Five hours northeast of San Antonio and three and a half hours northeast of Austin is the city of Dallas. America’s 8th largest city, Dallas is another concrete jungle with plenty of interesting places to visit. Above are two photos showing the city’s large buildings and skyscrapers.

Right in the center of downtown Dallas is this humble cabin. From the pictures I posted before this showing the skyscrapers, you can see how much the city changed in a matter of 150 years. The cabin above was once Dallas’ first post office and courthouse. On the right is the court house that succeeded the cabin on the left. Built in 1892, it has now been converted to a historical museum about Dallas’ past.

One of America’s greatest tragedies was the assassination of president John F Kennedy. On November 22nd 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald who fired multiple shots from the window of a nearby building as the president’s motorcade passed by. These two photos are from the 6th floor museum, somehow I took many pictures before noticing that almost every 10 feet was a no photography sign. The photo on the left shows Kennedy in public with almost no security which was once the norm for political officials. On the upper right, is the room where Lee Harvey Oswald was believed to have taken the shots. The building at the time was called the school book depository building, and was packed with hundreds of boxes. The museum has many videos, artifacts, and other interesting info.

The photo on the upper left shows the building where the fatal shots where fired. The window on the upper right, second floor down from the top is where Lee Harvey Oswald took his position. Many conspiracy theories have emerged on the assassination. With Oswald frequently traveling to the Soviet Union at a time where no Americans were trusted, and with acoustic evidence suggesting other shots were fired, many people believe he was simply a puppet sent to take the blame. He was murdered soon after he was arrested by Jack Ruby, so the possibility of closure ended and will forever remain in mystery and debate. On the upper right is the Kennedy Memorial found near Dealy Plaza.

I spent several weeks in Dallas for work in 2009 and again several years later. My local coworkers seemed to love places like Hooters and other similar restaurants in the area. I’ve never seen restaurants like this in other states but they thrive in Texas. One day they took me out to “Redneck Heaven” which I took as a joke. I was surprised to find out that was the real name, how wild the place was, and to see a family inside! I had my camera in the car and asked if I could take a photo expecting it to not be allowed. Not only were the girls working here nice enough to say yes they actually grabbed a bunch of their friends and let me take a group photo.

My favorite place to visit in the Dallas Forth Worth area are the stockyards. This large area is a preserved historic district back from the Wild West days of America. Above shows the entrance to the stock yards, and on the right is a saloon that serves beer and packed with bikers.

The stockyards originally opened in 1866 and once railroads connected the area to the rest of the country in the 1870s they became one of the most important in the country. Today, they are still run with a few cattle for entertainment purposes, and are the last remaining stockyards in the United States. Below is a photo of a guy riding a longhorn bull, and on the lower right some bulls being run through the historic district.

Here are some more photos of the Stockyards in Fort Worth. Much of the area has been converted to shops, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. On the upper right is a shop during the Christmas season selling souvenirs and gifts. You won’t have a hard time finding any live music in the stockyards either. Below are several country singers I came across, and even a look alike of a cowboy that once lived in the area before being murdered. His name is Wild Billy Hickok, you should Google his photo, the guy below is a pretty close look alike.