Goin' Ta TexASS

For a week in early September, Heidi and I flew to TexASS to visit with Suzie, Adam and Tyson, and of course the dog, Miley. We had a great time and saw a lot of places and did a lot of things. They live just north of Dallas, so most of the things we did were in that area. Here are some of the pictures of our adventures there... it was hot and flat.

 Playing on the swing set/fort that Adam and his dad built for Tyson in the backyard.

 Miley wanting to play catch with her slobbery ball.

 Sue fixin' sum vittles one night. 

(When in TexASS, talk like a Texan)

 Tyson checking out the recipe to make sure it is being followed.

The dog's bowl. Really it's Tyson's bowl, since he plays in it and drinks from it all the time.

 I had about as much fun teasing Miley as I did with Tyson. I put the ball under this crate, but she figured out real quick how to get it out.

 We took lots of late-afternoon walks while we were there. This is our first one.

 Tyson loves books and we got to read to him every night before he went to bed, and other times too.

 Ah, breakfast!

 We went to downtown Dallas to see where president JFK was shot. It is a very ordinary place that is now world-famous.

 Heidi and Tyson near the 'Grassy Knoll'.

 At the right edge of the shadow in the street is a painted 'X' to mark the spot where the president was shot in his motorcade.

 Up at the top of the grass is where the only film of the incident was taken from.

 This is the building where the shot came from. The exact window is the sixth floor, all the way to the right.

 Tyson chillaxing on one of our car rides.

 We went to the TexASS State Fairgrounds to see the Children's Aquarium. We went by the Discovery Gardens to get there.

 We stopped at a fountain that had a lot of these pretty flowers.

 Heidi holding Tyson so he could touch the water.

 The 'hands-on' area with starfish and other touchables.

 The sea turtle wants a high five from Tyson.

 The turtle doesn't want to pull his finger, so he swims away.

 Tyson at another exhibit.

 Petting the stingrays.

 Tyson needed some encouragement.

 Standing in front of the Children's Aquarium.

 Another walk, this time with Tyson's hotrod.

 Miley, Adam and Tyson.

 Papa and Tyson.

 We brought our iPad and Tyson loved it. Sue told us they have iPads at the library and he loves to use them there.

 Breakfast with Tyson.

One day we went to my friend Geri's house to visit. I have know her since the days we worked together in the Grand Canyon, when I was a teenager. I haven't seen her for years. We had a good visit, but way too short.

My friend Geri lives real close to where Adam works, and this In-N-Out is close to his work also. We met Adam for lunch. And if you know our family, those of us that live on the East Coast and are deprived of In-N-Out, go there to eat anytime we go out west!

 Tyson in Miley's doghouse. Adam built this for the dog, but Tyson uses it for a playhouse.

 Tyson concocting secret formulas of sand and water at his water-table.

 Mowing the lawn. He calls a mower a 'la-la'. Don't ask me why.

 The play area at the mall.

 Riding the jeep at the play area at the mall.

 While in Dallas, Heidi and I went to the Dallas Temple.

 The temple, spire and grounds.

 Here's a shot withe the U.S. flag also.

 Some of the stonework on the side of the temple.

 Another walk, this time to feed the ducks and geese.

 Come and get it!

 A pair of gees won't turn down a free meal.

 Lots of muskrats here too! They are pretty aggressive.

 Don't worry about those itches, it's just West Nile Virus!

 More iPad time.

 Tyson is infatuated with trains, which he calls 'choo-choos'. Every time he sees a railroad track or crossing, he has to let every one know 'Choo-Choo!' We visited this restored mail car from the electric railway in the area.

 They had a tiny museum in the depot with this layout of trains going around the track. Tyson loved it.

We got to take a tour of the mail car from end to end.  In the back of the mail car.

 Looking the out the back end of the mail car.

 The mail car also had seats and took passengers. Here are some advertisements overhead in the mail car.

 Tyson got to drive.

 Photo op outside the mail car.

 One day we went to an animal sanctuary. The people here rescue large animals from bad homes and bring them here to rehabilitate them and have them live here.

 This tiger didn't like us looking at him.

 Tyson checking things out.

 Another evening walk. This one was in a greenbelt made under the high-power lines.

 In the same neighborhood was this beautiful lake with a walkway around it.

One of the days we drove out to the Fort Worth Stock Yards.

Some of the buildings at the stock yards.

 Cowboys and cops on horseback.

 This is the Stock Exchange building. I think it is a museum now. We didn't go in it.

 Stagecoach rides.

 The building on the right is where they used to load the cattle onto the trains. It is a shopping area now.

 The Chisholm trail came here. Lots of cattle were driven down this trail.

 Watching the beginning of the cattle drive.

 Some famous long-horn cattle.

 A Boy-Howdy (cowboy) with the cattle.

 Tyson liked it.

 Those would look good on someone's couch... the hide, not the whole thing.

 The End... of the cattle drive.

 The stage coach coming down the street.

 Tyson riding his own style of horse.

 Me posing with a new friend.

 Heidi posing with a new friend.

 Heidi holding hands with a boy-howdy statue.

 He's feeling my silky locks.

 The tourist shot.

 Heidi in jail.

 Tyson in jail too.

 Sue, Adam and Tyson with the chop-choo.

 So just like the walk of fame in Hollywood, CA, Forth Worth has all these stars in the sidewalks of cowboys and characters of the old west.

 On our last day we went to the Dallas Zoo.

 Checking out the animals in this big open area.

 Need to scratch your back? This tree will do the trick.

 I took this picture only for my son, Brian: An elephant walking away from a big warm pile of elephant poo!

 Ah, the giraffes.

 You could buy some leafy plants to feed the giraffes.

The sign says:

REST ROOMS

 Everybody's gotta

poop somewhere.

 Statue of elephants.

 In the afternoon Suzie took Tyson on the train.

Here comes the train.

We had a great time visiting and seeing the Dallas area. Thanks for inviting us!

The End