The trip to the new Dino City was a bit different than other trips that Sophie and Roland had been on, partially because some differences between Dino City and Lyre/Animalia. The population explosion with Animalia's birth and acceptance in Lyre, combined with a few of the major land owners and residents in what became Animalia, like Abby, were caught and transformed in the initial outbreak, allowed for Animalia and Lyre to grow and build in the local area to best adapt to their needs. That allowed for many of the various features that Lyre and Animalia could work with regarding the IAC.
There was room for the Claw Coliseum where many of the combat sports would be held along with at least some of the swimming events that would be at Lyre/Animalia, Sophie wasn't fully sure as to whether or not the indoor pools that were part of the Coliseum would be the focus for swimming events, at least for all fish Animalians that could breathe fresh water, or whether or not some of those would be moved to some of the outdoor pools and areas. Shew knew that Abby's race was outdoors and needed an outdoor pool for it, but she was not sure if some things like the synchronized swimming displays added to this year's IAC would use the same pool. Regardless of which, Lyre had been remote and small enough that when Animalia began and grew, there was the room to build locally.
Dino City didn't have that. While there was a fair amount of open area around it that Sophie and Roland could see from the back row of seats of a rented mini van with Sophie's parents in the front seats and Roland's parents in the middle row of seats, there were also a fair number of small towns and private ranches that were in the area. Which made some sense. Glen Rose, Texas was less than one hundred miles from the massive metropolitan area that was Dallas-Fort Worth. And from some things that Sophie had found out when asking some questions with those Dinotopians that were planning to move to Dino City and had some knowledge on its developments, Horizon's efforts in Glen Rose and the region had run into a fair amount of local opposition from people that while they may not have had anything against Animalians personally, they didn't want to give up their land and move to make room for the construction of a new colony. This had lead to some various negotiations that essentially would allow those residents to keep their homes where they were and be welcome as citizens of the colony, even if they never became Dinotopians. From what Sophie had heard, it did work out.
However, even the successful negotiations had meant that Dino City wouldn't have the room to build up an airport or some of the larger amenities that Lyre/Animalia had. This in turn meant that coming down to tour the city and provide some shots for it had meant a flight to the airport in Dallas/Fort Worth, which had gotten a terminal arranged for the specialized aircraft build for Dinotopians that were there along with arranged taxis. Though the Albers and Luwrie families chose to rent a mini-van for the duration of the visit while JC and Pauline agreed to house sit back in Lyre. Sophie sat along and marveled at some of the topography as it went by as they rode along. There were a fair amount of trees and open plain between towns in places, and some of which looked rather natural and that left Sophie reasonably curious on how the new colony would look. She was told that the design would carry a sort of "Flintstones" sort of feel to them, but not quite, but that was about it and that was what most intrigued her.
"This "city" must be quite a site when compared with other Animalian colonies, I'm sure," Mr. Luwrie commented.
"Probably more due to the scale and size issue," Sophie answered, "Rex, Tyra, Heather, and Jeremy can do fairly well in Lyre and Animalia, but they're still about as tall as the Giraffe Animalians, and thus need to really duck down in buildings for humans and might still be "cramped" in some of the buildings for larger Animalians that are already there. Luke and Marjorie... Andrew and Jen... they're all even taller than that, which means they'd really need things scaled up to their size."
Nothing was said in reply, but Sophie thought she heard her mother and Roland's mother both "hhhmmmmm" at the mention of Luke and Andrew, the two male Sauropod Dinotopians. Though she put that out of her mind for the moment and simply looked out the car window as the Texas scenery went by. After all, their parents had offered to help work the cameras for Sophie and Roland and had stated they'd worked up vacation hours to use, so they were willing for the adventure.
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As they arrived in the area, the sight of Dino City came into view well before they actually got there. It was actually the tower that they could see first, which said something as many of the other buildings were far taller than what was in Lyre/Animalia. It was all massive in scale, but the tower that was listed on the map towered above them all, and that made it impressive. As they came in closer and drove through the town of Glen Rose they could all see some more details on the town. Here, Mr. Albers followed the directions written for him that took them up to what was Dino City's City Hall that was along US Highway 67. It was in a speed zone that started as they came into Glen Rose and continued into Dino City as well.
"Well... it would seem like they've done a lot to make things close," Mrs. Luwrie commented, "Like Lyre and Animalia."
