Day 36--Dallas, TX to Benton, AR

Today, I drove from Dallas to Benton, AR, stopping in Hot Springs, AR (the location of Hot Springs National Park) on the way. I got on the road at just around 9:00am, stopping at the Dallas location of Sprinkles Cupcakes on the way. Since I found driving on I-30 the past two days rather unpleasant and because I wanted to add Oklahoma to my list of visited states, I took a not much longer but less taken route through north Texas and a corner of Oklahoma. I stopped in Broken Bow, OK on the way for lunch at Subway and got to Hot Springs a little after 3:00pm.

In Hot Springs, I first went up the scenic mountain road for a bit. I probably could have found some really nice views but the road was lined with tree obstructing those views. Hot Springs National Park is VERY different from other national parks. Instead of being a large secluded park, the park is very small and in an incorporated town. It also doesn't have much in the way of auto touring. However, it is still very nice. The central location of the park, which is also the central location of the town, is Bathhouse Row, where there are still two operating spas with mineral baths (there were originally 8 but the town struggled in the 1960s after a crackdown on gambling). I went to the Quapaw Bathouse and spent around an hour in the different mineral pools which was a very relaxing experience (although it cost $21.90). I then took a Duck Tour, which was honestly disappointing, I was expecting a duck tour of scenic areas, but instead, the surface portion was on a commercial street and much of the distance was through commercial sprawl out to a nice, but not spectacular lake where about 20 minutes of the ~70 minute tour was spent. I had never taken a Duck Tour before, and at $18 for adults, apparently the one in Hot Springs is the cheapest anywhere. Hot Springs also has many lower tier tourist attractions (seemingly low quality museums and an aquarium, go karts, miniature golf, etc) that I skipped. It did seem to have nicer historic areas and during season (mid January to mid April), the Oaklawn Horse Racing Track is supposed to be good so Hot Springs may well be a nice place to visit.

Here are a few pictures:

I'm now at my hotel (a Best Western that I got with my Hotels.com free night) in Benton, AR. Tomorrow, it's on to Mammouth Caves National Park although I'll probably stop at the Bill Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock or the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis on the way.

Next Stop: Mammouth Caves National Park, KY

Day 35--Austin, TX to Dallas, TX

Today, I drove the 200 miles or so between Austin and Dallas. After leaving Austin around 8:00am, I first headed to Ft. Worth, only stopping in Waco for gas and a drink on the way. In Ft. Worth, I first checked out the Stockyards National Historic District. I arrived there around 11:00am, in time for the 11:30am daily cattle drive down Exchange Street, which is the heart of the district (I believe there's also an afternoon cattle drive). The cattle drive was brief and I thought it would be a significantly bigger spectacle, but since I love bovines (as food and as creatures to look at), it was still pretty cool.

I walked around the Stockyards district for a bit, walking into a few of the western stores, and then went to Riscky's Steakhouse to get their 10 oz. Ribeye Lunch Special. Riscky's looks the role for a steakhouse in that area. While my steak was perfectly adequate for the price of $12.99, it was not spectacular.

After lunch, I headed to the Kimball Art Museum, which is the most highly regarded of three museums (the others are the Amon Carter and Modern Art museums, which are also highly regarded) located on a stretch a couple of miles west of downtown and south of the Stockyards District. The Kimball was a nice small museum. I didn't pay for the special exhibit which meant admission was free (it is for everyone for the permanent collection). I didn't have a chance to visit the other museums in that area.

I then headed to Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth. It was pretty quiet mid-afternoon on a hot summer weekday but seemed like a nice place. I stopped into the Sid Richardson Museum, which is a small collection (~39 paintings out of a total collection of around ~105 are on display) of Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell paintings. It was pretty nice and also free  (the art museums in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area all seem to be manageable sizes, nice collections, not too crowded, and low/no cost, which makes them very nice).

After Sundance Square, I drove the 30 miles into downtown Dallas. I parked by the Sixth Floor Musuem and that was my first stop. The Sixth Floor Museum is located on the sixth floor of the former Texas Book Depository Building, where Lee Harvey Oswalt shot President John F. Kennedy on 11/22/1963 (although the museum does mention the various existing conspiracy theories and that even now, a majority of Americans don't believe the official story). The Sixth Floor Museum is very good. It is more expensive than other attractions in the area ($14 for a student ticket, which still isn't bad) but provides an informative audio guide that provides supporting information to the displays of text and photos. No pictures are allowed on the Sixth Floor.

After visiting the Sixth Floor Museum, I walked over to the Dallas Museum of Art (was able to do so since its open until 9:00pm on Thursdays. I was there from about 5:15-6:15. I would have spent longer but I was tired), which seems to have a wonderful collection of artwork, including some very nice impressionist and post-impressionist pieces (there is a Van Gogh there among others) (and is also free and not too crowded).

Here are some pictures of downtown Dallas, which is largely not that descript (Fort Worth has significantly more character):

I was pleasantly surprised by both Fort Worth and Dallas. My one complaint is the driving--Dallas has crazy drivers (high speeds, aggression, and lots of cars don't mix well), iPhone GPS isn't as reliable there as elsewhere, and signage is often poor, especially in downtown Dallas (Ft. Worth does much better in this regard).

