16/5/17

So early start today as we drove the 200+ miles from Austin up to Dallas/ Fort Worth. Turned out to be both a quick and pain free drive up to Fort Worth! We were all pleasantly surprised when we rolled into Fort Worth just after midday. As I said a pain free drive up to Fort Worth- little traffic, great roads and a high speed limit. Country-side was fairly similar—small rolling hills/ flat plain like area all covered with small brushy shrubs. Very good goat country would be my view—apparently is also great cattle country! Actually, the closer we got to Fort Worth the more grass land could be seen.

Fort Worth is the second of the twin cities. They are separate cities that have grown together over the years to create one big metropolis linked by big freeways + believe it or not… a train line! Anyways so we arrived in Fort Worth and headed straight for the Stock Yards. The stock yards were built at the beginning of the 20^th C to house the great cattle and horse drives that were occurring across Texas. The buyers would all come congregate to buy their cows etc. The height of the stock yards was during the first world war when there were terrific numbers of horses and mules purchased to support the war effort.

Today it is a tourist attraction- main attraction being the daily long horn cattle drive down main street.. More about that later. .

On arrival, we headed into main street and straight to the tourist info to grab a map and hear about what we can see.. Cowboy hall of fame, Rodeo hall of fame, Billy Bob’s Texas (this huge shed that houses the worlds biggest Honky Tonk) and plenty of shops selling tacky souvenirs. Reminded me a lot of the Easter Show…

Or at least the Easter Show that has no one attending.

Seriously, ‘twas empty! Definitely could swing multiple cats in this here part of town!!! So we wandered around the ghost town that is the stockyards looking at tacky souvenirs, old dusty pictures of past bronco riders + did a wander through Billy Bobs checking out the 40+ bars that were all closed (1 was open to the five people wandering around the echoing barn).. Billy Bobs totally reminded me of a casino with no slot machines, a trillion tables and chairs + no people! Dark as pitch (zero natural light), Plenty ‘o neon, plenty ‘o beer taps, plenty ‘o chairs + only the floor cleaner to be seen. Hilarious! (And we bothered to pay a $2 entry fee… More fool us!!!) I can only imagine what the place is like on a Fri or Sat.. It can sit over 6000 people and does have its own bull riding ring! Would be something to see!!

So all in all the stockyards was pretty disappointing.. All of us had been looking forward to it and all of us felt the same way… excepting lunch.

Today is the day that we had Texan BBQ. It was not what I expected… I was expecting sticky pork ribs that you need a bib to keep you clean… Nothing like that! It was a pit BBQ meaning this huge rectangle, chest height, made out of bricks, lidded, filled with coals and different cuts of beef (+ chicken + pork) all carefully covered in rubs of salt, pepper and other seasoning . You turn up- tell them what you want (and how much) and he carves it off the bone or off the haunch. I ordered a piece of brisket + a beef rib (neither of which I have ever had)… You then take the meat to the weigher and you pay by the weight of the meat, choose your sides (potato salad, coleslaw etc) + then tuck on in…. It was amazing. The beef brisket was SOOOOO good. Very fatty (I ended up leaving a good portion of fat on the plate) but so juicy and melt in your mouth. I am now officially a Texan BBQ convert (not recommended for vegetarians!)

Our stockyard visit came to an end with us seeing the cattle drive down main street. A big anti-climax (and no, after our wander around the stock yards, we weren’t surprised).. 12ish long horns all walking placidly down the main street with a few riders keeping them in line. Hmmmm.. yes, it is the only daily cattle drive in the world but holy moley I did grow up on a farm….. So before I close off on the stockyards I will say that I can imagine this place is a totally different ball game if you come on a Friday or a Saturday.. Not only is Billy Bob’s awake but the Cow-town Coliseum (yep, that is actually the name of the building-  call 888-cowtown for your reservations (I’m tempted to call just to hear the cheesy hold music) – is open where you can book seats to see weekly rodeos (bronco + bull riding, roping, barrel racing etc)… We were all disappointed that we were there earlier in the week and couldn’t see the stockyards at their finest. Note to self, go to Fort Worth on a weekend not during the week.

By the time we finally left the stockyards it was peak hour and it did take us nearly an hour to get to our hotel.. Evening was action packed- washing, hot tubbing, drinking wine + nibbles!! Tomorrow- Conspiracy Central—JFK and Dealey Plaza!!