Ten Days in Texas

[Manny]

So Mrs Manny, Dochka and I decided to go to Texas recently. Our daughter has acquired a liking for Alan Jackson's music from me, and he is on his final tour, and one of the dates was in Fort Worth. BB had previously mentioned the Fort Worth is full of reasonably normal people, and having had a good experience visiting TN and MS last year, I may be getting a liking for the Deep South. So Texas was certainly worth a look.

We booked Business Class for the transatlantic flights, which translates to "First Class" on internal US flights. However, while transatlantic Business Class includes a fully flat bed, domestic US "First Class" is more like European Premium Economy, just with a larger luggage allowance. It’s fine for a 2–3 hour hop, but First Class it is not. And why do Americans have absurdly large amounts of carry-on?

Bill had told me a few days prior that it was 27c where he is in Texas, and his wife was planting tomatoes, so Wifey took summer clothes. We connected through Orlando on the way, and it was indeed lovely and warm there. But over in Fort Worth, the weather was decidedly British for the duration, ranging from 4c to a max of about 16c. With sporadic rain. 

I hired a car with Avis, booked the largest SUV class they offered, and was hoping for a Suburban or a GMC, but ended up with a Nissan Armada. Which to Brits is something like a Patrol, big enough and adequate for purpose, if a tad underpowered, Japanese and forgettable.

Every hotel in the area was already booked (probably due to the concert), so we ended up at some place called a Hilton Home2 Suites, which is a two-room suite with a small kitchen. It's not my ideal sort of place, a bit basic, but functional and not very expensive at £118 a night including breakfast.

Our first job was some clothes shopping, as Wifey had mainly packed dresses and heels, which weren’t exactly in keeping with the local style. She soon put that right with a cowboy hat (as did I), a couple of pairs of boots, and some jeans for daytime wear. That said, in the evenings, she was still the best-dressed woman in any restaurant, not to mention one of the slimmest, with strangers frequently complimenting her outfits. She now has a rather nice pair of blue cowgirl boots and a collection of other Western-style gear. As for me, I stocked up on George Strait edition Wrangler jeans, which fit perfectly, along with some quality belts and a pair of alligator cowboy boots, none of which are easy to find in the UK. I also decided I prefer Boot Barn over Cavender’s.



On the whole, it seems they are a badly dressed lot in Fort Worth. Most of them look like they got dressed in the dark in whatever shapeless sportswear was lying on the floor from yesterday. That said, especially around the Stockyards area, some girls do dress Western, which is a nice look.

[Manny]

I always used to enjoy the TV show Dallas, and Southfork Ranch is in Parker, only 65 miles or so from Fort Worth, so I had to go there. They do tours, its pretty cool.



We did quite a bit of shooting too, pistols and machine guns are of course verboten in the Socialist UK, so it's nice to play with them when abroad. I'm pretty decent at it already, and wifey was always a bit lukewarm on it. But this time she got right into it.



She can now load a 9mm magazine as fast as anyone, and took a particular liking to the Magnum 357, a seven-shot revolver with 38 special ammo. Shame we can't have a legal one here. I'd like one of those too.

Driving around the DFW area is pretty painless, which is a good job as everything you want to do seems to be 20-30 miles away or more. There's a lot of tolls. There is some kind of fixed deal on rental cars so I don't know how much I would have spent otherwise, but I bet they can mount up if you live there. Some are $7 or more. Unlike some other places I've been in the US where everyone drifts about at 55 ish in a world of their own, folks there do like the right pedal. It's pretty similar to driving in the UK, as most people tend to do 70-90 on the motorways despite the limit being mostly 65. Just like in the UK, there's very little lane discipline, so you've to keep your wits about you. Lanes merge randomly without road markings - which catches you off guard the first few times. I like being able to turn right on a red light - very logical, I don't know why we never implemented that. I like the Express Lanes where you can bypass the standing traffic, and the speed limit of 75 on many of those, and many people do 100 ish. And I didn't see any traffic cops or speed cameras at all. Fine by me. 

