattle, and a cute little downtown so well-preserved that it's like stepping back in time all come together to set the stage for travelers and locals to unwind.
Vampire Penguin: Strange Name, Strange Treat—A Must-Try
Let's just yank the cat out of the bag: Vampire Penguin exists outside of Granbury, and there are a handful of licensed locations. Did I know that before writing this column? No. Moving on!
Vampire Penguin is one of the strangest, most intriguing desserts I've ever experienced. They call it "shaved snow," and I suppose that's accurate; it's a mashup of shave ice, a snow cone, and frozen yogurt(ish). For starters, the texture is lighter than fresh powder and so creamy that it's confusing. It's ice that doesn't feel like ice — whipped ice? Is that a thing?
The flavors are intense without being overly sweet. I had the Tiramisnow, a coffee and vanilla "snow" lightly drizzled with condensed milk and a hardening chocolate candy shell, chocolate cookie crumbles, whipped cream, and espresso dust. Y'all, I cannot overstate how light and airy this dessert is, and somehow it hits the sweet treat mark. The most incredible thing, though, was how my children reacted: they did not turn into sugar monsters! It's a mystery that will probably forever defy science and reason.
New @PJMedia_com column coming in hot! Good thing this dessert is frozen! 🥁
— Ashley McCully (@AshleyLMcCully) August 31, 2026
(I’ll see myself out) pic.twitter.com/ehZy5UokXA
I would be lying if I said I was not intrigued by the idea of applying for a license and opening a shop in my neck of the woods. What's holding me back? The fact that it's called Vampire Penguin. Like, seriously, can I do a DBA?
Do Not Miss — Granbury City Beach Park
After my kids and I were blown away by the bizarre frozen treat, we headed to a white sand beach 300 miles from the coast. Lake Granbury is part of the Brazos River, which starts in eastern New Mexico, flows across Texas and into the Gulf of America. In 2008, the city trucked hundreds of tons of white sand from South Padre Island to make a beach right off the historic town center. The only thing special about the lake water is that it is bathtub warm. The swimming area is four feet deep and free of waves, just little ripples from the boats that pass 200 yards away. The reviews online point out the lesser qualities of lake water (mostly the smell), and this is a safe place, so I don't mind mentioning it — it is certainly not egregious enough to not go, that's for sure.
Hundreds of tons of South Padre island sand trucked to Lake Granbury. Texas is so cool 😎 pic.twitter.com/wfiLkTmhG3
— Ashley McCully (@AshleyLMcCully) August 31, 2026
We built sand castles, played volleyball, and dug holes. There's a splash pad between the free parking lot and the beach that proved to be an ideal place to rinse off before getting in the car to return to our Airbnb.
Highlight of the Trip: Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
I grew up taking field trips to Fossil Rim, so it was beyond special sharing it with my kids. We bought passes online, showed the barcode to the gate at our appointed time, and set out on a four-hour drive-through safari. First tip: Go first thing in the morning when it's the coolest. The hotter the day gets, the more lethargic and hidden the animals become. By the time we got to the cheetah enclosure, the cats were already lying in the shade. After watching Cheetahs Up Close with Bertie Gregory on National Geographic at least a dozen times, my kids were over the moon to see them in real life.
My favorite, though, is the giraffe encounter. This is the one spot in the park where visitors are permitted to roll the windows down and hand-feed the animals. Each pass comes with a bag of food pellets and, yes, I saved all of mine for the giraffes. My son Hank was not keen on the enormous heads poking through the windows, but my daughter (the animal enthusiast) was downright giddy getting to pet the soft noses and admire their eyelashes that go on for days.
Core memory material at @FossilRim pic.twitter.com/ECeozHZxzm
— Ashley McCully (@AshleyLMcCully) August 31, 2026
Halfway through the park is a petting zoo and gift shop that invite guests to stretch their legs, use a wildly clean restroom, get a snack, and marvel at all of the souvenirs. Since I collect fridge magnets and coffee mugs, I selected my two items quickly, but children (not just mine) were overwhelmed by the vast array of toys, games, trinkets, and gemstones. Second tip: Set the shopping expectations early and reiterate them often. My kids could get two things, and each had to be under $20. If I had to do it again, I'd be even more specific: you can choose one toy and one non-toy. Jules got a water bottle with giraffes and flowers on it (she needed one for school anyway), and a cheetah cub stuffed animal. Hank got a four-foot-long stuffed snake and a bongo drum. Never get the bongo drum, y'all.
Third tip, download the app. As you drive through the park, you can take photos of the animals in the app, and it will identify what it is and provide you with as much information as you want. This is particularly helpful in the first half of the safari where there are all kinds of horned creatures: kudu, addax, oryx, axis deer, gazelles, antelope, and dozens of others you've never heard of. Keep in mind, this is not a zoo. This nonprofit is dedicated to captive breeding programs for indigenous and exotic endangered and threatened species. Their brand of ecotourism generates funds to support their work and raises public awareness.
Fourth and final tip: Wait for the Black Rhinoceros. When we pulled up to the covered pavilion where a rhino was lounging, most cars paused and then left because he wasn't "doing anything." Do not make this mistake, my friends. We pulled over and parked. In spite of my children's insistence that they were not missing anything by moving on, it was imperative to me that they understood how incredibly enormous this animal is.
I put on some music, turned it up to a respectable volume, and commenced something akin to a rain dance, except to coax the animal to stand up. Sure enough, after 15 minutes, the horned beast stood up and, like a cat, circled a few times before plopping back down into the dirt. Hank and his sister Jules lost their minds. They've never seen anything so gargantuan so close. It was Spanish-language soccer goal level of excitement.
Dinosaur World: The Hoodwink I Didn't Know We Needed
Glen Rose (less than an hour south of Granbury) is the Dinosaur Capital of Texas. This part of the state is home to fossilized footprints in the muddy beach of an ancient ocean. Much like the rhino, I wanted the children to see how big sauropods (what we would know as Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus) really were, and the best place to do this is Dinosaur Valley State Park.
We checked out of the Airbnb later than I'd wanted (but the kids were zonked after hours at the beach), and it was already 95 degrees when we approached Glen Rose. This state park is rife with activities, all of which are outside. I was nervous: hydration, lunch, general heat discomfort, and a lack of convenient restrooms with a 6- and 8-year-old is a dangerous brew. As luck would have it, I pulled into a parking lot thinking it was the state park, got all of us out of the car to pay my $8 entrance fee (kids under 12 are free), and saw the sign THIS IS NOT DINOSAUR VALLEY STATE PARK next to the register.
No, no: This was Dinosaur World, a much smaller, more kitschy attraction less than a mile from the state park. Talk about a blessing in disguise!
Dinosaur World offers visitors the chance to walk among hundreds of life-sized dinosaur statues in natural environments. The best part? The walking paths are almost all in the shade, AND there are misting tubes to help stay cool. We were through the site in under two hours, and that's with a good twenty minutes spent feeding the most savage koi fish I've ever seen.
I have never seen anything like this. 😳 pic.twitter.com/1vLSIK5yBd
— Ashley McCully (@AshleyLMcCully) August 31, 2026
We only got to spend two nights in Granbury, but we will most assuredly return. Yes, Dallas-Fort Worth is amazing, and there are countless things to do with littles, but I do hope y'all will consider a side trip down to Granbury and Glen Rose. Where should I explore next, Wilmington or Raleigh? Let me know in the comments!
Authors's Note: United States Secretary of Agriculture (and my former boss at Texas Public Policy Foundation) Brooke Rollins is from Glen Rose, Texas!
Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off the membership that not only gets you on The Front Porch, but full access across our entire family of sites.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member