North Texas Weekend Road Trip

Hi all, just got home from another road trip. Put 600 miles on the 96 RMW this weekend. Ouch. Broke 87K today.

Sadly my brother-in-law's (wife's sister's husband) mother passed away this past Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. Here's my 2-second lecture, if you smoke, please quit. Sad stuff. I didn't really know her well, but my brother-in-law is a HELL of a good guy, and I sure am sorry for his loss.

Anyway the funeral was in Whitesboro Texas, up near Lake Texoma on the Oklahoma/Texas boarder. Funeral was on Saturday. I USED my wagon this weekend folks! Picked up my in-laws in Dallas, and my nephew. Had my father in law in the front seat with me, my mother in law, wife, and 2-year-old son in the 2nd seat, and my 8-year old son and my 8-year-old nephew in the reverse-facing 3rd seat. Whitesboro was an hour and a half north of Dallas. We all got along fine.

Funeral was...nice...I guess you'd say. My brother-in-law and his Dad seem to be doing as well as possible under the circumstances.

The wagon did great. Got up and back with no issues and spent the night in Dallas last night. Was the first time my in-laws had ridden in my wagon....and the most people I've ever had in it at one time. My father-in-law really liked it.

Got up this morning and did some site-seeing downtown with the kids. Sadly no salvage yarding, had the kids and had limited timeframe. But as usual had the camera with me. Today was a really nice day, warm and sunny. Got some good pics in Big D and on the road home.

Here ya go!

-Mike

Sunday Morning. Tiny old gas station in Lancaster Texas. My in-laws live in Lancaster. My car is longer than the station!


Heading toward downtown Dallas on I-35


Reunion Tower, or as my kids call it at night "the Big Ball" This pic was the enterence to the old Reunion Arena parking lots...the Arena is GONE, amazing to me. I remember watching basketball games here in college and saw Billy Joel here in 1993. The new American Airlines Center killed Reunion Arena. And Cowboys Stadium in Irving is gone. Dallas sure has changed!


Ok history buffs, tell me what building that is behind the Roadmonster, and why the second-from-the-top right side window is open just a tad...



Passing the Grassy Knoll about to go under the sadly-famous overpass..


JFK Memorial...weird looking thing....



Tallest building in Dallas, the Bank of America Plaza


Dallas has a neat mix of old and very modern buildings. The Fountain Place glass tower is impressive!


Crystal Court glass pyramid with Fountain Place in the background.


My Roadmonster Wagon in Big D


Heading south towards Austin on the highway....the Roadmaster was made for this.


Cruise Control set at 80....smooth as glass..car loves to eat up the miles.


Coming up on Willie Nelson's Bio-Willie Truck Stop


May not mean much to folks outside of Texas, but stopped at the Czech Stop. This place is a MUST STOP on the road from Dallas to Austin. It's in the town of West, Texas, on I-35. The bakery is sinful. Kolaces, cookies, pastries, cakes, it's just EVIL. I got one of their "cookie sandwiches", which is two M&M cookies with a big glob of white cream frosting between them. I'm still on a sugar high....and may be having a heart attack... ; )

Boy cars nowadays sure are short compared to the Roadmonster...


Sunset to the west on I-35, heading towards home.



Made it home! Quite a weekend.


Hope you liked the pics. Stay safe and keep the whales on the road gang!

-Mike

Oh and 21 mpg trip average... The greenies can kiss my backside. ; )

Hey Mike,as always great pics and the stories that make all of your posts so enjoyable.I always enjoyed your great state way back when I was driving
for Federal Transport.Was always reminded of how big Texas is when I couldnt cross the state without taking a 8 hour nap.That was if I was running
just 1 logbook instead of 2.
Someday soon I will get back there and just enjoy myself with no definite plans or destination.
Take Care
Jim gordon

Thanks! I really do like Texas, and love road tripping, just too bad this trip was for such a grim reason.

About the state size, did you know it's farther from Houston to El Paso than it is from El Paso to Los Angeles California? No joke!

; )

81X11 wrote:

Ok history buffs, tell me what building that is behind the Roadmonster, and why the second-from-the-top right side window is open just a tad...

Texas School Book Depositary. (In addition to being a car and train nerd, I'm a history nerd )

Ding Ding! Correct.

Sorry I couldn't get any pics of the Grassy Knoll. Can't stop there. There are two X's painted on the road there where the shots struck the Lincoln. Kinda grim.

-Mike

Man I wish I could have had one more day up there. I'm having serious Dallas Salvage Yard withdrawal.... There are always such good parts in Dallas.

Oh well....

that picture reminds me of an episode of the Simpson's.....

Naw that was when they went to see the Sun Sphere in Knoxville.... ; )

yes the one filled with wigs

Texas,. Ha-yew!

You know you're in Texas when....

You notice your radiator is overheating, before you start your car.

You no longer associate bridges over rivers with water.

