Tag: YouTube video

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Texas, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

This Was our First Rodeo: Fort Worth Stockyards Coliseum Rodeo

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on This Was our First Rodeo: Fort Worth Stockyards Coliseum Rodeo

The Fort Worth Coliseum holds weekly rodeos on Friday and Saturday nights. They have competitors come in from all over (on the night we went they had one cowboy from Alaska and two from Brazil). They had timed events and rough stock events. (According to their website, Saturday nights have more rough stock events.) We learned that a rough stock event is normally bull and bronco riding, whereas a timed event is the roping and barrel racing.

It was our first ever rodeo and we weren’t sure what to expect. The Coliseum had a few different seating options: General Seating, Silver Spur (set of 5 reserved seats, in first two rows), Gold Buckle (reserved seats in the middle, cushioned seats with cup holders), VIP (3 rows with a bar). We were worried about taking the risk going to a rodeo during the pandemic and chose the Gold Buckle seats to ensure our greatest chance at social distancing. We were lucky enough to be sponsored for these seats from an award Ben had received from work. It turned out great! The chairs were very comfortable and gave us some distance from other people. We were also close to the action. So close we even had dirt flung up from the arena floor a couple times.

We saw bull riding, roping, barrel racing, bronco and bare back bronco riding. The strength and flexibility to do these events was remarkable. Even with the high skill of these athletes, one cowboy get knocked out and had to be carried off the field.

Due to COVID, the Coliseum limited seating to 75% and required masks to enter. The announcer was great about reminding people to socially distance and to wear masks throughout the event. However, there was no real enforcement. Once people were inside, it seemed like at least half of them took their masks off (not for eating/drinking, just off). We left ours on the whole time.

VIDEO: Fort Worth Coliseum Rodeo 11/21/2020

Post Event Notes:

We delayed putting this blog out until we were sure we did not end up with COVID from the experience. Luckily we are all still healthy (i.e.-no-COVID fallout from the Rodeo). Yee haw!

We were worried about the animals. It was amazing to see these athletes demonstrate their craft, but it concerned us that the animals could be hurt for our entertainment. Specifically, we wanted to know what was being done to make the bulls and horses buck. I did some reading and discovered it is a combination of breeding and the use of a pressure inducing flank strap. Here are a couple of the articles on why bulls buck: Arlington, LiveAbout.

Overall, our first rodeo was a lot of fun and definitely a learning experience. I’m not sure that I would go out of my way to see another Rodeo, but I am very glad I had the opportunity to see it.

Posted in: Exploring Texas, Museums & Tours, School, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Remember The Alamo!

Written by tepetravels 2 Comments on Remember The Alamo!

One of Will’s picks to see on this trip was the Alamo. This kid loves history.

It was in the downtown area, not far from the River Walk. We walked between the two quite easily (it was less than 10 minutes, depending on where you were on the River Walk).

It was really neat to see. They did a really nice job with historical information signs and diagrams. There’s a gorgeous, huge, oak tree in the courtyard. (Ben’s favorite thing was the “historical” gift shop.)

Due to Covid, there was a limited amount of people allowed in the church area of the Alamo. Tickets were free, but they were sold out the day we were there. We do plan on going back once we can get tickets.

VIDEO: Walking Around The Alamo

VISITOR NOTE: The postcards in the Alamo gift shop were $1.99 each. The shop across the street and the San Antonio Visitor Center had them for about $0.35/each.

Posted in: Campground Review, Exploring Texas, YouTube Video Link

Cowtown RV Park (Texas): Campground Review

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on Cowtown RV Park (Texas): Campground Review

For our travels in Texas, we originally had Thousand Trails (TT) parks reserved. However, after reading reviews for the first two, we decided to stay at other campgrounds. I had also talked with the first TT campground on the phone, and was not very impressed with their customer service. It also was 1.5 hours from any of the things we wanted to see.

