We went into Dallas!

As much as I detest big cities, seeing as to how we're in Dallas/Ft. Worth, we thought (and Kristi kept bugging us) we really should go see part of Dallas. So we headed to the "Historic" district. And here we are, the corner of Houston and Elm. This must be Dealey Plaza, where John Kennedy we shot and killed. The "X" you can see on the road was the "Head Shot" that killed Kennedy. Further up the picture (you might see it on a blown up picture) is the "X" that was the "Throat Shot" that hit Kennedy and Connally. If you look at the building in the picture, that is the book depository from which Oswald did his shooting. The highest rectangular window (below the rounded top window) on the right hand side of the picture is where Lee Harvey Oswald fired from.

Having been alive during this historic event, it was kinda eerie (moving) to actually be at this place. The conspiracy theory surrounding the Kennedy assassination has grown into a cottage industry. Everywhere you walked in Dealey plaza there was somebody trying to sell you something to promote the idea that the assassination and subsequent inquiry was a conspiracy to hide the truth. I dunno!

The Historic West End is the old part of Dallas. They have made a serious effort to preserve the buildings and feel of the area. The old Court building is beautiful and reminds me of Old City Hall in Toronto. I wonder if there's a connection. We wandered around the area for a while. It was very tight and narrow with lots of old buildings. It's actually very "Warehousy", but neat to see all the new modern buildings over the older buildings. While there I ran across this signwhich I kinda don't believe as it's permanent! Also I ran into this statue/sculpture I really don't know what it was for, but it's kinda whimsical doncha think?

All day the tv had been on about storms and tornadoes and BIG hail in the area. Nothing happened, but on the way home from Dallas we saw the weirdest cloud formations. It was very overcast and in the centre was this weird rolling patch of cloud bottoms. Local people were actually pulling over to take pictures of the clouds, so this is not a common occurance here.

I apologize for the dirty windshield, but ya gotta deal with the circumstances at the time. Anyhow, Dallas was really interesting and there's tons of other stuff I would have liked to have seen, but I HATE big cities. We're off to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas at the end of the week. That'll be our next update. Bye for now.

Dallas/Ft. Worth area

Well, here we are in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area (better known as DFW). This area is huge and encompasses several cities into one huge megametropolis. We're actually staying at a nice campground in Arlington.

We decided to go to the Ft. Worth Stockyards area.

It's not used anymore. It closed down with the last big cattle drive in the early 1980's. So rather than just rip it all down they decided to make it a tourist area. It was really interesting. Especially if you stay out of the stores. They are there for the tourists, and filled mostly with expensive (but interesting) dust collectors. They've even converted one of the old stock-pen buildings into a maze of little shops and eateries. They have a bunch of old cowboy stuff laying about to look at,like this old wagon. Mary's been looking for a pair of cowboy (girl) boots. This was not the place to go! Hand made boots (beautiful) that start around $200 and go well over $1000. Who pays over $1000 for boots? Not me, that's for sure!

They have a small herd of cattle that they round up and parade down the street everyday for the tourists. These are some serious horns! These are also some very docile cattle. They are raised and trained for this little march they do every day. It's not real, but it gives ya some idea what it must have been like when the stockyards were a going concern. They used to move thousands of cattle through here regularily. This map (which you need to enlarge to see) shows the routes they used to drive cattle in the big roundup days.

Oh, and while wondering around the Stockyards area we came upon this sign in an alley. It was just strange enough to take a picture of and mention.

Heading into Dallas tomorrow. Talk at ya's later.

Marble Falls - A beautiful park.

It's about time I updated the blog and told ya's about our week in Marble Falls. What a beautiful park. The sites were large and grassy. The park only has 50 sites. It's built on what is partially a huge slab of granite. So, when you walk around the park, one end is a huge slab of granite, with vegitation growing in the dips and hollows. The park is on lake LBJ (see the million dollar houses on the lakeshore), and is called "Sunset Point". Here's why. Very "Upscale". Man, there was a lot of money in this park. Some of the rigs and some of the toys people were hauling with them were eyecatching. All in all, a breathtaking park. While walking around the park I found what I think is a hunk of amber. Look at the size of this thing. It's definately a "Keeper".