"I think that was a part of the base plan was to see to it that Dino City functions to Glen Rose and Dinosaur Valley State Park in the same way that Animalia and Lyre are partnered," Roland told his father as they parked and they got out.
The glanced up to the two flag poles that were in front of the building before them. One had the US flag and the other had Texas's flag. The building itself was simple construct in a simple shape. It cared a relatively dull grayish-white color and the group could see that there were some blinds drawn with the various windows and with a large flat roof. A lot of it looked very much like it would look like rock that had been layed out as though it was truly combing the stone age with other main concepts. Though the thing that was the most telling was again the massive scale of the building. Two mechanical doors stood before them that stood tall and towered over even some of the doorways in Animalia for the larger Animalians. Above it and looking like it was carved into the exterior was the words "Dino City Hall," and in a way that was in all straight lines, as though the art of carving existed but a curved line hadn't been figured out yet. Though this was also likely a style choice as Sophie also thought the carving looked like it had been done mechanically and not by hand.
"Impressive," Mrs. Albers said as the doorway slid open as they went in through the doors as they slid open, "one could feel tiny here..."
"Probably to suit the scale of the Sauropod Dinotopians," Mrs. Luwrie commented as they entered to find both Rex and an unknown man standing beside him in sort of large office entry area. Around them were a few open windows that had the standard sort of office labels that would be used for a city administration. One was even an area that was set aside for Texas State offices for things like license plates and even things like voter registration and transfer. Sophie even noted laminated poster under that window showing when the specific State/County offices would come to Dino City. As the two families approached Rex and the man beside him, they could hear the steady hum of an air conditioner running at near full strength.
"Welcome to Dino City," Rex spoke as they finally got closer, "I hope things went well."
"The flight wasn't too bad," Mr. Luwrie answered, "the drive was a bit long... but a lot of the country side did look nice in some places once we got out of the Dallas/Fort Worth area."
"Yeah that place is a mess," the man beside Rex spoke, "William Tarr, I have a little trailer in the area ya'll are calling "Little Mammalia." Once everything was set up and Horizon and Animalia assured the folks that lived in this area outside of Glen Rose wouldn't be forced out, we had ourselves a sorta special election for City Offices and until next year, I'll be Dino City's Mayor."
"What would happen next year?" Mr. Luwrie wondered, "wouldn't the term for a Mayor be a bit longer than a year?"
"That may depend on the city," Rex spoke, "From what I was told, much of the arrangement was to make sure Dino City had a functioning "city administration" to handle things like a police force and so on. So that way were weren't combining a move and then chaos of trying to establish a government. For the moment it'll mean that Dino City is actually governed by a small number of resident humans, next year, actual elections will be held for all the offices and will function much like Glen Rose does."
"The hope bein' that people move in to be Dinotopians," William Tarr spoke, "Might make me feel a bit small... but if they prove to be as smart as Doctor Rex here and the agreement he has to provide lectures and demonstrations over at the state park, it might work."
"Ramos, sir," Rex spoke, "Rex is my first name. My last name is Ramos. My family is Hispanic, but has been in Texas long before Stephen Austin and Sam Houston lead the Texas Revolution."
William Tarr nodded, "they tell me you're here for a tour?"
"An official one to show off the sights and sounds of the new colony city," Sophie spoke up, "it'll work with Animalia Ambassadoria and might further help leading to more people that might gain interest in coming here and joining Dino City."
"We would like to stop with the hotel first..." Mr. Albers spoke, "the full tour could be handled tomorrow."
"That would be at Skybax Heights," Rex commented, "It should be the big tower you probably saw on your way in."
"It sort of looked like the Space Needle in Seattle combined with something from the Jetsons," Mrs. Ablers commented.
"But made out of... whatever it is that looks like the outside of the City Hall here is made of," Mr. Luwrie added. "It looks like stone..."
"It's actually a specialized kind of plaster/cement mix," Rex commented, "strong enough and durable enough to hold weight and keep out everything but a direct hit from a tornado, but light enough that won't be difficult to repair should it be damaged or be unable to fully work with. Many of the new buildings that Dino City has been made with uses it. There are some small houses and outbuildings here and there that were part of some of the "out of town" residences to Glen Rose that have the more human design elements to them... And the Dino Doom... which serves as our counterpart to the Claw Coliseum looks more like it was built with metal and glass. It's actually something that might be interesting to see."