It was a frantic internet search while driving through the vastness of Texas to try to find an open site near where we wanted to stay. We saw some good reviews for a place called Cowtown RV Park. They could get us in for 2 weeks, but then had other bookings. They were really nice on the phone and we reserved our stay. We didn’t pay anything until we checked in, although that could have been due to having a same day check-in as booking. After we checked in at the office, they had someone lead us to our site.

The office had a small store area, although it was mostly food. The campground did have laundry facilities (3 locations), bathrooms (closed due to Covid), a small playground, pool (locked for the season, but they did offer to unlock it if the kids wanted to swim, although it is not heated), horseshoes, and a basketball hoop. It was dog friendly with a couple of fenced-in dog areas. There were garbage cans scattered about on each row. Sites were concrete pads, with most having a picnic table and ours even had a charcoal grill! There were no fire rings, but I did see several people using their own fire pits on the driveways. The RV park was a mix of back-in and pull-through sites. All sites were 30/50 amp, full hookups, and had cable lines to hook into. They did sell propane onsite, as well as ice. The park also offered WiFi and had several boosters located around the grounds.

Laundry room #3, propane, office, laundry room #2 (By Rally Room)
Dog area, horseshoes, office store, our site

It was pretty dark around the campground at night. There were a few lights on the buildings (laundry, etc.), but not down the rows.

Laundry was $1.25/load for both the washers and dryers.

The park was close to the highway. Most of the time we did not hear any noise, or if we did it was not too loud.

The RV park was pretty conveniently located. There were several grocery store options close by (Walmart, Costco, Target, Brookshire’s — cheapest diesel while we were in town). Starbucks was close as well, almost walking distance but there were no sidewalks. It was about 20 minutes from Fort Worth/Fort Worth Stockyards.

I think the campground was decently priced. It had a really convenient location. If we were in the Fort Worth area, I think we would stay here again.

The boys put together another campground tour video!

VIDEO: Cowtown RV Park Campground Tour

Summary of Campground:

Our rating: 3 out of 5 hitches

Cell Phone Reception: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile

Laundry: Yes

Bathrooms/Showers: Yes, but closed for Covid

RV Sites: Yes, pull through and back in

Pop Up Tents/Gazebos/Outdoor Rugs On-Site:

Amenities: picnic table,  grill most sites, cable, playground, dog park

Cabins: No

Tent Camping: No

Full Hook Ups: Yes. 30/50 Amps

Pool: Yes

WiFi: Yes

Pop Up Tents/Gazebos/Outdoor Rugs On-Site:

Amenities: picnic table,  grill most sites, cable, playground, dog park

Cabins: No

Tent Camping: No

Full Hook Ups: Yes. 30/50 Amps

Pool: Yes

WiFi: Yes

Food On-Site: No

Camp Store: Yes, limited

Fishing: No

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Texas, Food, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Cattlemen’s Steak House In Fort Worth Stockyards, Texas

Written by tepetravels

We were getting hungry walking around Fort Worth Stockyards. There were a lot of steakhouses in the Stockyards area, so we decided to eat what Texas is known for (steak)! We stopped to eat lunch at Cattlemen’s Steak House.

The pricing was a little expensive, but the 6 oz steak pricing wasn’t too far off from what we would normally pay. The lunch menu was about half the price of dinner options. They also offered a kids menu, with a 6 oz steak and 1 side option. It was about $4 cheaper than our lunch (same 6 oz steak). We did get a side salad though.

After we ordered drinks and our meals, they brought out rolls. The rolls were standard table rolls, round, a little dry.

Our salads came next. They were ok. It looked like a basic side salad: iceburg/romaine lettuce, some croutons, shredded carrots, dressing.

Our meals came on a fun plate. The kids had ordered fries with their steaks (the fries had a nice seasoning, but a little too crispy for me). Ben and I got baked potatoes as our side. They brought each one with the trimmings on the side (bacon, sour cream, chives, cheese).

