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Dallas Museum of Art Impressionist Exhibit

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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.

Buggy Barn Museum in Blanco

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I love unique and quirky. You’ll get both at the Buggy Barn Museum in Blanco.

Buggy Barn Founder

Located in the heart of Texas Hill Country, the museum and Pine Moore Old West Town are the brainchild of Dennis Moore, Blanco resident and trucking company owner. Moore began collecting buggies over a dozen years ago, at first renting them for proms and weddings. Bit by the buggy bug, his collection has swelled to over 270 of the horse-drawn conveyances. According to Moore, he has the second largest collection of buggies in the United States, and the largest collection open to the public.

Buggy Barn Museum

It’s an incredible assemblage. There’s an elegant Czechoslovakian funeral carriage and dozens of Studebakers. Who knew Studebaker made wagons before cars? After the Civil War, Studebaker was the largest producer of horse-drawn vehicles in the world. The museum has dozens of these Studebaker originals. It’s a bit overwhelming with buggies and wagons everywhere. Placards provide the carriage’s pedigree: when built, by whom, and for what purpose. Some have a famous lineage, having appeared in such films as Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. From the practical buckboard wagon to the opulent coach, you see it all at the Buggy Barn Museum.

Pine Moore Old West Town

The Buggy Barn Museum, while impressive, is only a fraction of what you’ll find here. There is an entire Old West town. Well, not old, but a new, Old West town set. Pine Moore has been used for filming movies and music videos. You can rent the town for functions or use the church for your wedding. It’s really amazing. Pine Moore has a Texas Rangers building complete with jail cell, a saloon, and even a dentist/barber building.

Prop Master’s Dream

Pine Moore buildings are chocked full of vintage furniture and western gear. There are hundreds of saddles, wood stoves, butter churns, and ice boxes. The Buggy Barn Museum is one-stop shopping for anyone staging an American West production. All, including the buggies and wagons, are available for rent. For me, it was fascinating to go through the buildings and see all the everyday fixtures of frontier life.

The Buggy Barn Museum is not the typical museum. The massive collection is organized, but not like a standard museum. There are not exhibits, in the classic sense. But there is an amazing collection of western gear, carriages, wagons, and homestead furnishings.

When You Go

Buggy Barn Museum (1915 Main Street) is open Monday through Saturday. Admission is charged. There isn’t a café associated with the museum, but downtown Blanco is just a mile away. The Redbud Café (410 Fourth Street) is an excellent place for lunch. It’s open 10 am to 3 pm, later on Friday and Saturday.

Fun Fact: What is the difference between a buggy and a wagon? Buggy is normally a light two- or four-wheeled carriage, whereas a wagon is a heavy transport vehicle.

Old Tunnel State Park

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The nighttime exodus of millions of bats ranks as one of Texas finest natural wonders. In season, Old Tunnel State Park, located in the heart of Texas Hill Country, provides prime bat viewing. If you plan a summer visit to Fredericksburg, Texas, be sure to reserve an evening for the bats.

Mexican Free-tailed Bats

Unlike their northern cousins, Mexican free-tailed bats do not hibernate in winter. Instead, these flying mammals spend time between Mexico in colder months and south Texas in warmer months. The bats arrive in Texas Hill Country around March and return to their winter homes in Mexico around October. Up to three million Mexican free-tailed and 3,000 cave myotis bats have repurposed the abandoned railway tunnel at Old Tunnel into their summer home.

The little Mexican free-tailed bat is less than five inches long and weighs about 14 grams (that’s just half an ounce), and are a tasty bite for hawks and owls. The bats emerge en masse to increase their odds of escaping predators flying outside the tunnel opening. The counter-clockwise emergence vortex serves the additional function of helping the bats to gain lift as bat bones are denser than those of birds.

Aerial River

At dusk, onlookers see a streaming black river flowing above the tree canopy as the little critters make their way south towards the Guadalupe River. The bats will swoop down to the river for a quick, in-flight drink of water and then fly to feeding grounds in farm fields as far as 100 miles away. The bats are insectivores, eating whatever nighttime insects they find. Their primary food are moths, and a Mexican free-tailed bat can consume as many as 40 in a night. Once full, the tiny creatures return to the tunnel to rest until the next evening feeding flight. Viewing a bat emergence is a must on any nature lover’s bucket list. My husband and I were transfixed in awe as the river of bats continued for almost fifteen minutes, and intrigued by the scent left in the bats’ wake. Yes, you can smell the bats! It’s a little like an umami scent.

Bat viewing tips

Old Tunnel has two viewing areas. Aligned with the tunnel entrance, the lower level is space limited and no children under four are allowed. The upper viewing area is also a wonderful option. Both areas require an advance reservation that can be made online at the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. Bats emerge most but not all nights. The mammals are fair-weather feeders and often stay put in the cave during rainy evenings. That makes sense as fewer insects are available during inclement nights. Docents were on site the night we visited. These volunteers are a wealth of information and source of great bat trivia.

Old Tunnel State Park

At a mere 16-acres, Old Tunnel is the smallest Texas State Park. The 920-foot tunnel, now home to our bats, was built at the beginning of the twentieth century to link Fredericksburg to Comfort by rail. The railroad venture didn’t pan out and the line was abandoned in the forties. In an effort to protect the bat colony, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department purchased the land in 1991 with the express purpose of protecting the bat colony. The area became a state park in 2012. The park has a mile-long trail that follows the old railroad bed. No camping is allowed at the park.

