Dallas Region
RETURN TO GOSH
Chynna Clugston Flores
Fort Richardson state park
HISTORY | Dallas
In 1867, having abandoned designs to establish a fort at Buffalo Springs, the U.S. Army established Fort Richardson at what was then the northernmost point of forts along the Texas frontier. The Army, including regiments of Buffalo Soldiers, remained there for 11 years, fighting Plains Native Americans, guarding the military road connecting forts to the southwest and helping law officers keep the peace in Jacksboro. At one point, the fort was the largest Army installation in the country.
Snap a selfie from inside the post hospital , once one of the most modern buildings between Fort Worth and El Paso. NOTE: the building is only open on weekends. Park rangers are not always available during the week to unlock the building — a selfie on the oustide will work just as well!.
Chynna Clugston Flores
Cedar Hill state park
PARKS | Dallas
Cedar Hill State Park is a fantastic getaway for fishing, swimming, boating, camping and … time travel? In addition to the 7,500-acre Joe Pool Lake and the Dallas Off-Road Biking Association’s network of trails, Cedar Hill is home to the Penn Farm Agricultural History Center. Reconstructed and historical buildings within the remnants of John Anderson Penn’s 1854 farm offer visitors a glimpse into rural farm life from the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s.
Snap a selfie in front of the Penn family’s 1876 farmhouse.
Sponsored by Visit Cedar Hill TX
Chynna Clugston Flores
Fort Worth water gardens
SPLASH | Dallas
A 5-acre urban oasis in the heart of downtown, the Fort Worth Water Gardens features three distinctive pools. In addition to the Quiet Pool (with the Wet Wall) and the Aerated Pool (with illuminated spray fountains), the main attraction is the Active Pool, where water cascades down 38 feet of steps and terraces into a small pool at the bottom.
Snap a selfie among the terraced steps of the water gardens.
Chynna Clugston Flores
Arbor Hills Nature Preserve
WILD TEXAS | Dallas
The Arbor Hills Nature Preserve is a 200-acre park with three distinct ecoregions: blackland prairie, riparian forest and upland forest. Hike the 3 miles of unpaved pedestrian trails, or stroll along a paved recreational trail, if you prefer. There’s also a designated 2.8-mile trail for off-road cycling. Keep an eye out for wildlife while hiking or biking.
Snap a selfie from atop the observation tower, which offers a spectacular overlook of the city of Plano.
Chynna Clugston Flores
Chairy Orchard
QUIRKY | Dallas
Denton’s Chairy Orchard lacks fruit, but has plenty of seating. The brainchild of friends and neighbors Anne Pearson and Judy Smith, affectionately dubbed the “chairy fairies,” the “orchard” sits in a meadow between their homes and features a changing variety of chairs of all stripes: rocking, salon, baby, straightback — you name it. The park is free to visit; donations are accepted.
Snap a selfie while sitting on any of the more than 100 chairs in the orchard.
Chynna Clugston Flores
Deep Ellum
MUSIC | Dallas
In the early 1920s, the Dallas neighborhood that came to be known as Deep Ellum was a hotbed of blues and jazz musicians, described by a 1937 columnist as “the one spot in the city that needs no daylight saving time because there is no bedtime.” Today, Deep Ellum continues to be a Dallas hotspot for live music and the arts
Snap a selfie with the Waiting on the Train statue, one of a series of three Traveling Man statues by artist Brad Oldham near the Deep Ellum light rail station.
The "electro-magnetic wave contraption" at Babe’s Chicken Dinner House
GOOD EATS | Dallas
In 1981, Paul and Mary Beth “Babe” Vinyard opened their first Country Cooking restaurant in Dallas. But it was their second restaurant, Babe’s, that really took off. There are currently 10 Babe’s Chicken Dinner Houses, each serving up country cooking that’s a cut above. Our favorite is the Cedar Hill location, with its “electro-magnetic wave contraption,” a not-quite-state-of-the-art antenna tower that (allegedly) has attracted a UFO and wards off marauding chicken hawks.
Snap a selfie in front of the Cedar Hill Babe’s from the Texas Street side of the building (with the contraption in the background), then go inside and enjoy an order of Babe’s famous fried (or hickory-smoked) chicken.
Sponsored by Visit Cedar Hill TX