So we got off the plane in Dallas and headed straight to Fort Worth the “cultural gateway into the American West.” We started in the Stockyards a historic area that looks like the set of a classic Hollywood Western with many of the buildings dating back to the mid-1800s.
Between 1866 and 1890 more than four million head of cattle were trailed through Fort Worth, which was soon known as “Cowtown.” Cowtown soon had its own disreputable entertainment district several blocks south of the Courthouse area known all over the West as “Hell’s Half Acre”.
One of the main attractions is the twice-daily cattle drive through Main Street along with entertainment at the World’s Largest Honky Tonk Billy Bob’s Texas and various restaurants offering Texas-style bar-b-que steaks and calf fries (if you don’t know – don’t ask). All of this is just minutes away from the modern downtown area in Fort Worth’s Sundance Square. It is a great peek into the American West and an interesting part of our heritage. More to come as we go through the pictures.
P.S. – Thanks to Travis & Claire for hosting and for loaning us a car and a great list of things to do in the area. We hit maybe 10% of the list so we’ll definitely be back. It was a very relaxing trip and a lot of fun.