About food: Restaurants seem to be limited to steak houses, and crappy lower-end stuff like chicken and taco places run by Hispanics or blacks. But I like steak, so ten days of steak houses it was. They seem to be mostly chains like Texas Roadhouse, Saltgrass and Longhorn, but they're all pretty decent. They do know how to cook a steak there. Better steaks than commonly found in the UK. Plenty of fishy options for wifey too. I did try an expensive one called Del Friscos in central Fort Worth. It was no better than a Longhorn to be fair food wise. Just three times the price and better-dressed people. I was happy enough among all the cowboy hat-wearing folk in the regular steak houses.

As we had a little kitchenette thing, we got some snacks from the local supermarkets. Organic stuff isn't plentiful. It's very tedious having to scan the labels to try and avoid the corn syrup, seed oils and additives you can't pronounce that American food is laced with. But it can be done. I found Albertsons better than Target. Bottled water seems to be bottled tap water mostly from what I can tell, but a local woman put me onto the local spring water Ozarka, which was fine. I suppose locals get to know over time what to avoid if they seek to avoid unhealthy additives. Why does salt have added iodine? Why does milk have added Vitamin D? Why does everything seem to have something added? Makes no sense to me. And don't get me started on refrigerated eggs. 

[Manny]

We did some horse riding a few times. I had horses as a kid so am a good rider. Wifey and Dochka have been learning for the last few months. We did some trail riding with a few different guys.



Western saddles and stirrups for me are way more comfortable than their British equivalents. However good a rider you might be in the UK, you'll have to re-learn some stuff to ride Western. Loose reigns and different signals seem counterintuitive to us. And one horse I was on didn't like being held back on a tighter reign and started dancing about and eventually tried to get me off rodeo style. He didn't manage it, but the guy told me the last bloke who rode "British" had the same trouble with that horse. A big Irish rugby player apparently. And the horse did manage to get him off. 

Wifey brought her British riding hat, jodhpurs and riding boots with her. The trail-riding guy thought she was dressed for dressage. They probably don't see that very often there.

I wouldn't mind going back and trying some herding and roping, actually. That looks quite fun. I've recently been watching Yellowstone on Netflix, which apart from being a good series in itself, is more interesting if you are equestrian-inclined.

The Alan Jackson concert was at Dickies Arena. He was supported by Zach Top and James Carothers.

It was a good evening. Great to finally see AJ live. I discovered him in the 90s during a trip to FL.

About the local people and Texas generally: I found the people around DFW mostly really nice and friendly, not dissimilar to when I was in Memphis. I guess it's the famous southern hospitality. I'm not sure if that is reflected across the rest of Texas or not. Quite a different vibe to FL or TN though. TX feels more like a different country than a state within a larger country. Texans seem very proud to be Texans. The Texas flag flies alongside the stars and stripes everywhere. And as Texas is almost three times larger than the UK, it could be its own country. I was trying to explain the geographical make-up of the US to my daughter, and suggested she viewed it rather like the EU in that it's more like 50 different countries joined together, the differences between many of the states are so marked.

I did notice that the DFW area is very very clean. Almost no litter. And nobody seems to smoke. Most restaurants don't even have ashtrays or smoking areas outside. Is that the same across the rest of TX?

The air *seemed* very clean to me. And it's not a densely populated place, but a look on the weather app on the iPhone showed an air quality in the high 50s, just nudging the amber. Where we live in the UK, it's typically under 10, usually 2-3. I'm not sure why that is. This is what GPT says on the subject:

Fort Worth's air feels clean, but its AQI in the high 50s is likely due to factors like ozone pollution from vehicle emissions, dust from the dry climate, and fine particulates from industry and construction. Unlike the UK, where frequent rain clears pollutants and ozone is lower, Texas' warmer, drier conditions allow more pollutants to linger. Texas also has more industry and refineries, which might not be immediately noticeable but still contribute to air quality readings.

We hear a lot about immigration in the southern US, and the place has quite a few Mexicans and other Hispanics, but it didn't seem like so many to me. It's my observation that if you ship lots of them out as Trump intends to, the service industries would collapse. Y'all will have no cleaners or servers. 

