NorthTexas

I know what some of you may be thinking, and you are right-no I don't care much for Texas. The recent trip I took to North Texas was a great chance to visit family I have there, relax, and pick up a few pieces of furniture for our living room. Although North Texas has never been a destination I ever desired to go to in the past, I can live with the idea now that I have family out there. Also, I am trying hard to find things to appreciate everywhere I go and write about them. One of the unique aspects of the geography that I thought was interesting was the rich red color of the soil. Since it was in the middle of winter, most of the crops were plowed up exposing the iron-rich red dirt. This dirt is actually quite a sight, especially when it is right next to green grass.

(Image courtesy of google images)

If you have never been to the northern part of Texas below the border of Oklahoma, it is similar to the Hill Country of Texas near San Antonia or Austin-some rolling hills with a lot of mesquite trees. There is quite a bit of farm land, but it doesn't cover every inch of the landscape as it does in West Texas. Also the hills are a nice change from the flattest land around in the west of Texas that we spent around 5 hours driving through on our way to Wichita Falls, the town where my grandparents, aunt and uncle and cousins now live.

(Image courtesy of google images)

Wichita Falls is a small city of about 100,000 people located about 15 miles south of the border of Oklahoma. A short 3 hours from Lubbock to the southwest and again 3 hours from Dallas to the southeast make it centrally located in rural surroundings with larger cities within driving distance. It is also a very easy city to get around in with a central highway cutting through and heading to the down town area.

One of the highlights of the trip was getting my first flying lesson in my uncle's Piper Cherokee. He was nice enough to take my dad and I up to for a quick flight before his afternoon lesson with a student. Apparently my first few turns were a little aggressive and steep, but hey, I didn't know any better. My dad did a lot better than me. He had his license years back and it was a nice refresher course for him that he loved. He completed takeoff on his own and even nailed a tricky landing with a heavy cross wind.

Our other activities during the stay in Wichita Falls included a tough bike ride in strong wind, games with the family, tasty dinners and we took my little cousin Anna to the play Cinderella on Saturday afternoon. It was great seeing the family and spending time with my parents on the trip there. Stay tuned for the next post!