The steak was nice and juicy. We had all ordered medium, although Ben and mine were more medium well than medium. They had a great flavor and were very tender.

If you walked around the restaurant, the two dining sections had it’s own grill area, so you could watch them make the steaks. I thought that was a really fun touch.

They also offered steaks for sale that could be air mailed.

VIDEO: Quick Walk Through of Cattlemen’s Steak House In Fort Worth Stockyards In Texas (I do mean quick, it’s less than 1 1/2 minutes! It was just a little too long to embed in the blog post.)

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Texas, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Exploring Fort Worth Stockyards

Written by tepetravels

I loved the Stockyards. I had been in the Fort Worth area once before (a long time ago, before kids) for work training. It was still really cool coming back a second time.

The Stockyards are now a historic district with shopping and restaurants. However, it once had so many cattle going through, that it was nicknamed Cowtown. It was a working stockyard with a railroad line, cattle sales, shipping, and processing.

As you walked around, there were parts of the shopping areas that had cobblestone walkways. These were the original brick! The Livestock Exchange Building now has offices, the Historical Society, and cattle actions via satellite. There was a daily (free) cattle drive with Texas Longhorns at 11:30am and 4:00pm. On Saturdays and Sundays there was a gunfight show (also free) at 11:45am and 4:15pm. They still hold weekly rodeos in the Coliseum (which according to them held the first indoor rodeo!).

We visited the Stockyards on our second day in town. Parking was a bit tight (not the spot sizes, but finding one). There were plenty of lots, but they were gearing up to the Christmas season and there were a lot of people around. There was some free parking, but the closer lots were $10 and $15/day. After we parked, we mostly wandered around and took in the views. We bought a few postcards, some Christmas gifts, small ornaments. It was decorated for Christmas, which looked really pretty.

We grabbed some lunch at a local steakhouse, saw some amazing wood furniture, admired the Texas Longhorn Cattle, and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Nick tried his hand at riding a mechanical bull. He did pretty well. It was $8/ride.

Post steakhouse, the cattle took its revenge on Nick.

VIDEO: Walking Through Fort Worth Stockyards (YouTube link)

Posted in: Campground Review, Exploring New Mexico, Food, YouTube Video Link

KOA Carlsbad, New Mexico: Campground Review

Written by tepetravels 2 Comments on KOA Carlsbad, New Mexico: Campground Review

For our stay in Carlsbad, New Mexico, we stayed at the Carlsbad KOA. It’s a little bit out of town, about 20 minutes.

The campground was a nice one, with plenty of things to keep the kids busy. There was a large outdoor checkers board and a porch swing by the office. The main building housed an office/store, restaurant (delivered to your site, food made on-site in smokers), bathrooms/showers (men’s main bathroom closed for our stay), and a laundry room. The campground had WiFi (no streaming), picnic areas, fire pits at sites, pool (closed for the season for our stay), gaga ball court (boys’ favorite), tether ball, playground (with a set of bathrooms/showers nearby), and fenced dog area. Most of the sites were pull-through. There were a few tent sites and a few cabins to stay in as well. The rows were nicely labeled to help find your site. Once we were checked in (they gave us some cute red/black plaid can koosies at check in), a staff member led us to our site. The front desk recommended using a water filter for the drinking water.

The office store sold some souvenir type things, grocery items, ice ($3/10 lb bag), and firewood bundles ($10/bundle).

The spots were nicely spaced, with plenty of room for our trailer and truck to fit on the paved spot. There were only a couple of downsides (which they didn’t have control over): very windy at times and a fair amount of flies.

The campground was about 20 minutes from town, about 45 minutes to Carlsbad Cavern National Park, and about 1 hour from Roswell. Carlsbad (the town) had an Albertsons, a Walmart, and a Lowe’s, plus plenty of fast food options. There were also plenty of fuel stations in town, a lot with diesel. Most of them, however, would be difficult with a bigger RV/trailer.