One thing I did notice was almost zero Muslims. Which was nice. Not so many black people either, it seems a very white place. I noticed that as we connected home via JFK, and you see there wall-to-wall immigrants, rather like London. NYC seems like a different country to Fort Worth they are so different.

DFW overall reminded me of that classic Top Gear episode in neighbouring Alabama when Jeremy Clarkson joked about the holy trinity being George Bush, God, and country music. I’d suggest a revised list: pickup trucks, guns, country music, and God… in that order. I've never seen so many churches in one place. There are many things I recognised from that TG Alabama special about the south generally, though. But it’s a fun place to spend some time in, and a taste of freedom that’s far away from Starmer’s failed socialist experiment. I enjoyed it and will certainly go back to TX.

I went to Texas with one eye on a possible snowbird location for the future, a place to spend a couple of months a year in over Christmas, perhaps. It seems the climate is a bit British at that time of year, so it's not ideal in that regard. And summers I gather are far too hot if it can get over 40c. FL might be more suitable for that.

My daughter took tons of footage, and I compiled some into a 90-second reel I've put on the RUA Twitter >>here<<. I particularly like the bloke fondling his machine gun in a car park at the start. That was a great candid catch. 

[Contrarian]

So Mrs Manny, Dochka and I decided to go to Texas recently. Our daughter has acquired a liking for Alan Jackson's music from me, and he is on his final tour, and one of the dates was in Fort Worth. BB had previously mentioned the Fort Worth is full of reasonably normal people, and having had a good experience visiting TN and MS last year, I may be getting a liking for the Deep South. So Texas was certainly worth a look.

Bill had told me a few days prior that it was 27c where he is in Texas, and his wife was planting tomatoes, so Wifey took summer clothes. We connected through Orlando on the way, and it was indeed lovely and warm there. But over in Fort Worth, the weather was decidedly British for the duration, ranging from 4c to a max of about 16c. With sporadic rain. 

I hired a car, booked the largest SUV and was hoping for a Suburban or a GMC, but ended up with a Nissan Armada. Which to Brits is something like a Patrol, big enough and adequate for purpose, if a tad underpowered and forgettable.

Every hotel in the area was already booked (probably due to the concert), so we ended up at some place called a Hilton Home2 Suites, which is a two-room suite with a small kitchen. It's not my ideal sort of place, a bit basic, but functional and not very expensive at £118 a night including breakfast.

First job was to do some clothes shopping, as Wifey had brought mostly dresses and heels, and the locals tend not to dress like that. So she got herself a cowboy hat (as did I), a couple of pairs of boots and some jeans for the daytime. But evening time, she was still the best dressed in the restaurant each evening. Random people kept wandering up to her complimenting her outfits.

(Attachment Link)

On the whole, it seems they are a badly dressed lot in Fort Worth. Most of them look like they got dressed in the dark in whatever shapeless sportswear was lying on the floor from yesterday. That said, especially around the Stockyards area, some girls do dress Western, which is a nice look.

We managed to get plenty of shopping in. Wifey now has a rather nice pair of blue cowgirl boots and a bunch of other Western-type stuff. I availed myself of many pairs of the George Strait edition Wrangler jeans (excellent fit), some nice belts and some Alligator cowboy boots, none of which you can buy in the UK easily. I prefer Boot Barn over Cavenders.

Great trip report! Glad to hear you had a good time. Too bad about the weather, at least you didn't go where there were fires or some sort of blizzard with 2 feet of snow.

Steaks are always good and any southern state will do them very good. Did you happen to find a BBQ place near where you stayed or just did steaks and Mexican food?

Although I am in a blue state on the West coast there is a very good BBQ place in the city I live in which has won two national championships. Not been yet but will try it out soon.

Seems to me that the problem with not dressing well anymore when going out is rather common all over the USA now. I think back to how girls in high school always did their nails, hair and dressed quite well when I was in high school and now -- it's entirely different.

The thing about it though is that if someone dresses well now, they often get compliments as you mentioned because it's more unusual.

My favorite place I've been so far was a smaller city in Idaho where it seems every third car had an AK47 or something like it in it. That made me smile, probably similar to when you saw the guy you mentioned.

