The Impressionist Revolution: From Monet to Matisse is on view at the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) now until November 3. Dubbing the Impressionist artists as renegades, the exhibit celebrates the 150th anniversary of their first Paris exhibition in 1874.
Monet to Matisse
If some of the art looks familiar, it’s because the DMA has drawn on its own collection for the exhibit. And while the paintings may not be the most noteworthy, each of the major artists are represented. I had no idea the DMA had so many Impressionist paintings. There are some beautiful Renoirs and more than a handful of Monet and Degas. Four rooms are filled primarily with paintings. Visitors see the Impressionist movement’s beginning and how, as years passed, Impressionism spawned other styles such as Fauvism.
The exhibit includes works by Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot. While both women bucked convention to work as artists, they were confined to compositions acceptable for their gender. Cassatt is known for her mother and child paintings, and Morisot for her depictions of domestic life.
Impressionist Revolution is a wonderful exhibit for anyone wanting to learn more about art. I especially enjoyed the detailed wall panels that explain Impressionism and provide visitors with interesting factoids. For example: the innovation of paint in metal tubes allowed artists to leave their studios and paint en plein air (outdoors).
Art Beyond Sight
The DMA is an Art Beyond Sight partner. Scattered throughout the Impressionist Revolution gallery, are several tactile stations. The exhibited painting is described briefly in braille, with a tactile relief version. The DMA can also provide special tours arranged in advance for visually impaired visitors. What a fabulous way to increase art accessibility.
When You Go
DMA is located at 1717 North Harwood in Dallas. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is free, though there is a cost for visiting special exhibits like Impressionist Revolution. Onsite parking is available for $20.
If you want a longer walk to stretch your legs, I suggest the Chaparral Trail. The section between Farmersville and Merit provides mountain bikers and hikers five-miles of improved trail surface through rural farmland and township.
Chaparral Trail
Sponsors boast about the trail’s multipurpose use for hikers, bikers, and yes, horses, though I’ve yet to encounter an equestrian on the path. The historic Onion Shed in Farmersville serves as the western-most trailhead. A city park and large adjacent lot offer parking, picnic, and restroom facilities, along with easy trail access. The town of Farmersville maintains the first five miles of Chaparral Trail. The level pathway is paved for 2.5 miles and then becomes crushed gravel for the final miles. The paved surface makes it an easy trail for families with small children and strollers.
The path crosses streets through town, skirts schools and parks, and traverses past East Texas farms. I enjoy that change of scenery and its easy ambiance. Walking the Chaparral Trail seems like a stroll through time to catch a glimpse of rural Texas before super highways and urban creep. I appreciate the length of trail, too. If you want a ten-mile hike, then trek the entire distance to Merit and then retrace your steps back to Farmersville. If you’d prefer a shorter walk, you can do that, too.
Northeast Texas Trail System
The Farmersville to Merit path is part of the ambitious Northeast Texas Trail system. The 130-mile project follows the unused routes of the Union Pacific and Chaparral railroads. When complete, it will connect Farmersville in the west, to Paris, and finally to New Boston in the east.
Rail Banking
In the 1980s, a law allowed railroads to ‘bank’ unused rail lines through lease, sale, or donation. This left old rail right-away intact for use as trail systems. Three private agencies banked the 130 miles now known as Northeast Texas Trail. One of the three, Chaparral Rails to Trails, banked the section from Farmersville to Paris. In total, the three banking entities control unused rail line connecting 19 rural towns.
It gets complicated, but many of the small towns along the route obtained quit claim deeds from the banking entities for sections near their municipalities. For example, the City of Farmersville quit claimed the land between it and the Collin County line. That’s the part of the system I’m most familiar with. On my hikes, it’s apparent the trail draws both out-of-town visitors and local residents.
