Yorkshire, Geordie and Welsh Cowboys

 

Early check out was our plan so the alarm went off at 6.30 for sunrise, and we had to do a bit of packing and preparation for a busy 'ol day.  Very much back into the fast lane after a quieter one yesterday, and we were breakfasting on the balcony of the steak house by 8.30, a light one, pancakes, bacon, syrup, and fruit, don't forget the fruit.

We then took our jeep across to the other side of the ranch where they had their stables, whilst the roads a little worn, we are not talking complete wilderness, but wouldn't have wanted to be navigating them in my Audi.  Parked up and checked in with the rangers, the welcoming committee including a donkey, keeps the horses chill I guess, also seemed to mellow out Chrissi who had a declared phobia of horses dating back to some incident when she was 11. I've had some interesting encounters with horses whether its up the Neath valley, Lake District or hanging on when galloping past the pyramids ( I kid you not) but this looked to be a far more leisurely walk.

They even had steps to get onto our steeds, mine called Ringo (disappointed the others weren't Paul, George and John) and Chrissis called Ted. We sauntered out into the scrub and bushland, some fairly worn tracks, pretty sure the horses were on auto pilot, as my efforts to control were ignored but he kept going broadly in the right direction. So Ringo was the boss for sure.  Ted also played ball and apart from one little skip down a steeper path I think did enough to put the phobia to bed.

Our lead ranger provided some interesting pointers, and kept his (and by definition our) horses under control when we stumbled across a family of hogs that really wound the horses up, and then went sprinting off into the undergrowth. A couple of little uns sqealing in that family. That the only real wildlife we encountered although those buzzards still circiling menacingly.  A Mountain Lion had been spotted locally, had killed a pig in someones back garden in a nearby settlement, but I'm assured they don't bother too much with humans.

The high point of the ride was climbing up above the Brazos river, the 3rd longest river in Texas, now flowing out to the Gulf of Mexico / America (delete as appropriate) Our Ranger also introduced us to a beetle that lives on the side of cacti that created a decent bit of dye, popular with the Native Amercians.  All in all a coole experience, the other 2 people in our party all dresssed in denim, with cowboy hats, boots and a massirve ute the size of a truck came over and introduced themselves to us at the end of the ride. Turns out they are from Manchester. (the north)

So it was farewell to the Wildcatter and hellp to the open road and retracing our path toward Forthworth. A friend of my mums moved out here in 1972 and very much the native now, I guess she won't have any trouble from ICE by now.  But we did have a good few chats over the course of the day about the current fragility across the US politically. She lives in a lovely riverside gated settlement on the outskirts of Fortworth and hosted us for the afternoon and evening.  It was near to rather upmarket supermarket called Whole Foods so able to purchase some flowers, living on the fly we are.

As someone who loves to travel Andrea was our ideal guide for the afternoon plus she had a rather flash brand new car, a Prius, so we were taken around like celebs!  Useful information like Fortworth originally being a Fort helped us pass the first part of the afternoon as we swung into town taking in a couple of impromptu sights like the Trinity River before hitting the Stockyards, the centre piece of what is lovingly referred to as 'cowtown'.

A touch of the old west, the new west, and maybe a snippet of Disney, but plenty to entertain us for a couple of hours.  Random highlights was finding another Dallas connection in the bar used to film JR doing a bit of his wheeling and dealing, the 'Cattle Mens' Steakhouse.

Some large markets, and stalls perhaps gave a sense of the Royal Welsh Show if it was in a dust bowl, but more of a sense of the world that used to play out in these parts. Cowboys, drovers, hustlers and rustlers, you could sense they all had a bit to say in this part of town in days gone by. It was part of the Chisholm Trail, large herds of cattle moved across the country by those rough and ready chaps.

A little bit of the old town las vegas feel, I guess the outback was the outback.  Andrea showed us a bar called Billy Bobs, known as the largest honky tonk venue in the world. It was massive, but still had that old school bar feel, and pool tables, Chrissi and I managed a game, kept away from the line dancing option though. The stage has hosted so many big names over the years and we saw many of their signatures and handprints in a hall of fame set of wall hangs, almost a museum in itself.

As we were leaving we saw a very simulated cattle run down the high street, and people also on horseback rides in the car park.  With authenticity beginning to fade Andrea then took us into downtown Fort Worth. Parked up and had a beer alongside some of the Friday afternoon office folk, and took a look at Sundance Square (yep a cowboy on every corner) and more cultural Bass theatre of which she is a regular patron.

Coming right up to date after that, Chrissi persuaded her to detour on the way home into Bath and Bodyworks at a local mall, and with all of that done, we were all happy to return to a bit of modern, air conditioned Fortworth for a beer and fajita evening. I've met Andrea a few times over the years as she has visited my Mum, but probably this the longest time we have chatted, and it was great to hear stories of her life, some of which included her time with my Mum back in Yorkshire, and some showing the successful life and legacy she has forged out in the US. Thankyou Andrea if you read this.