Other than flying through I've never spent any time in Texas. I enjoyed your review enough to want to visit someday, likely the same area you did. 


PS... the horse you rode, which tried to buck you off, well did you get him up to a gallop? Maybe that would have made him happy. I always love to ride a fast horse.

[Contrarian]

That must have been a fun concert! 

[Manny]

Did you happen to find a BBQ place near where you stayed or just did steaks and Mexican food?

It seemed to be mostly steakhouses, not even much Mexican. I didn't notice BBQ places like I did in Memphis. Apart from steakhouses, it was mostly Tacos, Wendys, Dennys and stuff like that. And crappy-looking chicken places. There was a Twin Peaks next door, kind of a Hooters-type place. The food wasn't too bad actually, really cheap and scantily clad waitresses were nothing to complain about. I even stretched to a 20% tip there. 

PS... the horse you rode, which tried to buck you off, well did you get him up to a gallop? Maybe that would have made him happy. I always love to ride a fast horse.

No, a fast canter was the best I could manage. The trail rides seemed mostly geared up for amateurs, they prefer you to walk. I got around that by getting at the back, hanging back and giving it the beans to catch up. The horse started dancing about when I was holding him back, probably used to doing the same walking trail day after day, so he got agitated being separated. He tried to rear up at first, so I held his head tight to stop that. You don't do that in Western riding apparently, you distract them, maybe by circling the guy later said. So when I did let him go, he flew after the others like a bronco trying to buck me off. Those saddle front horns are handy for staying on then. 

[Contrarian]

Did you happen to find a BBQ place near where you stayed or just did steaks and Mexican food?

It seemed to be mostly steakhouses, not even much Mexican. I didn't notice BBQ places like I did in Memphis. Apart from steakhouses, it was mostly Tacos, Wendys, Dennys and stuff like that. And crappy-looking chicken places. There was a Twin Peaks next door, kind of a Hooters-type place. The food wasn't too bad actually, really cheap and scantily clad waitresses were nothing to complain about. I even stretched to a 20% tip there. 

PS... the horse you rode, which tried to buck you off, well did you get him up to a gallop? Maybe that would have made him happy. I always love to ride a fast horse.

No, a fast canter was the best I could manage. The trail rides seemed mostly geared up for amateurs, they prefer you to walk. I got around that by getting at the back, hanging back and giving it the beans to catch up. The horse started dancing about when I was holding him back, probably used to doing the same walking trail day after day, so he got agitated being separated. He tried to rear up at first, so I held his head tight to stop that. You don't do that in Western riding apparently, you distract them, maybe by circling the guy later said. So when I did let him go, he flew after the others like a bronco trying to buck me off. Those saddle front horns are handy for staying on then. 

Well sorry you didn't look in at that thread you had started, I found A LOT of highly rated BBQ joints, in the Texas magazine I linked there. Next time.

Sounds like that horse did get up to a gallop or something close! Leaning in and holding his neck/head is what I would have done also.

When you graduate from a tourist horse riding place to something else you can ask for a fast horse, provided you think you can hold on.

Twin Peaks, gotta love it. 

[Manny]

Twin Peaks, gotta love it. 

Some quite cute-looking chatty girls there to be fair with decent figures. Maybe students. Mostly Hispanic or black girls, the white ones with tattoos. Nothing you'd take home to meet Mamma, but for a bit of fun and eye candy it's harmless.

On that note, I did spy roadside quite a few Gentlemen's clubs. I assume that's legal in Texas too. 

[Manny]

When you graduate from a tourist horse riding place to something else you can ask for a fast horse, provided you think you can hold on.

I did some research on this, it seems West Texas is the place for this: Marfa, Bandera, Graham, Fort Davis and Big Bend. I found a place that has a five-day residential deal going on. I'm going to research this further.

I struggle in the UK to rent horses, as it's 90% girls who ride in the UK, most places use smaller ponies so I am too heavy for them. But in the US, more men ride and up to 300 pounds limit isn't unusual (they write this limit on their sites), and I'm way less than that. So for me, it's a good place to ride a larger horse.

[Contrarian]

When you graduate from a tourist horse riding place to something else you can ask for a fast horse, provided you think you can hold on.