Everyone we interacted with at the campground was nice and helpful. If we were back in the area, I would stay here again.

VIDEO: Carlsbad KOA Campground Tour

Side Note: Due to Covid, we could only go to National Parks/National lands. The State Parks (even all outdoor ones) are closed to non-New Mexico residents. Masks are also required indoors. The staff at the KOA did a great job with this, but the regular people out and about and employees in other stores did not.

SUMMARY OF CAMPGROUND:

Our rating: 2.5-3 out of 5 hitches

Cell Phone Reception: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile

Laundry: Yes

Bathrooms/Showers: Yes, partially open for repairs

RV Sites: Pull through, a few back-in

Pop Up Tents/Gazebos/Outdoor Rugs On-Site: No

Amenities: picnic table and fire pit/grill at each site, cable, dog park, gaga ball court, tether ball

Cabins: Yes

Tent Camping: Yes

Full Hook Ups: Yes. 20/30/50 Amps

Pool: Yes, closed for season when we were there

Food On-Site: Yes

Camp Store: Yes

WiFi: Yes

Fishing: No

Posted in: Exploring New Mexico, Museums & Tours, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Looking For Aliens In Roswell, New Mexico

Written by tepetravels

Roswell was about an hour drive from our campground. Since it was so close, I wanted to go see it. We ended up going on my birthday! After everyone was done with school/work, we drove up. We got there about 4:00pm. Although an hour is a quick drive to us at this point, it seemed longer with the emptiness of the land. The way home was very dark (no street lights unless in a town) and smelly (processing plants).

We visited the UFO International Museum. (Cost us $14 for entry tickets.) There was a machine to take your temperature as you came inside.

The exhibits had a lot of reading. None of the smaller video monitors were on, so it was more like standing and reading a book. The Research Library and Video Room were roped off. The spaceship display in the center of the room was probably the neatest thing in there!

There was a really neat gift shop as well, so we spent a little time doing some shopping at the end.

It seemed like most of the shops were already closed when we got to town or closed at 5:00pm. (If you are going, I would check with each store. Maps had listed the Visitor Center as open until 5:00pm, but the sign on the door said 2:00.)

There were fun street lamps along the main street decorated with alien eyes! (Which I later learned on RoadsideAmerica, were not even done by the city! A group snuck in one night and applied them to some of the lamps. Here’s the link to the story.)

There were a few alien statues, but it seemed like it was mostly done by the individual stores. The McDonald’s was amazing! The outside was shaped like a UFO, complete with lights.

VIDEO: Walking Through The International UFO Museum and Main Street of Roswell, New Mexico

The town was ok. I would not make a specific trip out there. Maybe it was because so many things were closed, but there didn’t seem to be a lot to do. I also thought the town would have embraced the alien theme and would have been kitschier.

Posted in: Exploring New Mexico, Hiking, Museums & Tours, National Park, National Parks, School, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Carlsbad Caverns National Park: No Bats, but Still Amazing

Written by tepetravels 5 Comments on Carlsbad Caverns National Park: No Bats, but Still Amazing

We visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park and it was amazing. It was both breathtaking, awe inspiring, and scary.

Right now the timed entrance tickets are not being used. According to their website, there are some days near the holidays that the park will be using the timed tickets again, so check their website if you are going near Thanksgiving and Christmas. The website also stated that there was currently a limit to 1,000 people/day.

The Park opened at 8:00am, Cavern opened at 8:30am. We got there about 7:45am, and there was already a line to get into the Visitors Center. Because of the daily entrance limit, I would try to get there as early as you can. We were in the cave about 4.5 hours.

The Visitor Center had bathrooms, 2 gift shops, a ticket booth, and an informational booth (park map, junior ranger books). There were not any ranger tours (Covid), but you can rent an audio tour ($5). I would really recommend the audio tour, it had some great information and also could be useful for kids who don’t like to (or can’t) read the signs. The Visitor Center has some interesting information at the exhibits, as well as a model of the cave.