Northeast Texas Trails Coalition
Through grants and donations, bit-by-bit, the 130-mile trail system has been maintained and improved. Still there are sections that are barely passable … it’s an ambitious project to keep up a 130-mile trail. Perhaps the most difficult challenge is repair of the old railroad trestle bridges. The Northeast Texas Trails Coalition (NTTC) maintains a website and Facebook page to help people navigate through all trail sections. Maps delineate trail conditions and cautions in town-to-town segments. You can also query NTTC on their Facebook page to get updated information from Rail Stewards. The group is working with the Texas Legislature for funding and are exploring options to designate the trail system as a state park.
Farmersville
I have a confession to make. Often my hike on the Chaparral Trail is an excuse. I love the little town of Farmersville. With brick and limestone storefronts spanning eighty years of architectural styles, the town exudes charm. Use a little imagination and you can picture classic Studebakers and old Ford trucks parked on the diagonal outside Dyer Drugstore instead of today’s Hondas and Toyotas. Like many small Texas towns, there are vacant storefronts, however, in Farmersville you sense the possibility of rebirth. The Odd Fellows Lodge built in 1899 has been restored and is now home to Fiber Circle Yarns. A realtor, a physician’s office, and an engineering firm have taken up residence in other restored downtown properties. Throughout the historic area, you will find eclectic antique stores.
Farmersville delivers on a collection of small antique malls, you know the type, big buildings partitioned into smaller stalls filled with a multitude of collectables and junktiques. Country Roads Trading Post (110 McKinney Street) has 50 smaller vendors with an assortment of goods from handmade lavender soap to 1940s kitchenware. I found some particularly well-priced treasures there. Main Street Antiques & More (103 S Main Street) is a smorgasbord of china, crystal, depression-era glass, and more.
When You Go
Farmersville is located off US Route 380 between McKinney and Greenville. The Chaparral trail head is near the old Onion Shed. Farmersville Visitors Center is located at 201 S Main Street, though hours vary. A self-paced walking tour of historic Farmersville buildings can be downloaded before you go.
Fossil Hunting at Post Oak Creek in Sherman, Texas
Post Oak Creek in Sherman teams with fossils waiting to be discovered. Most trek to the rural creek in search of shark teeth. For me, I’m content to gather any type of fossil. Summer, despite the heat, is a prime time to visit. The creek water level is low, exposing sandbars and allowing hunters the opportunity to walk miles up and down the stream bed.
Abundance of shells
In geological time, the formation exposed at Post Oak Creek is from the late Cretaceous period, some 90 to 66 million years ago. At that time, an inland sea covered the area. Seawater rose and receded with events like the formation of the Rocky Mountains.
Sedimentary rock embedded with fossil shells
Walking in Post Oak Creek, I literally reached into the water and retrieved millions-year-old shells. No digging or much hunting required. Fossil shells, mostly oyster, layer the sedimentary rock lining sections of the stream’s bank, exposed over years of erosion. If you want to find a fossil, Post Oak Creek is the spot.
Shark tooth prospectors
Oyster shells abound throughout the creek area, but most visitors search for more elusive finds like shark teeth and the even rarer mastodon bone or tooth fragment. Shark’s teeth range in size from a quarter to dime, and their shape reminds me of a fat capital letter-T. Sharks have been swimming in oceans for 400 million years, and some of the teeth found at Post Oak are from now extinct Cretalamna and Petaldus species.
To successfully hunt teeth, you need simple tools and patience. It’s a little like panning for gold. Scoop up some stream gravel, place it in a sieve, and then sluice the sieve around in the water to rinse out clay and dirt. From there, you can examine the remaining rocks for fossil treasures. A garden trowel or small hand shovel works well for the digging. The day I visited, people used all sorts of things for sieves including box screens and vegetable colanders. In fact, one clever family used plastic hamburger baskets – the red ones with the side slats — as sieves.
Other Post Oak finds
In addition to fossils, the careful scavenger may find other artifacts like arrowheads, more recent bone from mammals, and old pottery and glass. Through the years, the town of Sherman was home to many different factories. One lucky hunter found an old 1890 bottle from the now defunct Sherman Bottling Works.
