So there we were in West Texas. Every second vehicle was a white pickup truck – all oil well service vehicles. It felt good to be on the road fitting in between them. We left Monohome SP – the one with the sand dunes – and made our way to Odessa. We stopped for some tomales at a roadside Mexican stand and also picked up some dinner to go.
We drove to Abilene. It is a very pretty little town with trees which we had not seen for a few days. Checked into Abilene S. P. and enjoyed the sights, our Mexican dinner and a very peaceful evening as you can see.
After a great 9 hour sleep, we stopped at a Walmart in Abilene and then drove to Cedar Hill S.P. just south of Dallas. It is a huge park with a lake and beach. That evening there was a huge electrical storm. Sheet lighting lit up the sky for an hour. It was magical camping at its best.
The next day we zoomed past Dallas and made our way to Southfork Ranch. If you are of our age you will surely remember the soap opera show called Dallas that was filmed there. It ran from 1978 to 1991 and featured the greedy scheming oil tycoon character of J. R. Ewing played by that fabulous actor Larry Hagman (I Dream of Jeannie). Who Shot J.R. was the cliffhanging last episode of the 1979-80 season. J. R. hears a noise outside his office, steps into the hallway and is shot twice. All during the summer of 1980 we asked our friends, neighbours and family – who do you think shot J.R? Everyone had their theory. That episode remains the second highest rated prime-time telecast ever!
It was a fabulous tour and well worth the stop. It turns out that most of the episodes were actually filmed in a studio in Hollywood, CA and they only shot certain scenes at the ranch. That was OK with us as we wondered through the mansion – and what a mansion it was.
Don’t mess with Texas!
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