DFW days

View from Dealey Plaza, central Dallas

I had not been to Dallas for many years. The chance to explore this city, whose reality differs so wildly from public perception, is always appealing. A few days in the region provided ample time to visit both top tourist directions and some hidden gems. It's a relatively easy town for travel, as the DART provides train access most of the places visitors want to head.

Wild land in Fort Worth 

Tucked north of Fort Worth lies an unexpected patch of protected land among Open limited hours each day, the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge holds a handful of special but seldom-visited places. 

Fort Worth has owned the land for more than a century, since it impounded the West Fork of the Trinity River to form Lake Worth, the city’s water supply. Parkland and wildlife sanctuary would not occupy the banks until the 1960s. It’s a pretty fascinating space, from rolling pastures to craggy cliffs and forested islands. 

Nature center resident

Fort Worth’s city bison herd is the refuge’s signature animal. The refuge grazes its bison herd in a series of different pastures, some easily visible from the road. On this day, we saw no bison, as they grazed on prairie deeper in the park. We only saw evidence of past grazing – bison chips and bison wallows. The pastures closest to the road had light tree canopies, and the bison probably stuck to thicker, cooler forest. 

As the temperatures soared, the nature center brought a welcome respite from the heat. The modest center outlined the geology of the refuge, as several ecosystems meet in the area. The center also houses local animals including turtles, snakes, opossums and more. More than 20 miles of trails wind through the 3,600 acres, some connecting to small islands. 

We took a few spins through shorter trails, one following an interesting ridge above the river. Wildflowers were in full bloom. 

Despite the heat, a fierce wind picked up across the reservoir, tossing up lily pads from where they floated. It gave off the appearance of seldom-seen river creatures momentarily breaking the surface, just long enough to step out of legend. 

Dallas: Downtown and Dealey 

Dealey Plaza has barely changed. Its only major changes mark what the world knows happened here. Aside from some interstate signage and new skyscrapers to the north, Dealey Plaza looks almost identical to its appearance on Nov. 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy’s convertible limousine took that fatefully slow curve near the Texas School Book Depository. 

The crowds were light here as this was the end of the parade to greet the president. Sites of assassinations and killings can never completely lift the stain. To its credit, Dallas turns Dealey Plaza into a learning experience. 

You can see where JFK was shot along the route, where Abraham Zapruder stood while shooting the only film record of the assassination, where the Secret Service jumped on the limo as it sped off. Reaching the plaza without a car is simple, as the DART line runs through the Dallas Downtown Historic District. 

The lines around The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza are hard to miss. The Sixth Floor Museum is one of Dallas’ top draws;. advanced tickets are a necessity. Elevators bring crowds up to the sixth floor. 

The infamous corner

The museum sets the stage for that terrible day in exacting detail, goes American in 1963, the parade, the assassination and rush to Parkland Hospital, LBJ’s oath of office, arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, the aftermath, Oswald’s murder and the investigations that carried into the next decade. 

Because the presidential visit drew so much media attention and crowds descended upon downtown Dallas, the amount of documentation is staggering. So much unfolded in so few days, in what was expected to end with a JFK speech to a trade group.

Thorough museum

The corner from where Oswald would have shot is preserved behind glass. Whether you entertain the conspiracy theories or not (I don’t –Oswald was not the first assassin in history to get lucky), you can see why someone would shoot from that spot. Cars have to slow almost to a stop at that turn. If you can’t see it, the museum goes into the Warren Commission’s research and the many conspiracy theories. 

Items from that day include the original frontpage mockup planned for one Dallas paper’s afternoon edition, a camera identical to the one Zapruder owned, and the suit worn by Dallas homicide detective Jim Leavelle, who stood next to Oswald when Jack Ruby fatally shot him. 

Stepping away from Dealey Plaza, no one can look away from the 1892 Dallas County Courthouse, known as Old Red for its red sandstone construction. With many parapets and a clock tower, the 1892 courthouse reminds us of an era when government architecture could be eye-catching. A separate memorial to JFK stands beyond the courthouse. 

A more modest memorial skips back to Dallas’ settlement. The John Neely Bryan cabin replicates the home of Dallas’ founder, who ran a ferry on the nearby Trinity River, served as postmaster and donated land for the future courthouse. 

The mix of old and new gives downtown Dallas an eclectic feel, as you can roam from the sad place where a president was fatally shot to 150 years, contemplate a cabin and speed away on a modern train.

Then

 

May 2022