South Travis Street Bridge
Post Oak Creek meanders through south Sherman, but getting to the creek itself can be a challenge. The easiest access is at the Travis Street Bridge. Here you can park on the road shoulder and use a short trail down to the stream. The address, 2400 South Travis Street, Sherman, works well for directions in most mapping programs. The creek flows under US 75, and some fossil hunters recommend the access road near the interstate as another egress. My recommendation is to stick to South Travis Street. It’s true, this area is well-picked over from scores of visitors, however, just hike up or down stream to get to less congested hunting grounds.
When you go
Be weather aware. In the height of summer, creek levels are low, however, strong rains fill the creek rapidly and can create a dangerous flash flood situation. This is not a park. No restrooms. It’s good ol’ Texas-styled boondocks. Come prepared with hat, bug spray, sunscreen, and lots of water on hot days.
I wore wading boots, in part, to protect myself from water snakes. I confess, I was the only one in the crowd in my galoshes. Still be watchful and alert for snakes. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting wet and dirty. A hand trowel and sieve is all you need to hunt shark teeth, though I also recommend bringing lots of baggies for storing your finds. I found a gallon bucket worked well for lugging around my equipment and for storing larger finds. If you don’t mind carrying it, a small camp stool can be useful for sitting in the creek while you search the gravel for treasures.
After you come home
The website Your Fossil Adventure has a page dedicated to Post Oak Creek. Here you’ll find pictures identifying the fossils typical to the location. Also, if you aren’t sure what you have, the Facebook page Texas Fossil Hunting is wonderful. Post a picture of your find and ask for help identifying it.
This weekend, Tyler celebrates its 83rd Rose Festival with a parade, rose show, arts and crafts fair, and guided rose garden tours. If you visit Tyler, be sure to stop by the Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge and support this nonprofit that provides a home to rescued big cats.
Tyler and roses
Nicknamed the Rose Capital, Tyler’s agricultural industry shifted from growing peaches to roses in the 1920s. By World War II, Tyler grew over half of the rosebushes sold in the United States. Tyler’s market share has decreased to about 15 percent, however, roses remain a major, area industry. Each October, Tyler celebrates its rose history with the Texas Rose Festival. The Tyler Rose Museum, open year round, tells the region’s story with rose festival memorabilia, video, and a computerized catalog of 250 rose varieties.
Tyler Municipal Rose Garden
The garden is at its height during the month of October. You’ll find 500 different rose varieties with fanciful names like Cinderella’s Song, Summer Wind, and Freckles. The rose garden contains over 38,000 rose bushes. I also recommend visiting in early spring when the garden is ablaze with blooming azalea displays in pink, salmon, magenta and red.
Tiger Creek
Located just outside Tyler, Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge’s stated purpose is “to provide rescue and rehabilitation to big cats that have been abused, neglected, or displaced.” The refuge spans 150 acres and houses over 40 big cats from tiger to bobcat. Several of the cats were victims of the exotic pet trade of the 1990s. Some cats were relocated when other refuges closed. And many of the cats have physical problems, like Babs. A bobcat, Babs is blind, most probably due to poor nutrition when he was kept as a pet.
Each big cat has its own story. There is a tiger rescued from a man who abused her and had her fight dogs when she was a cub. The tiger, Sierra, was once owned by Michael Jackson. Then there is Tin Cup, a mountain lion. A farmer’s dog brought the cub (the size of a tin cup) to a farmhouse porch in New Mexico. Efforts to locate Tin Cup’s mother failed, so the farmer contacted Tiger Creek. Tin Cup, a handsome, playful, and photogenic cat, is my family’s favorite.
When you go
The Texas Rose Festival is October 13 through 16. Most events are free. Both the Tyler Rose Museum (420 Rose Park Drive) and the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden (624 North Broadway) are open year round.
Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge (17552 FM 14) is open most days. While more expensive, I strongly recommend the guided tour, or the combo tour. The docents are extremely knowledgeable about the cats and their stories.
