Friday, January 1st, 2010
ITINERARY
CATTLE CALL Saddle up in Ft. Worth’s Stockyards
National Historic District.
DAVE SHAFER/AURORA/GETTY IMAGES
Long before the art museums and orchestras arrived, Ft. Worth was a dusty frontier town. An outpost on a leg of the Chisholm Trail, along which cowboys once drove Texas longhorns up to Kansas, the town attracted all manner of rugged explorers. There, they lived the life of a cubicle worker’s dreams: corralling herds on horseback, gambling in its dusty saloons, eating around a campfire and riding bucking broncos to glory in impromptu skills exhibitions.
Wouldn’t it be great to be one of them, even for just a day?
Of course it would, and Ft. Worth, home of the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District, is happy to oblige. But first things first: Being a cowboy is hard work, so you should start your day with some hearty sustenance. Get it at H3 Ranch (817-624-1246; www.h3ranch.com), where the famous country breakfast includes big, fluffy flapjacks and gravy-covered chicken-fried steak and eggs. Afterward, step outside and walk a few blocks away to see a herd of longhorn cattle as they emerge from their holding pens in the twice-daily Fort Worth Herd Cattle Drive (www.stockyardsstation.com). It’ll give you the chance to watch some real cowboys in action.
You’ll need authentic cowboy gear, and there’s no better outfitter around these parts than M. L. Leddy’s (www.leddys.com), whose master craftsmen have created accessories for everyone from George W. Bush to Prince Charles. The 77-year-old company can set you up with hats, belts and handmade leather boots for your afternoon trail ride along the Trinity River with Stockyards Arena and Livery (www.stockyardsstation.com/arena-and-livery). Forty dollars covers horse rental, equipment and an hour-long guided ride.
When you return, check out the honored men and women of the American West at The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame (www.texascowboyhalloffame.com) and the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame (www.cowgirl.net) until you’re ready for a giant plate of victuals at The Lonesome Dove (817-740-8810; www.lonesomedovebistro.com). There, instead of the standard cowboy meal of beans and biscuits, you can indulge in meaty barbecued wild-boar ribs and rabbit-rattlesnake sausage with crème fraîche from Iron Chef champion—and cowboy hat-wear-ing—culinary artist Tim Love.
Sufficiently sated, you’ll have energy to cheer at the Stockyards Championship Rodeo at Cowtown Coliseum (www.cowtowncoliseum.com), where, every Friday and Saturday night, the best wranglers around compete in events such as team roping and barrel racing.
Your frontier day is almost over, but you’re not done yet. Rustle up a few of your pals and take them over to the White Elephant Saloon (www.whiteelephantsaloon.com), a perfect spot to listen to live music and chat over a frosty brew. This is still the Wild West, though, so watch who you’re talkin’ to there, gunslinger—former owner and delinquent Luke Short once shot and killed one of the town’s top gunfighters.
