We had been to Fort Worth before, but we had missed the longhorn cattle drive, so we went back for that. It was quick but interesting. Fun fact – the horns are about 6 feet wide, from tip to tip. The Longhorn can go days without drinking any water and they eat cactus. That’s why they were chosen for cattle drives. Cattle in San Antonio area would sell for about $4 a head in 1860s. Up in Kansas, they could go for around $45 a head. Well worth the 2 to 3 month long journey.
The Fort Worth Cattle Drive (I did speed it up a tad, just so you got the gist of what we saw.)
Once that was over, we took a one hour guided walking tour of the stockyards and their history. This was very interesting.
Once that was over, we went to Cooper’s Old Time Pit BBQ just across from the stockyards
Claudette’s Two Cents.
That Beef Rib? And YES, I ate it all – all 1.4 lbs. I was hungry, OK?
The Stockyard has a very important place in the history of Texas and I’d say of cattle ranchers. This was a stop for the ranchers who drove cattle from Mexico up to Kansas, using the Chisholm trail. I’ve included a few links in case you want to know more about it.
I asked the guide his thoughts about Yellowstone and if that hurt or enhance how people see cowboys. He personally didn’t like Yellowstone as he said “These New Yorkers come down here and think they can make the west better. No, I don’t like Yellowstone. But let’s talk about 1883 and 1923. Now that’s something to talk about.” I always like to get people’s opinions on how the media and movies portray different “cultures,” or “personalities” to the rest of the world. I found his comment interesting.
Here are a few pictures from the Stockyard.
Le chapeau te va bien Claudette