I did some research on this, it seems West Texas is the place for this: Marfa, Bandera, Graham, Fort Davis and Big Bend. I found a place that has a five-day residential deal going on. I'm going to research this further.

I struggle in the UK to rent horses, as it's 90% girls who ride in the UK, most places use smaller ponies so I am too heavy for them. But in the US, more men ride and up to 300 pounds limit isn't unusual (they write this limit on their sites), and I'm way less than that. So for me, it's a good place to ride a larger horse.

Last time I was in Mexico I got lucky and had a large very fast horse. Fun, fun, fun. He liked cutting loose too.

And when I was in Crimea and rented a horse from a Tatar, I also got lucky and had a fast horse.

I got lazy this winter and gained at least 20 lbs. Went from about 205 lbs from the summer weight. Yeah most places here will have horses that can handle it. 

[Markje]

When you graduate from a tourist horse riding place to something else you can ask for a fast horse, provided you think you can hold on.

I did some research on this, it seems West Texas is the place for this: Marfa, Bandera, Graham, Fort Davis and Big Bend. I found a place that has a five-day residential deal going on. I'm going to research this further.

I struggle in the UK to rent horses, as it's 90% girls who ride in the UK, most places use smaller ponies so I am too heavy for them. But in the US, more men ride and up to 300 pounds limit isn't unusual (they write this limit on their sites), and I'm way less than that. So for me, it's a good place to ride a larger horse.

Last time I was in Mexico I got lucky and had a large very fast horse. Fun, fun, fun. He liked cutting loose too.

And when I was in Crimea and rented a horse from a Tatar, I also got lucky and had a fast horse.

I got lazy this winter and gained at least 20 lbs. Went from about 205 lbs from the summer weight. Yeah most places here will have horses that can handle it. 

Mustve been near yalta, top of ai-petri has great places to ride horse or quads

[Bodine]

When you graduate from a tourist horse riding place to something else you can ask for a fast horse, provided you think you can hold on.

I did some research on this, it seems West Texas is the place for this: Marfa, Bandera, Graham, Fort Davis and Big Bend. I found a place that has a five-day residential deal going on. I'm going to research this further.

I struggle in the UK to rent horses, as it's 90% girls who ride in the UK, most places use smaller ponies so I am too heavy for them. But in the US, more men ride and up to 300 pounds limit isn't unusual (they write this limit on their sites), and I'm way less than that. So for me, it's a good place to ride a larger horse.

Nice reporting, Manny.

Unfortunately, trail riding is very regulated. Liabilities and all that good stuff. Like you said, the fastest you'll ever go is canter. The horses are mostly numbed doing these daily adventure. The reins are nothing more than just to keep them from chomping on the grasses trailsides. Otherwise, they can wear blinders and know how to get back home. This is the same in California.

Wyoming and Montana however would be a different world. You'll have the great beyond and fly to your hearts content on hooved wheels.

Not sure what zone Dallas is, but assumably higher than where we are. We're (climate) zone 9 (high desert area; Akin to the Mediterranean). We usually are in an unfavorable air quality threshold despite being fairly high in elevation and the seemingly absence of pollution.

I'm glad you and family seemed to have had a good time!

[mhr7]

Thanks for the report, Manny. I'm glad you all had a good time. Don't discount Colorado in your search for the dude ranch experience.

[Contrarian]

Well Manny if you go back to Fort Worth anytime soon, Cousins BBQ looks really great. 5125 Bryant Irvin Road, Fort Worth. Or 6262 McCart Avenue. If I ever make it there they would be my first choice.

Quote

"Even though the joint is used to serving sandwiches and plates, it found barbecue trays worth adopting. “It’s fun. It’s interactive. It’s a shared experience,” Cross said. Cousins has added a trio of new tray options to the ever-changing menu. It changes so much, in fact, the joint replaced the fancy printed menus with descriptions written in black marker on butcher paper.

