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Published: October 28th 2009
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Fort Worth to Clayton - Tuesday 13th October
From Dallas we set off in the rain to the Old Stockyards in Fort Worth, an area full of steaks houses, cowboy’s gift shops and an old rodeo coliseum. Upon arrival we saw a demonstration of a traditional cattle drive through the town’s cobbled streets. We then had a look in the old train station, a massive building that now houses lots of gift shops but still has the original tracks running through it. Much of Fort Worth, particularly the area we were in, has been kept very traditional so although the cattle pens were empty it was easy to imagine how they would have been when in full operation. Next stop was a huge horse barn with around 30 horses stabled in it. We got chatting to two real life cowboys Rooster and AJ and met Roosters horse Coco. They were two interesting guys who were happy living and working the land and had a lot to say about American politics. We left them just as they were about to set out for a ride. On the way back out of town we had a look in the old rodeo place
and were able to look around, it is still a working coliseum and rodeos take place twice a week. Before leaving we had a quick wander over to Billy Bobs Honky Tonk, because apparently “you haven’t been to Fort Worth if you haven’t been to Billy’s”.
We drove further north through Texas in heavy fog until we reached the Ole Towne Cotton Gin RV Park. We discussed our options of staying there, kipping in the car or driving on a bit and we decided to stay put. As there was a 20% chance of rain the nice lady owner called Norma said we could put the tent up on a concrete bit at the end of the main building as it would be sheltered on both sides and would also have a roof. As first we weren’t so sure but it turned out to be a great little spot as we could set up out of the dense fog and we even had tables, chairs and an electric light! The campsite was great too, Norma had converted an old cotton mill into a large communal space with cooking facilities that was the hub of the campsite and it even
had a spa pool (but that was shut unfortunately).
The next morning we indulged in the $1 campsite breakfast with pancakes, porridge, muffins, coffee and juice. It was a really tasty breakfast, a bargain, and also a great idea to get people on the site chatting to each other. We spoke to an older couple who were touring in their big RV and they really enjoyed hearing about what we were doing. Before we set off Norma helped us by printing off a few directions and checking the weather report which was improving. She also suggested we took a different route to the I-40 which we did. The road, which soon turned into a sand path took us across an old wooden bridge which underneath there was a red river. For most of the year the river runs dry as the water is flowing underground but we were able to see the sand river bed and some surface water which had a deep red appearance. It was an unusual feature and we were really glad to have seen it.
We continued driving making a stop in Amarillo, a once popular stop off on Route 66. The main attraction
was the Texan Steak Ranch of which advertising billboards had been displaying the free 72oz. steak since Oklahoma (about 100 miles away!) The deal was you had to eat all the steak and all 4 side dishes in 1 hour and the steak was free, otherwise it would cost you $50! They even provided a free limousine home if you managed it as they didn’t think you’d be able to drive home after eating it. We didn’t feel up for giving it a go but the poster inside showed that someone had completed the challenge the day before in 45 minutes!
We then drove on up to Clayton, a small town just across the border into New Mexico (and that meant another time change back of 1 hour). We set up at the KOA, cooked some tea (soup in the can straight on the BBQ!) After tea we did some star gazing. The sky was beautifully clear as there wasn’t any light pollution, a really beautiful sight. It was short lived mind, as just as we drove out to get an ice cream the fog came in really thick again so that put an end to our star gazing
and we headed to bed in our thermals as it was starting to get a bit chilly. Chilly was an understatement, it was freezing! We both awoke that night to add layers with the only element of enjoyment coming from looking at the stars that had reappeared as the fog had gone.
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