Calling all North Texas dinosaur lovers and would-be-paleontologists! While you wait for the DVD release of Jurassic World, why not check out two local dinosaur (and mammoth) venues?
Dinosaurs Live!
Beware! Beasts not seen for millions of years stalk the Heard Natural History Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney from now through mid-February. Dilophosaurus, Stegosaurus, and the infamous Tyrannosaurus Rex roam the trails at the wildlife sanctuary – almost like Jurassic World. These life-sized replicas roar and move delighting young dinosaur enthusiasts.
Billings Production in McKinney makes the animatronic creatures. The Heard dinosaurs are part of over 200 Billings’ dinosaurs found at zoos and museums throughout North American. The robotic dinosaurs are uniquely adapted to operating outdoors. A hinged steel structure within the fabricated body allows dinosaur heads and limbs to move. A computer program further enhances dinosaur movements, making these monstrous creatures look and act almost real — Jurassic Park Texas style.
While the dinosaurs draw the crowds, there is much more to the Heard Natural History Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary. Once you’ve explored the dinosaur trek, take a stroll through The World Conservation exhibit to see modern day animals. Some animals are native to North America and others like the lemur are from exotic locales. Many exhibit animals imprinted with humans and can’t be released into the wild. Seized from an illegal animal breeder, some animals found new homes at the wildlife sanctuary. There are mongoose and capybara, the world’s largest rodents. An albino raccoon found a home here too.
The Heard Natural History Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 1 until 5 p.m. Pets are not allowed in the sanctuary and there is an admission fee. The trails around Dinosaurs Live are accessible with a stroller, however all trails within the sanctuary are on natural, unpaved surfaces — challenging for wheel chairs and strollers. Picnic areas are available. The Heard Natural History Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary is at 1 Nature Place in McKinney. Contact them at 972-562-5566 or through their Dinosaurs Live website.
Waco Mammoth National Monument
This past week, a mammoth found in a Michigan farmer’s field gained national attention. But, did you know that one of the largest herds of mammoth ever discovered in North America is right here in North Texas?
Visit Waco Mammoth National Monument and travel back in time 68,000 years. It’s the Ice Age but without the ice. Instead, grassy plains cover North Texas; and ice age animals like the Columbian mammoth, camel, and saber-tooth cat wander the grasslands. A nursery herd of mammoth (cows and calves) peacefully graze along a creek bed until a flash flood buries the entire herd. Fast forward to 1978 when two teenage boys, looking for arrowheads, spot a bone embedded in the dry creek bed. The boys’ find yielded the largest nursery herd of Columbian mammoth (19 mammoths and a camel) ever discovered.
Baylor University paleontologists worked the site for years, uncovering mammoth from three separate floods that trapped these prehistoric animals over thousands of years. The Baylor scientists have found over two dozen mammoth, camels, and a young saber-tooth cat.
Baylor University and the City of Waco opened the Waco Mammoth Site to the public in 2009. Just this summer, the mammoth site became a National Monument. Docent-led tours give visitors fascinating facts about Ice Age Texas and its inhabitants. You also gain insights into a paleontologists’ world. While most bones were jacketed and transported for further study, many have been left in place. A climate-controlled building surrounds the dig site and a boardwalk pathway winds through the building allowing visitors to see mammoth bones as they were found. Tiered excavations stair-step the dig site displaying finds from all three major flood events. Wall murals illustrate the Colombian mammoths’ size and appearance.
The visitors center and dig site are located within a scenic parkland along the banks of the Bosque River. The Waco Mammoth National Monument is at 6220 Steinbeck Bend Road in Waco. The site is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a fee for the guided tour.
You can find more Waco attractions at our Waco Day Trip post.
refuge spans 150 acres and houses over 40 big cats from tiger to bobcat. Several of the cats were victims of the exotic pet trade of the 1990s. Some cats were relocated when other refuges closed. And many of the cats have physical problems, like Babs. A bobcat, Babs is blind, most probably due to poor nutrition when he was kept as a pet.