Best of Texas Photo Blog

Our 14-day tour began with a visit to a farm for retired race horses.

They were such characters!

We learned about that the retired racers get to live out their natural life in luxury.

Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home in Memphis

The white grand piano is the highlight of the living room.

This caddy got a special paint job in purple!

We had time this year to also tour all of Elvis’ vehicles and airplanes.

The smaller jet on display.

Where is everyone? It’s rare to get this photo without a lot of people in it!

Downtown Memphis has this great statue of Elvis in action.

Our guide gave us a good history of the Blues in Memphis.

Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas.

Looking from Dealey to downtown Dallas.

Our guide told us that people in Dallas don’t like to be associated with cowboys, but these downtown bronze sculptures of a cattle drive are impressive.

Yes, a longhorn’s horns really are long!

An impressive cattle drive right through downtown Dallas!

What a great photo opp!

First Baptist Church in Dallas. It has 15,000 members, and the early service features a full orchestra and choir for worship.

Pastor Jeffress preached an inspiring sermon. The people at the church were super friendly. Many greeted us personally.

Despite the drizzle, the fountain in front of the church was perfect for a group photo.

The church covers 6 prime city blocks in downtown Dallas.

After church, we drove to Fort Worth for some real cowboy experiences.

These longhorns are the real thing. You don’t want to get too close to those horns!

We were there for the daily cattle drive down the main street of Fort Worth.

They have turned some of the stock pens into a challenging maze. It was easy to get lost in there!

Can you image doing our trip in one of these coaches? We drove 4285 miles overall. I think I prefer an Executive Coach for a long trip.

Lots of friendly folks in Fort Worth.

No visit to Fort Worth is complete without a gun fight!

Lined up, waiting for the show.

The sheriff doesn’t seem to be in control of this outlaw.

Yup, everyone wants to be a cowboy at heart. Actually this is for a grandchild.

AT&T Cowboy Stadium without the turf. They were setting up for a special exhibition of some kind. But the enormity of this stadium can be seen here.

And the 4 gigantic TV screens really bring the play action up close.

This is the interview room for after the game.

Of course I had to find the star quarterback’s locker.

Magnolia Market in Waco was a highlight of many of the passengers.

These are the iconic Silos at Magnolia Market.

Yes, the magnolias were in bloom and so impressive.

The only photo I got of the state flower, the Blue Bonnet (also known as a Lupine). This picture was at a truck stop along the highway.

I had never heard of Bucky’s. It’s like a WalMart and mega gas station rolled into one.

We had a Cajun music demo at Sola Violins in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The YO Headquarters ranch is an historic exotic animal preserve. Most of its animals are from Africa.

We toured the ranch is an old, rickety school bus that didn’t have very good brakes!

We had to take our pictures from inside the safety of the bus.

They had both 2-hump and Dromedary camels, along with a giraffe, several zebras, and Wildebeests.

Everyone was looking forward to a Louisiana swamp tour! Due to the rain, we actually saw more aligators than normal.

We were glad the boats were covered.

The raccoons came out of the forest to eat marshmellows.

Every seat had a great view of the wildlife.

The first passenger brave enough to hold a live alligator.

She wasn’t afraid to take a turn. I was glad to be just the photographer!

Not everyone was sure about holding this guy.

Then it was time to feed the alligators. Boy, were they hungry!

I think this gator wanted to pull our boat pilot in for dessert.

The Empty Cross sculpture garden near the YO Ranch and before San Antonio.

This was probably the hottest day we had, but everyone wanted to explore the prayer garden.

A volunteer guide from The Coming King Foundation gave us an orientation to the garden. Scripture stones throughout the walkways had the gospel message in Spanish, English, and German.

A dramatic life-size sculpture of foot washing.

The cross can be seen from miles around and draws many visitors who are exposed to the gospel message.

There were lots of school groups at the Alamo. It was good to see the young people learning about freedom and its cost.

Remember the Alamo!

An audio tour guided us through the property at our leisure.

Texas has had six different countries’ flags flying over it throughout history.

The remaining original walls were only about six feet high. The walls today were reconstructed.

Besides the audio tour, we had great guides who loved to answer questions.

Recently the original paintings on the walls were discovered under layers of plaster. This is a laser projection of what they looked like.

The ladies were planning a trip to the gift show while their husbands were happy to hold down a bench for a rest.

You can see how thick the walls were that were meant to protect the mission.

The monument in front of the Alamo made an easy location to find to meet up again.

We toured two stately plantations. This is Houmis House in Louisiana.

These stately trees marked a pathway down to the Mississippi River from the mansion.

A knowledgeable guide in period costume led us through the beautifully decorated rooms (sorry, no photos allowed inside…)

Not only was this photo allowed, the guide asked if anyone wanted to play the antique Steinway piano. Linda played Amazing Grace, and the sound from the piano and in that room was heavenly.

We had a delicious cajun buffet at the mansion before our tour.

A group photo under the cool of these lovely trees was perfect.

This was the passengers’ choice for a group photo

A fun scrupture in the gardens behind the mansion.

The guys were so happy to have a bench OUTSIDE of the gift shop!

The iconic San Antonio River Walk.

After a delicious lunch, we all headed to the boats for a ride around the river loop.

Waiting in the rain to meet our coach. The bridge structure provided some cover from the rain.

This was a local favorite restaurant in Vicksburg, Mississippi, located in one of the historic houses.

The food was authentic and delicious.

Vicksburg Military Park had monuments to all the states that fought in the battle here. This large on is for Illinois.

Inside the monument.

The park includes a rare, authentic Ironclad ship from the Civil War. This is the Cairo.

These steam boilers propelled the large paddle wheels at the stern of the ship.

The iron cladding was really thick and effective is protecting the ship. It had an amazing number of cannons all around.

Almost home. Time for a meal in Natural Bridge, Virginia at the Pink Cadillac diner.

No, it’s not a Mary Kay car!

We could choose anything from the menu, which included Elvis’ peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwiches.

Last guided tour, a ranger-led walk to view Natural Bridge. The Statue of Liberty could stand under this rock bridge, and her torch would not touch the under surface.

Thomas Jefferson helped to preserve the natural beauty of this area so that we can all enjoy this natural wonder. George Washington visited here, too.

The end of the trail. What a great tour and a super group of passengers. Let’s do it again next year!