Having procured a new tow bar, we went into Cowtown, the Stockyard District, just in time to see the end of the Cattle Drive with a dozen longhorns, which is done every day, to keep the custom alive in what is no longer a working stockyard. The historic Exchange building and Colliseum are still there, and house museums and rodeos weekly. Some of the buildings have been converted to dining and shopping, which I found very clever and charming. We saw what museums we could before closing, stopped in a few stores, then had dinner at one of the original restaurants. I wish in retrospect that we had eaten at Cattleman's, which we avoided because of the bad experience in the stockyard restaurant in Oklahoma, and because we were to meet Clem's cousin for dinner at a steak place the next night. I now understand that it is pretty good, in addition to being an institution.
These guys had to literally tip their heads to get those horns into where they could get some hay!
Long horns, indeed!
Rodeo every Friday and Saturday night inside the coliseum. Inside is the Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame. The town also has a Cowgirl Hall of Fame, but it was closed by the time we got there, thanks to the tow bar!
In addition to cattle and rodeos, this arena has seen Italian Opera stars perform, heard an FDR speach, and experienced other significant moments in history. 
The old cattle buildings converted to dining and shopping, which I found pretty neat!
They don't do things small in Texas, and these giant margaritas that came with our huge plates of brisket were no exception!
These stars lined the sidewalks
This guy came up the stairs from a saloon, and I came face to face with him, and wish I had not been startled right out of some sort of action! Long hair, handlebar mustache, spurs jingling! Fantastic!! Maybe part of a show, or maybe not! But I wish I had struck up some conversation and gotten his face. A few photos from behind were all I got, but I loved it!
As the cowboy set off into the sunset, so did we, returning to our camp site in Arlington under the trees. A full day and perhaps an overload of adrenaline had left me ready to hit the hay!
No comments:
Post a Comment