The Cave had both elevators and a Natural Entrance. If you can, take the Natural Entrance down into the cave. It was quite the view and experience to walk these switchbacks down into the cave.

There were no bats while we were there, as it was too late in the season, but it must be amazing to see them exit at night.

It is a little scary when think about how far down you are. Nick was listening to audio tour and pointed out a section with tiny stalactites laying on the ground. They had fallen in an earthquake. Of course, then I looked to the ceiling and prayed for no shaking or earthquakes because that would really, really hurt. (There were also emergency call buttons to reach the Rangers throughout the cave. It was paved and had guardrails throughout.)

Top right picture: small fallen stalactites.

When you finish walking the cavern, it brings you to the elevators and lunch area. They sold drinks and cold items there. We took the elevators back up (it looked like maybe it was one way). The elevator rose 754 feet to get back to the Visitors Center!

Recommendations: Bring a water bottle. (No food or gum is allowed, but plain water is.) Wear boots, or at least shoes with a really good tread (some spots are slick, some are a little steep). Bring a small flashlight: you can see some cool things, and well…what if they loose power? It is completely dark when there are no lights.

VIDEO: Walking Through Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Note: The video is a little dark, as it was in a cave, but there are some neat scenes!

Jim White was the first known person to explore the cave (from 1898 to 1902). He saw what he thought was smoke and went to investigate what/where it was. The smoke turned out to be bats exiting the cave. How bored do you have to be to repel (because the Natural Entrance Switchbacks were not there), with a lantern into an unknown hole in the ground?! Seriously, it had to have been nerve wracking. He unfortunately, according to the Ranger Will talked to, never filed a claim on the cave/land. Miners came in to mine the guano and sold it to farmers, specifically to citrus groves. Eventually, the government came in and declared it a National Monument and then a National Park.

Posted in: Campground Review, Exploring Arizona, YouTube Video Link

Lazydays KOA (Tucson, Arizona): Campground Review

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on Lazydays KOA (Tucson, Arizona): Campground Review

For our stay in Tucson, Arizona, we stayed at the Lazydays/Tucson KOA.

There were so many different kinds of sites to pick from: full hook ups, covered sites, sites with an outdoor fireplace, grass sites with a fence for dogs, tent sites, pull-through and back-in sites, and cabin rentals. The lots were gravel with a small paved parking pad for cars/trucks. It seemed to have plenty of room at each site. The sites also had some type of outdoor seating, but that also varied per site. There were fruit trees scattered around the campground. We saw limes, lemons, grapefruit, and the boys think they found an orange tree.

This campground had lots of amenities: 2 pools (heated) and a hot tub, laundry room, office store (mostly souvenir type stuff), office had pool table/bookshelves/shuffleboard, 2 bathroom/shower buildings, a gym, restaurant (sit down or would deliver to the pool or your RV), pond with bench seats, a bike course, putting greens (I would not call it putt putt, but the boys had fun with it), pickleball courts, WiFi (no streaming), cable (bring own coaxial cable), playground. There was also a tortoise, although we never saw him. The office also had the clubs, paddles/balls for the outdoor games. By the office was a large patio with outdoor seating and fire pits. If you wanted a fire at your site, you could rent a fire pit from the office as well. The gates closed at 7:00 pm, however you could still get in through the main entrance. You had to buzz or call in and have them open the gates.

Garbage was placed at the end of your site. You could also get a recycling bin from the office.

Laundry was the most expensive of the campgrounds so far, $2.50/load in the washer or dryer. There were plenty of machines and we didn’t have to wait. We had two loads, so it cost us $10. There was a change machine in the laundry room.

The campground did a nice job with having a variety of planned activities. While we were there it ranged from breakfast (coffee/juice, danish/muffins) to friendship bracelets to yoga. The activity list was posted in the office and laundry room.

