KIDS RIDE FREE: Take an end of summer vacation with the 
family that won't break the bank ... we'll tell you how on 
Passport to Texas ... 
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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Escalating gas prices could cut into your end of summer 
vacation plans; after all, if most of your cash goes toward 
fuel, what's left over for activities?

This isn't a problem when you bring the family to the 
Texas State Railroad State Park; it's where kids ride free. 
 
"What we're doing ... for every paying adult, they can bring up to 
five children twelve and under."

Marks Price is park superintendent. He says children of 
all ages get a kick out of riding the park's vintage steam 
trains through the lush landscape of east Texas, or 
simply enjoying the park's amenities.
 
"We have two beautiful train stations where you can have picnics, 
we have paddleboats, and a fifteen acre lake on the Rusk end. 
We have a theater presentation to see how steam trains actually 
operate. We have a train in Palestine, which is one of the largest 
steam trains in the nation, and it's not operational, but we do 
guided tours on it. So, we have a lot of fun things to do there at 
the railroad."
 
The Kids Ride Free program has a way of brining 
generations together.

"Kids ride free has attracted so many grandparents that come, and 
bring their grandkids, and can sit there on these old steam trains, and 
be able to talk about what life was like when they were their grandkid's 
age."

It's interactive history that's on track. For more about 
Kids ride Free at the Texas State Railroad SP log onto the 
TPWD website. 

That's our show for today ... For Texas Parks and 
Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.