Jake at the Ft Worth Stockyards

We took Jake to the Ft Worth Stockyards today. The Stockyards is a preserved area that really used to be the stockyard of Ft Worth. Millions of hogs, sheep and cattle were shipped out of the stockyards in the years of its operation. It was one of the premier places for the european armies to buy mules and horses during World War 1. A plaque there tells of how many millions of dollars were spent by foreign buyers in the early decades of the 1900s. Now it has been restored and filled wth novelty stores, restaurants and souvenir shops. We found one shop on our way in that had a genuine going out of business sale and Jake was able to buy a nice cowboy hat for $7. 

We got there about an hour before the cattle drive. Every day at 11:00 and 4:00 they let about twenty longhorn steers walk from one end of the boulevard to the other end - about three blocks - to allow a photo opportunity for all the visitors. It is a pretty big safety production. They have security personnel keeping people at the curb on each side. No one is allowed to even put one foot into the street. Then they have about ten riders on horseback herding the very compliant group of steers. Mostly the riders stay between the crowd and the steers. They are very well behaved but the length of the horns each steer has is a real hazard to an unwary bystander - hence the attention to positioning the crowd. 

We took a few pictures of Jake on a longhorn steer - one of the highlights of the visit. I think we went through every shop and knick-knack store in the shopping area. We debated a bit about where to go for lunch but settled on barbecue.  It would not have mattered too much to Jake. He is not an adventurous eater. He almost enjoyed the grilled chicken sandwich - Mama thought it was very good - but he would rather have had it fried. That is his preferred food type; fried.

Jake and Victoria went into a maze across the street from the restaurant. It was fun because Mama and I could stand on a deck overlooking the maze and try to direct the two of them through. The problem with our direction is that we could not always see the wall that blocked the path we suggested. So they got turned around several times. There were “short cut” signs throughout the maze that never led in the right direction. One of the challenges was to find the four stations to get the timecard they were each given stamped with the letters M-A-Z-E before exiting the maze. They got to the exit missing the Z and had to go back in to get that letter. All in all, it took them about ten minutes to get complete the course and stamp their cards on exiting. They both thought it was worth the money. Mama  and I enjoyed it but we were not much help.

They have a virtual gun range in the railway mall area and we checked it out as a possibility for him to spend his money but we eventually had to pass. I did not want to do the course with him because he was stuck on shooting zombies and I did not think that would be a good experience for either of us. It was not overly expensive so we may go back when Nate and Cori are with us or when Chase and Makaila come over. 

Mama and I got a couple of speciality coffees and vinegar flavors and Victoria picked up a couple small packets of tea. I think there is only enough in each packet for three or four cups of tea but she was thrilled about the purchase. We did not get much else and I was thankful for that since I did not have the money on hand to do much more. 

But overall, Jake really enjoyed the outing.