Yellow Rose of Texas (and other pretty flowers!)
April 19 – 24, 2022
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| Jerri, let's not wait another 47 years to get together! |
While we were here, I had the wonderful opportunity to get to know a woman I graduated from North Scott High School with! It sounds strange that I am just now getting to know a classmate, but Jerri didn’t move to Eldridge until her junior year of high school. Our graduating class had 210 students, so although I knew who Jerri was, we never had the opportunity to hang out together. Recently, I noticed on Facebook Jerri and her husband Mark live near Dallas. I couldn’t resist reaching out to her! Jerri took me up on my suggestion for getting together and recommended meeting at Hickory Roots BBQ for dinner in Terrell, Texas. It was a delicious suggestion, as both the brisket and ribs we had were fantastic! The disappointing part of the evening was regretting I had not reached out to Jerri in 1974, when we were both juniors in high school. Look at all of these years I’ve wasted! Three hours of nonstop chatter flew by in an instant and, by the time we parted, I felt like Jerri was a dear friend. Jerri clearly has the southern hospitality touch, as before we parted ways, she had a package of garden-fresh asparagus for us. Yummy! Thank you, Jerri! Let’s keep in touch!
Lake Tawakoni was a bit of an isolated location, making it a drive to explore surrounding towns; however, the roadsides, filled with Blue Bonnets (the Texas state flower), Indian Paintbrush, and Crimson Clover offered us the simple beauty of springtime in the lush plains of this part of Texas and made the road trips so very enjoyable.
One day, we visited the town of Canton, where we had lunch at Latham Bakery located on the historic town square. Walking around the square, we learned a little bit of the town's history and stopped at The Pony Expresso (a former drive-through bank) for a cup of Joe.
On another day, we drove to the town of Tyler where we strolled the grounds of the Tyler Botanical Garden. Tyler is known to be the center of rose cultivation, so we couldn’t help but stop to smell the roses while we were there! It happened to be “Art in the Park” day, so in addition to smelling the roses, we were able to admire the talented artists working their wonder while we strolled the thousands of rose bushes. I have to admit, the yellow roses of Texas were my favorite. My mom always loved yellow roses – she would have loved this park! We also took in azalea gardens along the brick-lined roads of the historic district of town. Although the azaleas were slightly past prime, we were still able to find a few that were boasting their bright colors!
My favorite day in the area was spent touring the Dallas Arboretum. Among our best-loved spots in the arboretum was “A Tasting Place”. This vegetable garden is an educational area, teaching what vegetables grow in the region and how to grow and prepare them. The day we visited, they were featuring carrots and giving samples of carrot dishes (Spicy Carrot Salsa, Pan Seared Carrots and Carrot Cake). All delectable!
Another spot we loved was the home of Everette and Nell DeGolyer, located on the grounds of the Arboretum. Everette was a successful geologist who is often called the “father of geophysical exploration”. He knew how to find oil and oil he found! This prosperous couple purchased 44 acres, a former dairy farm, in 1938. They then hired two architects from California to design and built their 21,000 square foot retirement home. It took two years to build the home, which was largely designed to house Everette’s extensive book collection and to accommodate the large parties they often hosted. The library itself is over 1,600 square feet and contains hidden access to two additional rooms behind the bookcases. Two of the bookcases are actually doors! The home was built with central air conditioning, which must have been quite unusual in 1938. The master bedroom ensuite (which had two twin beds in it) has a shower with five shower heads and closet space with all of the design elements you could possibly dream of (built-in drawers, pull-out rack for hanging clothes, three panel dressing mirror…). This certainly was a home designed ahead of its time! After Nell’s death in 1972, the estate was given by the DeGolyer Foundation to Southern Methodist University. In 1977, SMU sold the property to the City of Dallas, which in turn used the property to build the arboretum. It’s a wonderful asset to Dallas!
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| Such a clever design! The peacock's tail is a beautiful flower bed! |
Nell was a civic leader and philanthropist who also made quite a name for herself. Among other things, she was very active in the League of Women Voters and served on the Board of Trustees for the Wadley Research Institute and Blood Bank. In Nell’s sitting room is a framed invitation she received to the luncheon for JFK the day he was assassinated. It gave me goosebumps to envision Nell waiting at the Trade Mart, where the luncheon was to be held, for President Kennedy to arrive. Such a sad day in our nation’s history.
Our final highlight of the arboretum was the Japanese Maple Garden. The beautifully-landscaped trees and accompanying stream were so serene and tranquil! I would have loved to have a blanket to spread out and a book along! We could have spent the entire day at this spot!
A random observation we noted about all of the locations we visited in the Dallas area is that there seems to be a donut shop on every corner! We do love a good donut (or two, or three) and after five days of non-stop temptation, we succumbed. The truck practically turned itself into the parking lot of The Royal Donut Shop on our final day of visiting. Yes, they were delicious!
Up Next: Tahlequah, OK
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