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There were a few more minor welcomes to the city that occurred at Dino City's City Hall and Mr. Albers and Mr. Luwrie were both handed maps that had some of the key sites to see for Dino City. From there it was short drive that took them to the Skybax Heights building. They'd seen it on their way in, but as they got closer, there was a sense of impressiveness that not even the other buildings in Dino City had. It towered over all the other buildings and carried a sort of feel that mirrored some of the big skyscrapers in bigger cities like New York, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth.
It still had the sort of "Neolithic" design to it, but it still rose up high into the air, like a tall vertical pillar with a top that was round and circular but had a circumference that was much wider than the pillar it stat on. There were metal support braces at the base that pushed out into a garden and picnic area that actually surrounded the building as well as metal braces that also helped join the top structure onto the pillar. Sophie also thought she could see railings with gates on that top level, which she guessed was something that was added in for all Pterosaur residents that were expected to live in those upper levels. It was a bit odd, perhaps, as Sophie and Roland both knew that many Pterosaurs were probably more than capable of taking off from the ground, but then some of the apartments that were built for birds in Animalia had some of the same features in that the bird Animalians could leap from a balcony and fly to various points in Animalia.
But still, the big thing was its height and size. The doors were a bit shorter than at city hall, about the same height as the Giraffe Animalians in Animalia. Sophie guessed that related to what the building was built for, to function as a hotel for visitors to the city that might come to visit and as an apartment building for Pterosaur Dinotopians. And there, they might have to accommodate the Pterosaur Dinotopians that were based off of Quetzalcoatlus, one of, if not the, largest Pterosaur to ever live. Some of the floor dimensions seemed to fit that, even as the Albers and Luwrie families made their way in. As they came in they were surprised to find Arcelia manning the front desk there.
"Arcelia... what are you doing here?" Roland came forward with some surprise.
"Seeking new challenges and seeking to spread Animalia's charm," Arcelia smiled, "Something that will be needed."
"I thought Horizon still had some tests and things they wanted to run?" Mr. Luwrie answered.
"No, once Project Newrad was completed and Dr. Ramos was fully confident that the Animalia Virus could be uplift/convert animals into their ancestral relatives and all my tests came back as "stable," Horizon had no real need for me there, "and since Horizon will be moving the main part of their Project Mesozoic facilities here... along with some of their workers and staff... any genetic and tests they may need will be handled here. Not to mention some shows presentations and things over at the park They have some nice attractions there and between combined efforts from the Glen Rose City government, the Texas state government, and Horizon they've also arranged for all sorts of programs that would let us Dinotopians provide some shared knowledge on various Dinosaurs. Dr. Ramos has even agreed with ideas that if he ever gets a dig and bones from some other site... that if he could get legal possession of them they would be brought here for analysis and possible inclusion with some of the Park's displays."
"Makes sense," Mr. Albers commented, "many people seem to love Dinosaurs... even still. Though, if it all moves down here... what will happen in Lyre?"
"Doctor Stein will probably keep some of the more popular Dinosaur samples in Horizon's Lyre lab/facility, just to make sure that "Texas Horizon" won't get overwhelmed over requests and establishing an actual medical clinic here," Arcelia answered, "but with some of the rarer specimens or those that are new or less popular... that will be here at Dr. Green's management... Though he isn't here, yet."
"Heather and his sister are in a couple of for the IAC that haven't happened yet... we only just had the official opening a day or so ago," Sophie answered, "from there... I think there will be some last minute things that would relate to seeing that the house that he, Heather, Tyra, and Rex have been sharing is opened up for sale."
"I think Heather will be glad that they won't all be in the same house down here," Roland commented, "She and Tyra get along well enough... and I think they really do love each other, though I think she still sees Tyra as her Grandmother and as an elderly woman... and not the outgoing and very... excited Dinotopian she's become."
"And Tyra wants to treat Heather more as a sister or best friend, sometimes," Sophie commented, "She'll still be fierce and disciplinary when Heather either grumbles too much... or drinks a whole bunch on Tyra's charge...but there is still the sort of sister/sister vibe that Tyra seems to give off at times."
"Maybe..." Arcelia commented, "though, she and Rex won't have their wedding until after Heather and Jeremy arrive."
"Anyway... we've had a long journey and crossed at least one time zone," Mr. Albers commented, "can we get a pair of rooms please?"