Lake LBJ is one of a string of 5 lakes (somewhat man made). Each lake has a dam at the end. This stabilizes the water in the area, preventing flooding and helping in times of drought. As it is, some of these lakes are down from 11" to over 17". Texas is in a serious drought that has been going on for over 18 months. In the Marble Falls area, the week before we got there, they received a storm that produced 5" of rain in the area. This allowed a lifting of the fire ban for 1 day and then it was reinstated!

We went for a drive around the area to see the lakes and to check out an eagle's nest that has been under observation by the locals for almost 3 years! This nest is over 7' across. Unfortunately, the young are now able to fly, so the eagle family was not home when we went to visit. The whole "lakes" area is gorgeous. If you have oodles of money and wanna live in central Texas, this is the place to be.

We went to LBJ's ranch, but didn't take the tour due to time constriction . We just drove around a bit. We saw LBJ's whitehouse and a few of the older homes. They have a space in the middle where they used to put their beds at night to catch the breeze. It was interesting.

The ranch has been changed to be a learning centre for kids. It's a working ranch, but not a commercial enterprise any more. One of the things that they are doing is trying to breed their cattle back from the huge cattle they have now to cattle more like the size and type that Texas had back when it was first being settled. This is a present day "Longhorn". Man I wouldn't wanna argue with him on a bad day. They also had buffalo and deer all over the place.

We also drove to Fredricksburg a few times while there. What a beautiful town! Very touristy, very pricey. The area was originally settled by german folk. They've preserved a ton of their old buildings etc. There are all sorts of crafty type shops around. This was a large shop of "Preserves". You know, dips, rubs, salsas, etc. All with taste stations for everything. You could easily fill up (eat lunch) here. And, of course, Mary made a new friend!

While in Marble Falls we finally went and had some real Texas bbq. The meat is cooked in huge "pit" bbq's. and they had just about everything you could ask for. You select your meat, type and quantity, they cut it off the slabs they have cooking, then you take it inside and pay for it by weight, sit down and eat! Now that's a rib! The interior of the restaurant was very plain (cinder brick walls and picnic tables) but folks aren't going there for the atmosphere, they're there for the food!

This is Jan and Bill (and Rose and April in the stroller). Man , were these dogs in the stroller a people (chick) magnet. Bill doesn't mind waiting outside the stores while Jan shops one little bit (haha). These are the folks we went to Marble Falls to see. Great people! We had a lot of fun and it was because of Jan and Bill. Thanx a bunch guys!

Our last day there we went to the Flea market and had a great time. The girls Jan, Mary, and Carol, went in one truck and the men Bill, Rod, and Steve, in the other. Guys had popcorn and beer, ladies a nice lunch and shopped!! Needless to say the guys got home first:o) Saturday night we went to the main hall, listened to music played and sung by park folk. A good time was had by all.

We're off to Dallas/Ft. Worth next. We'll update again in the next few days.

Ok, I'll warn you now, this post is gonna be mostly pics! We found a flyer for an auto museum and decided today to go. It was about 50 miles (80k) from here and out in the middle of nowhere. Honest! We drove down secondary roads and suddenly, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing around it, there it was. And it was awesome. The best car museum I've ever been to.

All sorts of cars (some of them VERY rare, and lots of collectable auto stuff.

And here are some of the cars!An old Caddie with a V-16 engine. Very smooth, very fast and very expensive.A Tucker! They only made 51 of these cars. This is #50. Of the 51 made, 48 are still in existance!

There were a few "Custom" cars, but most were original. This is the sexiest car ever built! Some were frame-off restorations and some were completely original paint and chrome. They had everything from the very first vehicles (Stanley Steamer above) to cars from the '80s. Here's a Gull-wing Mercedes (Trudeau owned one of these). And for the wicker lovers - here's basket work to die for. Or an old 'Vette ('56 I think).

I loved this. A fuel guage for a model T Ford. Open the gas cap, stick in the guage, pull it out and read it. The KISS principal at work!

Of course, no self-respecting museum would be complete without an Edsel.

There were also a few old Harleys.

And even an old Indian

This place was fantastic. The pics I've posted here just barely scratch the surface of what they had there. Well worth the visit and I'll probably be back as the cars are changed out occasionally. All this for $5 each! I told the guy he should be charging double.