Trip to LBJ Nat Grassland, TX & to the CTC Auto Ranch in Denton, TX

Where are the Lyndon B Johnson Grasslands? We headed 90 minutes north from Dallas and we just could not find it.

Dog in the car at the vet’s office

As most Americans are very friendly and helpful we decided to stop somewhere for directions. Funnily enough, we stopped at a vet doctor. Paul went inside and asked them for the direction. There were a few people chatting away and at first they did not know what he meant. One of the ladies’ even said:

“I have lived here all my life but I never explored this side of it.”

Isn’t it strange that we often do not explore what is just on our doorstep? We are certainly guilty of that. We probably have seen more of the US then we have seen of places we have lived near to.

Fortunately a man came into the vet’s office and explained to Paul that the whole area is the Lyndon B Johnson Grasslands. You just have to get off highway US 81 and explore. While the man was inside talking to Paul, I got a cute shot of his dogs. It looked as they were driving.

We followed the direction of the man and drove off the highway and into the country roads. We passed by grand ranches and then suddenly found the Black Creek Lake.

At the lake and camping area were deserted with no one else around on this weekday in early June. The only noises we heard were from the nature. When you come off a busy highway and drive into these quiet places in the countryside then they somehow feel a little bit spooky. The plus side of that is that, unlike some other scenic areas, we were not bothered by crowds of people.

As we drove into the parking lot, we carefully read the sign and instruction to use the area. During all our travels in the United States of America, we never came across this kind of way of paying for the entrance or usage area. There was a box with yellow envelopes and another box where you would place the envelope in. Inside the yellow envelope was a recreation pass which you had to hang from the inside mirror facing the windshield. The yellow envelope also had an area where you had to write down the details of your car. So we wrote down the details, added the fee of 2.00 USD into the envelope and then put the envelope inside the box.

It was the perfect spot for a picnic and a little walk along the lake and creek. It was so perfect that we were quite surprised when we realised that it was already 3.00pm. We filmed our short video and quickly hurried down South to Denton. Our schedule was fully packed for that day as we were also attending the first rodeo of the season at Mesquite Rodeo that evening.

Photo at Lyndon B Johnson National Grassland

Photo of Black Creek Lake at the Lyndon B Johnson National Grassland

Photo at the Black Creek Lake at LBJ National Grasslands

In Denton was our next target, we wanted to visit the CTC Car Ranch in Denton. The drive from Dallas to Denton takes approximately 50 minutes. We left the Interstate 35 and drove to the car ranch. The ranch is located at 3077 Memory Lane. Quite a suitable name for antique cars located at the Memory Lane.

The car ranch was surrounded by a high wire fence and the entrance was through an office which looked like a big garage from the outside and inside.

Inside were the owner and a woman. You could see old car parts and our beloved US number plates.

We paid the entrance fee ($5) and then quickly looked around the grounds. Not only was the car ranch only open for another hour but also we had to hurry before our next stop.

The grounds were very big. One antique American car was placed after another and in the middle of it all we saw a donkey and some cows wandering around and eating grass.

I (Kristin) was clicking away with my camera with a well posing cow. It was standing in the right position to take a photo of it with an open bonnet (hood) of an old car. I stepped to the side to get a better photo angle when I realised that my left foot stepped into some fresh cow pooh. The cow looked at me with an expression of mirth, as if she was laughing inside of herself.

We continued our exploration of the grounds and also found an interesting car which looked like it was shot through many times. We could have spent hours there but the Mesquite Rodeo was beckoning us (and we had already paid for the tickets for it!)