FORTH WORTH STOCKYARDS

Nov 24th

When you think of Dallas, you think of oil, when you think of Forth Worth, it's cattle.  Sharon and Gary took us to the Stockyards, the historical part of Forth Worth.  They picked us up, so we didn't have to tackle the traffic again. Denny was VERY  happy about that. 

They still have the streets of brick

For the tourists: cattle drive thru the streets everyday

Christmas decorations, Texas style

 Had to get  on. When I first saw this cow, I thought it was fake. NO, it was very real and MOVING. Couldn't get Denny to get on

 Stockyard museum. Closest I could Denny to a saddle

1800's stove. 

1924 stove. can't imagine using either one. Glad times have changed

1st cousin, Sharon and her husband Gary. Great tour guides

Went to a  Barbecue restaurant. Never  have seen a roll of paper towels for napkins and large jar of jalapeno peppers on table. Pretty typical in Texas. You order the meat by the pound.  You just get a slab of beef or pork on your plate. It comes with pinto beans, but all other sides are separate.  Very different experience. 

After the stockyards, they drove around to show us the area. Back to Arlington to see the stadiums.  Arlington is between Dallas and Forth Worth.
  

Dallas Cowboy stadium, nickname: Jimmy's world. It is huge. It costs $75 to park there for a game. Tickets average $350.  

Close up of workers on roof. I don't think I would get up there.

Workers from a distance. They look like ants

Texas Rangers stadium.  Built to look old. I like that better

6TH FLOOR MUSEUM AT DEALEY PLAZA

Nov 23rd

the 6th floor museum is the old Texas Depository building that Lee Harvey Oswald  was in to shoot President Kennedy. He was on the 6th floor.  Dealey Plaza is the Grassy Knoll where alot of people think they heard more shots coming from.  There are all sorts of conspiracy theories but nothing ever proved.  It was very interesting. Everyone had headphones for an audio tour. When you came to a display, you clicked on the number and  it told all about it. Pictures weren't allowed. We saw  the window that Oswald stood with packing boxes all around to hide him.  Looked out at his view.  

The day before we went was the 51st anniversary. 

Grassy Knoll

Wanted to show where the grassy knoll is in relation to the building. Grassy Knoll is  left, building on right

Room is the on the far right, 2nd from top. 

Close up of room, notice the boxes at the window

 Old Dallas

New Dallas, quite the contrast. I took both of these pictures from the grassy knoll, just looking in 2 different directions.  Sharon said that the tell skinny building is a resturant

Driving into Dallas on our own was quite the experience.  Freeways crisscrossing on top of each other. Missed our last turn so went back on freeway.  Luckily the Garmin came thru but nerve wracking to get lost in the city. So glad we were there on a Sunday.  It was an experience that we hope never to do again!

TEXAS, OUR 12th STATE

Nov 23rd

We have been gone 3 months yesterday.  Sometimes it seems like a long time, other times not at all.  We have been to 12 states, visiting and sightseeing in 11. The only one we drove thru was Arkansas.  We had a time frame so we couldn't stop,  maybe another time.  We have traveled 7828 miles. That is alot of diesel when you only get 9 miles to the gal. We paid the cheapest diesel in Memphis at $3.19 per gal. Our most expensive was in  Medora, North Dakota at $3.99. We came to visit my 2 first cousins and their husbands. Sharon and Gary live in Plano,  25 miles east. Carla and Dan live in Southlake, 10 miles to the west.  The Dallas/Fort Worth area is huge.  Between those 2 cities there is almost 2 million people. The Metroplex is what they call all the surrounding cities. So close that you don't know what city unless you see a sign. The Metroplex area has 6.5 million people and we are right in the middle.  We don't usually like to go to big cities, but nothing  is really close.  This is one of our favorite campgrounds. We were here in 1996.  Expensive, but beautiful.  The Metroplex has been in a drought for many years. They can only water their lawns twice a month

View from our campsite

View of campground

Map of states when we started

Filling in our 8th state on this trip that we had never been to. I doubt if we will ever get to the remaining 2 states,  South Carolina and West Virginia. I can't figure out how we missed those states when we went all over the U.S. in 1996

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

Nov 17th

One of the places  I really wanted to see was the National Civil Rights Museum.  I'm so glad we went. We have seen alot of museums on our travels, but this  is the most well done and  thought provoking that we have ever seen.  There is so much to see and take in,  that it is mind boggling. I got teary eyed several times. It is located at the Lorraine Motel, the site where Martin Luther King was assassinated.  You start in the modern building next to the motel and  it ends  actually looking into the room of Martin Luther King.  Felt very strange  looking into his room. The other part of the museum is across the street in the boarding house where James Earl Ray stayed.

This was taken from the  bathroom window where James Earl Ray stood.    His  room and  bathroom at the boarding house were on display.   The wreath is where martin Luther King stood when he was assinated.   Also felt   strange  to be at the window.

Original sign of the motel

Wreath is  right in front of his room, exactly where Martin Luther  King was standing when he was killed

Hard to imagine

Statue of typical sale of slave woman and child. Sometimes they didn't have clothes on so the owner could see what he was getting

 Hold of slave ship, hard to imagine

Rosa Parks on the bus she rode when she wouldn't give up her seat

One of the lunch counters where they had their sit in's.  The 3 on the left were white,  3 on the right were black.

 Burned  bus of the Freedom Riders

 Equality has come along way, but still has far to go.  Just think of what's going on in  Ferguson, MO.   We visited my cousin, Lois, in IL.  She has  been a teacher in  Ferguson for 27 years. It was interesting to get a point of view from someone who has been there  from the beginning.


Unfortunately you still see this in the south.  This trailer was at our park in Memphis.  When we toured the south extensively in 1996, we saw  alot of rebel flags.

MEMPHIS, TENNESEE

Nov 15 -16th

Came to Memphis to visit my cousin, Nancy and her husband, Tim.  They have lived here 22 years. Saturday  they took us on a tour all over Memphis. Nice to have locals show us the sights, everywhere from the waterfront, to Beale Street, the birthplace of rock n' roll and the blues, to an Asian/ Jewish Museum.

Waterfront- Statue of Tom Lee.   In 1925 he was in his fishing boat. He saw a ship capsize. Even tho he couldn't swim he rescued 35 people, taking a few at a time to shore and  then back to the ship. Even tho he was black, he didn't hesitate at all to rescue those white people. being 1925, I doubt it.  I wonder if the tables were  turned  would that have happened.  They built a sculpture to honor him.

 Nancy and Tim, my first cousins

Statue, Amazing details

It was  very cold

Beale Street, the birthplace of rock n' roll and the blues. A must see in Memphis

2nd best  place to eat in Memphis, according to Tim

best place to eat in Memphis, bar none, according to Tim

General store has been open over 100 years

Inside store, original counter

Nancy and Tim took us to one of the hidden treasures of Memphis, an Asian/Jewish museum. Strange combination.  Beautiful pieces

Jade Examples

Ivory, amazing details

Close up of the picture above

Rosewood bed made in 1644