Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

My friend, Suzy, has had her niece, Grace, & nephew, Curtis, staying with them for the last 3 weeks. They will be heading back to Utah soon and she wanted to do something "Texan" with them before they left. So I suggested the Stockyards. How is it that we can have lived here for nine years now and we've never been? We turned it into a fairly major field trip with three brave women 'herding' eight rambunctious children through downtown Fort Worth.

We took the train to Fort Worth and then transferred to a bus that took us to the Stockyards. You can buy a day pass to ride the trains and buses in any direction for $3 per person. That's a steal of a deal! The novelty of riding the train is always something the kids LOVE to do so to ride the train AND the bus for the kids was awesomeness supreme!

On the train with Gracie & Curtis. I think Cara was doing her 'tough girl' face...

"The Fort Worth Stockyards is the history book of the livestock industry in Texas and is a one of a kind location with many unique attractions. It is the only place in the United States that has a daily cattle drive! Texas Longhorns are driven down East Exchange Avenue which is right in the heart of the Stockyards. For the history buff, museums and historic locations are plentiful to learn about our great history, from cowboys to cattle. Along the way, there are Texas Trail of Fame bronze makers in the sidewalks throughout the district." Cara loved to identify the stars and tell us what she learned about them in 4th grade. The cobblestone streets and rustic shops made you feel like you stepped back into the West.

This horse is named Gotch (as in got'cha) and his cowboy is the lead in the cattle drive.

The kids all got to pet and watch the cowboys do show tricks with their horses. This is Lil' Texas and he was smiling for us in this picture. His cowboy cracked his whip over and over for the begging children.We staked out a prime viewing bench and ate our sack lunches. This is right next to the Texas Cowboy Hall of fame and across from the Stockyards museum. Waiting for the cattle drive to start...Here they come!Check out those longhorns! Aren't they cool? They were just feet away from the kids who were mesmerized.
And there they go...
The water tower for the train that still runs through the Stockyards.
Thank goodness we didn't have to ride to Ft. Worth on one of these...My cowgirls.

Three tired mamas. Erin, Suzy & I.

It was a long, hot, fun, relatively cheap, and informational trip. I learned you can do the same train/bus deal to get to the Ft. Worth Zoo and the Botanical Gardens too. We'll have to do that with Bryan sometime.

P.S. I forgot my camera so all of these photos are courtesy of E & S. Thanks girls!