The first tray, meant for one diner, is the Deal ($26), which comes with brisket, a pork rib, smoked sausage, and Texas street corn. The Old School Tray ($36) includes a half pound of Prime brisket, two Duroc pork ribs, house-made German and jalapeño-cheddar sausages, and pulled pork. I went for the New School Tray ($46), introduced earlier this year, to see how Cousins interpreted that term."


https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/cousins-bbq-going-new-school-fort-worth/


Panther City BBQ at 201 E. Hattie would be in my top 3 choices of places to eat at also. I got real hungry looking at a photo of their tray of meat. 

https://www.texasmonthly.com/interactive/top-50-bbq-2021/#panther-city-bbq

[Lord of the Dance]

I have a lot to say and no time to say it, but I will thank you for this great report Manny. Glad you had another good visit to the states. And so pleased that you all went to the shooting range while you were in Texas. 

[Omega1982]

Great photos Manny. 

[Manny]

Wyoming and Montana however would be a different world. You'll have the great beyond and fly to your hearts content on hooved wheels.

Don't discount Colorado in your search for the dude ranch experience.

I've been doing some searching, and indeed, Montana, Colorado and Wyoming seem to be the best locations. I could open one of those useful Wyoming LLCs and a bank account while there. 

[Contrarian]

Wyoming and Montana however would be a different world. You'll have the great beyond and fly to your hearts content on hooved wheels.

Don't discount Colorado in your search for the dude ranch experience.

I've been doing some searching, and indeed, Montana, Colorado and Wyoming seem to be the best locations. I could open one of those useful Wyoming LLCs and a bank account while there. 

I wonder if you might find something in Idaho or Nevada?

I like northern Nevada near Reno. South Lake Tahoe is spectacular as a place to visit, not sure about horse riding in that area though. 

This is a famous area of eastern Oregon with a Dude Ranch.

https://www.steensmountainguestranch.com/

A friend who is a photographer told me about the area, with the distinctive Kiger wild horses. He took a lot of great photos there. Large photos at bottom of the link.

https://www.steensmountainguestranch.com/viewing-the-kiger-mustangs

[Contrarian]

Quote from link just above.

Viewing the Kiger Mustang Horses in Their Natural Habitat

The Kiger Mustang, a distinctive breed of wild horses located in southeastern Oregon, was identified in 1977. These feral horses showcase specific conformation traits that set them apart. The name "Kiger Mustang" refers exclusively to wild-caught individuals, while their captive-bred offspring are called Kiger Mustang horses. Renowned for their intelligence and endurance, Kiger Mustang horses display a variety of colors, including dun, grulla, buckskin, and different patterns featuring dorsal and zebra stripes. They typically stand between 13 to 15 hands tall and weigh between 750 to 1,000 pounds.

https://www.steensmountainguestranch.com/your-crew

[Markje]

Great vacation Manny, great looking pics too. Something interesting to read instead of all the war/politics threads.

[Contrarian]

This ranch is more reasonable in their prices. Weight limit is 225 lbs.

https://wilsonranchesretreat.com/oregon-getaways#horseback-riding

Video includes beautiful scenery of John Day Fossils Monument.

I was raised to call this area Wallow Wa (a city and area in Washington, which extends into Oregon). They pronounce it different in Oregon.
At 5 minutes into the video, there's a cool gondola ride up to 8,000 feet, with great scenery.

[Contrarian]

This great video features horse riding in Central Oregon and is narrated by The Oregonian staff writer.

A new type of Cowboy, shows how to "start" a horse, as opposed to breaking it.

[Contrarian]

Mystic Saddle Ranch, Stanley, Idaho.

[Contrarian]

This is spendy however so is Steen's mountain Ranch. This one is likely better for a family.

https://theredrockranch.com/log-cabins/

All their rides look to be slow, not my cup of tea.

[Contrarian]

This is a very nice large ranch in West Montana. At 10:10 in is the gal who matches horses to guests. I like that she says they can match more experienced guests to faster horses who go on more demanding trails. At the start of the video the couple who own the ranch talks about themselves and how they built the ranch ground up. The man has a real friendly tone of voice and you can tell he takes pride in sharing his ranch and horses with guests. At about 7:45 into the video you see a real friendly mascot of the ranch. 
At 14:25 is a view of something they call the Chinese wall.