March 15, 2022

No road video today.

Today was pure sightseeing in Dallas and was very refreshing after five days of significant driving. I’ll describe the day and hold photos until the end.

I stayed a few miles east of Dallas last night because I wanted to visit the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens and enjoy the highly rated White Rock Lake Trail before exploring downtown. The Arboretum is a wildly popular attraction that presents formal gardens on a Texas scale. There are dozens of gardens spread over 66 acres and, although spring has been cool here this year, thousands of flowers were in bloom. I spent a couple of hours exploring and finding a few intimate quiet spots but, for the most part, the place was big and busy.

The Arboretum is near White Rock Lake which is surrounded by a park and trail. After so much time sitting in the car I wanted to do a walk and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. The full circumnavigation on the trail is 9.4 miles so that did not happen but I managed to get a good 6 miles of exercise.

I then drove downtown to check in early at tonight’s hotel. The hotel is within walking distance of most downtown sights and I explored from there. First stop was Pioneer Plaza which is famous for its full size sculptures of a cattle drive. Although I had seen photos, the effect is very impressive in real life and the total number of animals was more than I expected. On the short walk to Dealey Plaza I passed Pegasus, Reunion Tower, and the Old Red Museum before spending time at the JFK assassination site.

Finally, I had an early dinner which was the first dinner of the trip I really enjoyed. The choice of food near Interstate highways is often limited to fast food and mid-range chains like Applebees and Ruby Tuesdays and, due to covid, I have been getting take-out and returning to my hotel. Being in a city center with temperatures in the upper 60s (20 C) allowed me to find a beer terrace with good draft IPA and a wide selection of food. It was the perfect way to end a relaxing day.

The scale of the gardens at the Arboretum dwarf most formal gardens I have visited.

Colorful blooms were everywhere and brightened the spirit.

The Arboretum and White Rock Lake are several miles from downtown.

The sculptures in Pioneer Plaza offer an impactful representation of  driving Texas Longhorn cattle.

Two Dallas landmarks – Pegasus and the Reunion Tower. The tower is an observation deck and reviews are not good so I gave that a miss. Pegasus was a rotating neon sign that once adorned the top of Dallas’s tallest building, the 450 foot (137 m) Magnolia Petroleum Building, in 1934. Magnolia Petroleum later merged with Mobil who adopted it as their symbol. According to Wikipedia “the rotating winged horse came to represent the city of Dallas and became one of its most recognizable and endearing landmarks” but it stopped working in 1974 and has now been restored.

The Old Red Museum. This is the former Dallas County courthouse now turned into a local museum.

The former Texas School Book Depository Building from where the shots that killed JFK were fired. It is now a museum but is closed Tuesdays.

Dealey Plaza. A somewhat weird idea for a road that is still in daily use. – the Xs on the road show the location of JFK’s car as each shot hit it. There is a third X some way to the right of this.