The Wild West Comes to Life

Git along little dogie. There were no buffalo roaming the streets of Ft. Worth, but there certainly was a herd of Texas longhorns enjoying an afternoon cattle drive. Spend some time in the Stockyards National Historic District and you’ll discover that there are cowboys and cowgirls on horseback driving a herd of cattle every afternoon at 4 p.m. The actual stockyard work and smells are long gone, but what remains is a delightful throwback to the heyday of Texas.

You’ll find rodeos, bull riding, bronc riding, roping, cattle judging, saloons and honky-tonks filled with real cowboys and cowgirls having a terrific time.

Real Western Boots. If you need a pair of boots — authentic cowboy boots, this is the town to find them. Leddy’s has a couple of locations, one at Sundance Square and one in the Stockyards District. Another shop, Cavender’s has several locations around town, including one between the DFW airport and Ft. Worth. My cowgirl-friend on this trip needed a new pair and found a good buy at Cavender’s. About $120. I discovered that real cowboy boots, as opposed to my “fashion” slouchy-styled cowboy boots from the department store, are sturdier with a nice softly padded inner sole. That’s why cowboys and cowgirls can wear them without the pain of fashion.

Stockyards Hotel. If you want to stay in Ft. Worth and get a taste of its history, you might consider the Stockyards Hotel on Exchange Avenue, right in the heart of the historic district. While we didn’t see the rooms, we did walk through the antiqued lobby, filled with interesting furniture and art from the past. The rooms look pretty nice on the hotel’s Web site. The H3 restaurant is also part of the hotel. From here you can spend an evening dining, dancing and kickin’ up your heels, all within a few blocks.

NEXT: Where to find those honky-tonks

TIP:
1) Fly into DFW. Linda and I flew Midwest Airlines into DFW airport which is located between Dallas and Ft. Worth. Very easy in and out. Midwest has 4 daily nonstops between MKE and DFW (with easy connections to East Coast cities.)
2) You’ll need a car. Pick up the common shuttle for the car rental center just outside the terminal door. Airport signs make it easy to find. We got a car on Priceline from Budget for $33/day for a Chevy Impala. Posted rates for most, including Budget, was $65-80/day.
3) Focus on one city. If you want Western, stay in Ft. Worth. Dallas is a big, sophisticated city with upscale shopping. (I’ll cover that another time.) If you only have a couple of days, stay in Ft. Worth and really enjoy all it has to offer.
4) OR, take in Ft. Worth, then visit a ranch. Linda and I spent our first morning and afternoon exploring Ft. Worth before heading to Graham, TX. for a real Texas experience and a genuine Texas dinner. Much more on that later as the ranch we stayed at was the absolute highlight of our trip! (Don’t miss these next 4-5 posts. You can be notified by e-mail when they’re published. Link here–Notify me by e-mail )