I'm spending the night in a family friend's pool house (they are away but generously offered their pool house) north of downtown. Tomorrow, it's on to Arkansas (spending some time at Hot Springs National Park and staying between Hot Springs and Little Rock).

Next Stop: Benton, Arkansas (not in proximity to Bentonville, AR, home of Walmart)

Day 34--San Antonio, TX to Austin, TX

Today, I spent the morning in downtown San Antonio, exploring the Alamo and the Riverwalk. The Alamo was pretty cool although I did not spend $7 on an audio guide, which made it hard for me to get the proper historical perspective while in the "shrine of Texas liberty." There's also a small historical museum on the grounds at the Alamo. No pictures are allowed in the shrine. After seeing the Alamo (which is pretty small), I walked along the well-developed commercial part of the Riverwalk, which was very nice. While I entered a few shops, I didn't buy anything or go to a restaurant in that area. While I didn't spend much time there (it was very hot and I had places to go), San Antonio seems to be a pretty nice city.

Then, I took the 90 minute drive up I-35 to Austin. My first stop in Austin was the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, located on the northern end of the University of Texas campus. The LBJ Presidential Library was excellent, especially for a place with $3 student admission, and I spent around 90 minutes there before heading to my hostel. My hostel is located on Lady Bird Lake about 2.5 miles from downtown so it isn't the greatest location in terms enjoying what Austin has to offer. For dinner, I went to Lamberts Downtown Barbecue, where I was able to get a delicious BBQ Brisket sandwich for only $7 since it was still Happy Hour.

After that, I walked around downtown Austin for a bit. It may have been because it was a weeknight early evening in the dog days of summer but Austin didn't seem like a particularly lively city even in some of the areas that are supposed to be lively (I may have missed other parts). I ended up at the original and flagship Whole Foods where I picked up dessert (haven't had it yet so I can't comment).

Tomorrow, it's on to Dallas although I may stop in Ft. Worth on the way.

Next Stop: Dallas, TX

Days 32 and 33--Whites City, NM to San Antonio, TX, stopping at Big Bend!

Yesterday (July 27th), I drove from my motel in Whites City, NM to Terlingua, TX, seeing Big Bend National Park on the way. I left my motel around 9:15am Mountain Time. On the way out, I stopped in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which is just over the line in Texas. Guadlupe Mountains was pretty but not a big stop en route (not many places to pull aside and look around). I did manage to take several nice pictures there.

Soon past Guadalupe Mountains, I entered the Central Time zone, which was rather shocking given the distinctly mountainous/southwestern landscape. The road to Big Bend was somewhat pretty but also rather bland. I stopped for gas in Van Horn, tried to look around Marfa (think I missed what is nice to check out there), and stopped for lunch in Alpine. Shortly after 3:00pm Central Time, I entered Big Bend National Park at the east entrance.

Given my rather late entrance, I didn't have time to do more than an auto tour of the park highlights. Big Bend is spectacular and in my opinion, one of the nicer national parks. However, I think it is less frequented due to its vastness and desolate location. While I did stop for a picture or two along the main road of the park, my first "destination" stop was Boquillas Canyon and the Rio Grande overlook.

After that, I headed towards Chisos Basin. On the road up to Chisos Basin, I encountered a bear with a few cubs (I believe I saw a total of four cubs although I did not capture all in the picture). I believe the type of bear is a Mexican Black Bear.

Then, I went to Santa Elena Canyon, which is probably considered one of the main landmarks of the park.

Here are some more highlights from Big Bend National Park:

While in the national park, I did encounter a few severe thunderstorms, which dropped the temperatures very temporarily from well over 100 (the high I saw was 108) to around 70.

I didn't get to my motel, located between the west entrance of the park and the Terlingua Ghost Town (a few miles from each) until 8:30pm. Instead of seeing if better eating options existed and were open in the ghost town (turns out there were), I decided to have dinner at my motel's cafe, the Big Bend Resort & Adventures Cafe, where I had a mediocore, overpriced chicken, sweet pepper, and onion pizza. My room was pretty nice for the location and for $49.95 per night plus tax but there was no in-room wifi and tv options were limited.

Today (July 28th) was another packed day. In the morning, I decided to take a half day canoe trip down the Rio Grande in Big Bend Ranch State Park. The trip, run by the Far Flung Outdoor Center, departed at around 8:00am from their office (very close to the motel) and returned just before 12:00pm. The time on the river is probably 2.5 hours or so and much of that is at a break point, so the distance covered is rather short. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful experience. Some pictures below:

After canoeing, it was on to San Antonio. The drive is approx. 458 miles or 6.5 hours, so it wasn't exactly a short trip. On the way out of Terlingua, I had to go through a US Border Patrol checkpoint where I had to wait around 10 minutes for additional screening. I made a few stops on the way, getting to San Antonio around 7:15pm. In San Antonio, I'm staying with Diane and Steve, who are friends of my mother's from college.

Tomorrow, I hope to explore San Antonio in the morning, drive to Austin midday, and then explore Austin.

Next Stop: Austin, TX