"Of course," Arcelia nodded, "we do have a breakfast nook to your right and we have a central elevator."
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The tour itself went quite well the next day. Rex arrived at the hotel and they started with a bit of a walking tour looking at many of the sights that worked with the colony town with Dinosaur Valley State Park to its north and Glen Rose to its east. There was a school system built, largely around the same general idea as WSA, but it was stated that for the moment between there being no Dinotopian children, outside of Jake, Beatrix, May, and Tyrone and the fact that many things were still "new," the building was built along the lines of there being expected need for a school in Dino City specifically. At the same time, establishing a school board and district leadership was also being decided. For the most part it was expected that the potential students that lived on out of town routes that were now part of Dino City would still open enroll at Glen Rose until things were sorted out.
Dino City also had its own nightclub, "Saurian Desires" being run by Andrew and Jen. It was a bit different from the Meat Market in that outright nudity in the club was at least presently illegal under some zoning law, but things that were risqué seemed to be okay and that was what the two Brachiosaur Dinotopians seemed to aim to, as more of a club scene than the Meat Market, though that wasn't the biggest thing. The biggest building in Dino City was the Dino Dome, a large circular, white building with its top portion being a large glass dome with strong metal supports. The glass was supposed to be incredibly strong and was several inches thick, largely to protect against hail damage.
Inside was its own exercise and gym facility with specially ordered treadmills, weights, and other pieces of equipment. Some were built to human standards while others were more for Dinotopian sizes... and by that, large Dinotopian sizes. Even as a Dinotopian, while Sophie knew that certain aspects of her body were bigger than they would be if she hadn't converted, Pterodactylus was still a smaller sized Pterosaur and she and Roland were about as tall as their parents and their weights were fairly close as well. Most of where there were differences had to do with their wings. There was only Olympic sized pool. The biggest part of the Dino Dome, though, was the main arena area in the center of the building. It was presently set up for soccer with a long track around its outer edge. There were some other offices for some of the other training purposes, though Sophie and Roland both knew that the main fights that would be done once Mesozoic Fight Club was truly ready were still scheduled for the Claw Coliseum.
The group was a bit tired after all the marching and pausing for some filming to show sights of the major colony buildings and what was hoped to be major attractions, but things weren't too bad. And eventually, Sophie and Roland moved to conclude the tour with more of an aerial shot of the colony. Here, some of the hot Texas sun actually helped them a bit, as they got the added lift needed to get into the air and could glide a bit more than they normally needed to. It was easy and let Sophie and Roland think over a few things.
"So what do you think?" Roland has his bond-mate.
"It's actually rather good," Sophie commented, "Some of the homes for people that already lived on the land in "Little Mammalia" stick out a bit when compared to the largely Neolithic design that many of the other homes and buildings... but with some of the interactions we've seen between those that were here before the colony's establishment and the newly arrived Dinotopians... things have looked good."
"What would you think about settling down here... after college and all that," Roland commented, "as I think both of our parents would want us to go to college."
Sophie nodded and thought for a moment. She knew she'd wanted to be with Roland for the rest of her life. That was old news to her, but beyond that she hadn't gotten that much time to think. They'd just finished their Junior year and come fall as their Senior year started, she, Abby, Sarah, Malice, JC, Pauline, Jessica, Roger, Roland, Samson, and Travis would have to think on where to go for college. Where they would go from there. Malice might go through college on a general graduate's course list and then enter the police academy, or follow a path that mirrored Simon's, attend the academy and then enter a sort of long term training program. Abby seemed dedicated to her family's farm, in ways that was even firmer than it was before. That would mean that she and likely Samson would need a good ag school, particularly if they extended the Brown Farm as it was or started a new farm with a new crop.
That left Sophie wondering on what she would do long term. A part of her liked what she did with Animalia Ambassadoria in providing a voice for Animalians and their acceptance. If Dino City worked out well, she figured she might be able to continue doing that. Provide away for Dino City to further sell and show that Animalians were a force for the greater good and that all sides could work together. A part of her even wondered about the possibility of public service, but still, she wasn't fully sure on what to do.
"I don't really know for sure," Sophie admitted after a moment, "a part of me actually doesn't mind the idea. Particularly as I know that JC and Pauline will leave after college... but..."
She ended up sniffling a bit at the end.
"I'll always be with you," Roland assured her. To which Sophie smiled.