Along The Old Chisholm Trail

We rode, we shopped, we drove, then we stopped.

Annette came up with that summation of today's leg of our Texas Road Trip, and it's a pretty good one.

Elaine and Maggie

This time last year we came to Fort Worth expressly to ride horseback on the old Chisholm Trail.  But the recent rains had left the trail too muddy to ride. It was a great disappointment. So we came back this year to try again. Annette did a half-hour ride, while I did an hour. She went out first because there was only one guide on duty at that time. A second one showed up before she was finished, and the two of us passed Annette and her guide, Levi, as they were coming in and we were going out. Her mule tried to turn around and follow his buddies, but she managed to keep him pointed toward the stables.

Annette and Gracie

We rode alongside Cypress Creek, where a group of turtles were basking in the sun on top of a long rock. Southern Cypress trees lined our trail for a while, then clumps of mesquite, until we reached the Trinity River. Near the one-mile marker, right before we turned around and headed back, my guide, Trevor, pointed out the skyline of Fort Worth looming across the river.

A half hour was plenty for Annette, but I could have ridden another hour or two.

After our ride, we had lunch, shopped about an hour, then headed down to Waco. Taking the interstate to make better time, we were rewarded by the sight of Indian Paint Brush blooming along the highway. We stopped in West for some kolaches, a type of Czechoslovakian pastry, at the Czech Stop Bakery. We bought a dozen fruit-filled varieties, such as apricot and peach, and one chocolate, along with three sausage-filled kolaches that were sort of like pigs-in-a-blanket. We woofed down a piggy each and halved an apricot kolache in the truck. Then Annette went back in and bought another dozen of the fruity ones and two more chocolates for me. We plan to munch on them over the next few days.

Once in Waco, about 17 miles from West, we made a beeline for Magnolia Market, a group of home decor shops owned by Chip and Johanna Gaines of HGTV's "Fixer Uppers." We didn't go in, just wanted to find it see where it was so it would be easier to find it Thursday. If we find any  bargains, I'll let you know.

Now we're bedded down at the Courtyard Marriott, hoping to get a good night's sleep so we can be at the market when it opens tomorrow at 9 a.m. Nighty-night.