This was our third year to ride the Polar Express in Palestine. We always go after Christmas because the weeks leading up to Christmas are jam-packed! This time, when we left Houston it was a balmy 75 degrees. We hit the rest stop on 59 (with a train bell to ring!) and about 10 minutes later, the rain came and the temperatures dropped 30 degrees!
We like to explore East Texas on the way to Palestine, and this year, we visited Caddo Mounds State Historic Site near Alto. The visitors center/museum was just completed this fall and was the perfect hands-on spot to learn about the Caddo Indians.
The Caddo Indians built two temple mounds, a burial mound and a village here more than 1200 years ago. The site is roughly contemporaneous to Mesa Verde, which was interesting for all of us.
It was cold when we explored, but fortunately the rain stopped while we were outside!
Caddo Mounds State Historic Site is definitely worth a visit if you are in the Palestine area!
When we got to Palestine, our rooms weren't quite ready, so the boys had hot cocoa and decorated sweet treats in the lobby.
We booked the 5pm train ride, which is the perfect time because it is light outside when you arrive but dark on the train ride back.
All aboard!
This year, we decided to upgrade our seats to the Lone Star class, which meant we got fancier cookies, keepsake mugs, and best-of-all, a reserved table! The table alone is worth the extra price simply because you don't have to juggle cookies and drinks.
Santa signed our book this year!
Riding the Polar Express is one of my favorite holiday traditions. I love the train, the Christmas songs, reading the story and watching my kids' faces light up with joy and excitement. The Polar Express is a lovely, magical Christmas experience and one we all look forward to each year.
We had grand plans to stay in Palestine two nights and spend time exploring some of East Texas's beautiful parks and historic sites, but we woke up to rain and 34 degree temperatures. We eventually packed up and headed back to Houston. We did manage to stop at the Rusk Depot (the train runs between Palestine and Rusk and we had never been to the Rusk Depot before). It was very cold but only drizzling and we all needed to get out and stretch our legs a bit. The park is beautiful and we all decided it would be fun to visit again in better weather.
Til next year!
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