There was some train and plane noise. Most of the plane noise seemed to come from military jets.

Arizona does require masks, so in the campground staff and guests must wear masks indoors.

The campground was well maintained. I would stay here again if we were in the area.

VIDEO: Tucson Lazydays KOA Campground Tour

 

SUMMARY OF CAMPGROUND:

Our rating: 3 out of 5 hitches

Cell Phone Reception: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile

Laundry: Yes

Bathrooms/Showers: Yes

RV Sites: Pull through, Back-In

Pop Up Tents/Gazebos/Outdoor Rugs On-Site:

Amenities: picnic table, cable, playground, dog park, pickleball, putting green, gym

Cabins: Yes

Tent Camping: Yes

Full Hook Ups: Yes. 20/30/50 Amps

Pool: Yes, heated

Food On-Site: Yes

Camp Store: Yes

WiFi: Yes

Fishing: No

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Arizona, National Park, National Parks, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Saguaro National Park (It’s Two Parks!)

Written by tepetravels

There were a few reasons we stayed in Arizona. One: To help break up the long, long, long, drive across the bottom of the country. (Seriously, you see it on a map, but until we were driving and there was literally nothing for a hundred+ miles, it doesn’t quite sink in just how much land this country has.) Two: To see the cacti. We went to Saguaro National Park, which was about a half hour drive from our campsite. Saguaro actually has two sections to the park: East and West. They are not connected! (See map below.) Although each side had the saguaro cactus that the park was named for, they did offer different things to see. We went to see Saguaro West, because I wanted to see the petroglyphs.

The Visitor Center looked like a nice building (but had closed by the time we got there). It had some nice informational signs with desert life information. There was not a ranger booth/ticket booth like in many of the other National Parks we had been to. Instead, you paid at the Visitor Center. There was also an outside payment box if the Visitor Center was closed. ($25/car for 7 days or $45 for a Saguaro annual pass. It is $80 for the America The Beautiful pass that lets you into all National Parks, Monuments, etc.)

We drove the Bajada Loop (aka Hohokam Rd.) It was really neat to see, but I would recommend going in a truck, SUV, or a car that sits up higher. The highway and road to the Visitor Center was paved. However, the scenic loop road was not! While, the end of the road was nice and flat, there were sections along the rest of the road that were definitely bumpy and had some ruts. (See Video: Drive Through Saguaro National Park West) We only saw a few people in the whole park, maybe 10 people besides us.

There were a few spots to pull off and hike. It was a warm day, 90 degrees F, so we just stuck with easy short trails. We ended up doing 3 trails: Valley View, Signal Hill (petroglyphs), and Desert Discovery Nature Trail (paved). In total, about 2 miles of hiking, so it was a light day.

Valley View offered a great view at the end of the trail over the valley below. There were just cacti as far as the eye could see. It also offered a few interesting plant information plaques along the way. It must be amazing when the cacti are in bloom.

We only saw 1 lizard (looked like a small whiptail like we have been seeing out West) and a few birds. We did see a web on the ground that covered a good amount of space, but no spider to go with it.

Catci look really weird when they die. Especially the Saguaro cactus.

Signal Hill was a short trail at the Signal Hill Picnic Area. There were several great grill areas and benches around for picnics. At the top of the trail was what looked like a pile of rocks. There were a bunch of petroglyphs on these rocks, some you can see from the bottom of the trail looking up, some you can see right next to the trail. If you enjoy petroglyphs, I would definitely take this trail (it’s only a .3 mile trail according to the park).

We ended the day with the Desert Discovery Nature Trail. It was an easy paved path. There were several informational signs around the trail. The sun was beginning to set, which gave the cacti a really neat backdrop. We saw a roadrunner running through the bushes near the parking lot. (Contrary to what TV taught me, there was no coyote chasing it. We didn’t see any ACME products either. They were fast, but didn’t say “Beep Beep”.)

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