On Tarantula from Grapevine to Fort Worth

Grapevine is a small city within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolis in Texas. It is around 10 miles from where I live (Irving) and we had a nice weekend getaway there.

We started with the small museum which tells about the history of the city. Like all other museums here, it showcased many items that were used by the people who lived here years ago.

Next to it was the Vetro Art Glass Company where their employees (artists) demonstrated how those beautiful art glasses were made. We spent a lot of time watching the colorful glass rods turning into excellent art works of glass.

The Main Street was the famous and the only major street in Grapevine with a variety of restaurants and shops on both sides. We tried chocolates from a beautiful chocolate shop and had a yummy lunch from an Italian restaurant.

By then it was time to board the Tarantula train. This train with its authentic Victorian style coaches travels through The Grapevine Vintage Railroad along the historic cotton belt route between Grapevine and Fort Worth Stockyards.

The trip recreated the excitement of old days train travel and we were attacked by train robbers who came on horseback and started shooting in the air with their guns. Those who didn’t know that it was a staged event were startled by this and most of the kids started crying.

The Stockyards station at For Worth was another delight to see with its completely wooden made stalls selling all kinds of cow boy stuffs. For Worth is known for its cow boy culture.

We roamed around the Stockyard cultural district watching the crowd and the fun.

There were lots of bikers with their vrooming Harley Davidsons along the Exchange Avenue.

Visitors were busy posing for photos with the popular Texas longhorns (Gigantic cattle with its characteristic horns) and persons dressed up as Red Indians.

We also visited a museum that showcased the cow boy culture of this historic town.

Before we left Fort Worth for Grapevine in Tarantula, we could watch the coveted cattle drive that showed how the cowboys herd down their cattle, with every detail being authentic.