The thermometer in the lid of your Bar-B-Que Grill shows 150 degrees F, before you light it.

You know a swamp cooler is not a happy hour drink.

You hear the weather forecast for 105 degrees without flinching.

You discover, in July it only takes two fingers to drive your car, because your steering wheel is so hot.

You can make instant sun tea or sun tea instantly.

You run the house a/c in the middle of winter, so you can use your fireplace.

The best parking is determined by shade ..... not distance.

Hotter water comes from the cold water tap than the hot one.

You actually burn your hand opening the car door.

Sunscreen is sold year round, it is always kept right at the checkout counter.

Sunscreen with less than 50 SPF is called 'hand cream.'

You put on fresh sunscreen just to go check the mail box.

Some fools market mini-misters for joggers and some other fools will actually buy them. Worse... a lot of fools actually try to jog!!

When hot air balloons can't rise because the outside air is hotter than the air inside the balloon.

When fabric is considered the deluxe interior, rather than stick-to-your-seat leather.

You see two trees fighting over a dog.

-Mike

When visiting Texas...

1. Pull your droopy pants up. You look like an idiot.


2. It's called a "gravel road," I drive a pickup truck because I need to. No matter how slow you drive, you're going to get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.


3. Those are cattle & oil wells. That's what they smell like to you. They smell like money to us. You don't like it? I-20 And I-10 go east and west, I-35 goes north and south. Pick one and drive safely.


4. So you have a $60,000 dollar car. We're impressed. We have quarter-million dollar cotton strippers that we drive 3 weeks a year.


5. So what if every person in every pickup waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.


6. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of doves are coming in, we WILL shoot it out of your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.


7. Yeah, we eat catfish & crawdads. You really want sushi & caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.


8. The "Opener" refers to the first day of deer season. It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.


9. We open doors for women. That applies to everyone, regardless of age.


10. No, there's no "vegetarian special" on the menu. Order a steak. Or order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham & turkey.


11. When we fill out a table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper and green chili.


12. You bring "coke" into my house, it better be brown, wet, and served over ice. You bring "Mary Jane" into my house, she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck and have pretty long hair.


13. High School Football is as important here as the Lakers and the Knicks, and a dang site more fun to watch.


14. Yeah, we have golf courses. Don't hit the water hazards - it spooks the fish.


15. Colleges? Try Texas A&M. They come outta there with an education, plus a love for God and country, and they still wave at passing pickups when they come home for the holidays.


16. We have more folks in the Navy, Army, Marines and Air Force than any other state, so "Don't Mess with Texas." If you do, you will get your butt whipped by the best.


17. Always remember what our great governor Sam Houston once said: "Texas can make it without the United States, but the United States can't make it without Texas."


; )

-Mike

Sorry for the loss in the family....

Great pics too! Only driven through TX once...but want to come back!!

Nice pics! Looks like you had a good trip, too bad it wasnt for better circunstances. if you make it back up here for some salvage yarding, let me know if you find anything good. I dont make it out them much.

81X11 wrote:

You know you're in Texas when....

You notice your radiator is overheating, before you start your car.

You no longer associate bridges over rivers with water.

The thermometer in the lid of your Bar-B-Que Grill shows 150 degrees F, before you light it.

You know a swamp cooler is not a happy hour drink.

You hear the weather forecast for 105 degrees without flinching.

You discover, in July it only takes two fingers to drive your car, because your steering wheel is so hot.

You can make instant sun tea or sun tea instantly.

You run the house a/c in the middle of winter, so you can use your fireplace.

The best parking is determined by shade ..... not distance.

Hotter water comes from the cold water tap than the hot one.

You actually burn your hand opening the car door.

Sunscreen is sold year round, it is always kept right at the checkout counter.

Sunscreen with less than 50 SPF is called 'hand cream.'

You put on fresh sunscreen just to go check the mail box.

Some fools market mini-misters for joggers and some other fools will actually buy them. Worse... a lot of fools actually try to jog!!

When hot air balloons can't rise because the outside air is hotter than the air inside the balloon.

When fabric is considered the deluxe interior, rather than stick-to-your-seat leather.

You see two trees fighting over a dog.

-Mike

All of this is true!!!

I love yarding in Dallas. There are SO MANY yards up there, and parts are so cheap.

Will be up again soon....camera in hand. ; )

-Mike

When visiting grand valley,.

1. Pull your droopy pants up. You look like an idiot.


2. It's called a "gravel road," I drive a pickup truck because I need to. No matter how slow you drive, you're going to get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.

3. So what if every person in every pickup waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.

4. You really want sushi & caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.

5. We open doors for women. That applies to everyone, regardless of age.


6. No, there's no "vegetarian special" on the menu. Order a steak. Or order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham & turkey.


7.When we fill out a table, there are two main dishes: meats, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper and garlic

8. Yeah, we have golf courses. Don't hit the water hazards - it spooks the snappin turtles.


nick

Glad to hear some things are universal!