Alamo Springs Café

Why not have dinner before seeing the bats? Alamo Springs Café, adjacent to the park, claims to offer the best burger in Texas. It’s a funky café that looks like a house with a few too many additions on it. We ate there on a Saturday night and were treated to tunes from a local band. The café and patios are packed at dinner time, so be patient. The service is friendly and efficient. The burgers are great, but my favorite were the onion rings….awesome!

When You Go

Old Tunnel State Park is at 10619 Old San Antonio Road, Fredericksburg. Bat viewing for both the upper and lower areas requires an advance reservation. Bats don’t use alarm clocks, so you need to check the Old Tunnel hotline at (866) 978-2287 or check the park’s Facebook page to get the latest emergence time. Alamo Springs Café is at 107 Alamo Road. The café is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. There are also a few outdoor tables at Old Tunnel if you want to bring your own picnic.

Be careful driving home. The area is chocked full of deer, we almost hit a buck making our way back to Fredericksburg.

Tip

Frankie the Free-tailed Bat is a cute book for kids. It’s loaded with information about the bats. You can download a free copy courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Chairy Orchard in Denton

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The Chairy Orchard

Nestled between rambler homes in a residential area on the outskirts of Denton, the Chairy Orchard is a delightful pocket park. Shaded by large trees and bordered by Cooper Creek, the meadow could be mistaken for any peaceful green space. Well, it could except for hundreds of chairs that lend the attraction its name: The Chairy Orchard.

The Chairy Fairies

The Chairy Fairies, neighbors Ann Pierson and Judy Smith, curate this quirky assemblage. Chairs circle the meadow and line pathways through the unique orchard. Every type of chair seems to be represented from a hammock to an old beauty parlor chair. Wood. Wicker. Metal. Plastic. Upholstered. It’s all there in the orchard. There are even miniature chairs secured to a wood fence.

The collection started on a whim after Judy hung a few wooden chairs in one of the great trees and called it her Chairy Tree. The women decided to expand on the idea and set out to collect a hundred chairs to scatter around the grassy lot. That beginning quickly grew through finds at garage sales, thrift shops, and even curbside castoffs. People often now donate chairs, like the one donated by a high school graduating class.

So Many Puns

The Chairy Tree pun continues throughout the orchard. There is a ‘High Chair’ made from a series of increasingly smaller chairs stacked on top of each other. The ‘Wheel Chair’ consists of toy wheels attached to a wooden Adirondack chair. And red-painted canes create the ‘Cane-backed Chair.’ The ‘Arm Chair’ made with mannequin arms is a bit creepy, but otherwise the punny chairs add a playful ambiance to the unique orchard. And, of course, there is a spot at the CemeChairy for those broken chairs.

Chairish Wall

One of my favorite locations within the Chairy Orchard is the Chairish Wall. No need to visit a Paris bridge to leave your lock of love. You can do that right here at the Chairish Wall. And throughout the Chairy Orchard there are a few non-chair themes and puns, like the Flower Bed, a bedframe buried in dirt and decorated with plastic flowers. Along one side is a beautiful collection of wood and Buddha. There are so many fun things to discover in the Chairy Orchard.

When You Go

The Chairy Fairies encourage people to take pictures, eat lunch, or even rearrange the chairs. The Chairy Orchard (1426 Churchill Drive, Denton) is open dawn to dusk. It’s free but you can leave a donation in the red refrigerator on the edge of the orchard. Or consider bringing a chair of your own to donate.

Saturday in Richardson

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Lockwood Distilling Co.

We visited Richardson in search of a local distillery, and found a fun market and vintage mall in the process.

Richardson is perhaps best known for the Eisemann Center and the biannual Cottonwood Art Festival. A long established inner-ring suburb of Dallas, the city saw much of its residential growth in the 1970s. Many of its shopping areas date from that decade. Repurposing has breathed new life into one older shopping strip, Dal-Rich Towne Square.

Richardson’s Farmers Market

Every Saturday the parking lot of the Dal-Rich Towne Square (101 S Coit Road) fills with over three dozen vendors in a mixed farmers and craft market. Unlike most markets, you don’t need to wake at dawn to score the best baked goods. Richardson’s Farmers Market is open from 10 am until 2 pm. I was impressed with the friendliness of the vendors, though this farmers market is short on farmers. On the day of our visit, there was just one produce seller, Stubblefield Farm. That said, their produce selection was high quality and reasonably priced.

Several vendors sell a range of bakery goods including keto friendly cakes. A neighborhood favorite, Boulangerie à Paris, appeared to have a loyal following of customers visiting the market just to buy bread and scones for the week. Other food stalls sell prepared foods (jams, jellies, and specialty olive oils), North Texas honey, and small-batched coffee.

In addition to food, there’s a good selection of artists and handmade crafts including jewelry makers, a leatherworks stall, and several woodworkers. It’s a fun market to explore.

Cottonwood Market

Cottonwood Market

Located at the same location as Richardson’s Farmers Market, Cottonwood Market anchors the Dal-Rich Towne Square. The once-upon-time big box store now houses over a hundred vendors with an outstanding selection of antiques, vintage, new gifts, and art. There are so many stalls crammed with treasures that it can be a bit overwhelming. Thankfully, each stall sticks to its theme. You’ll find grandma’s china and crystal, along with vintage children’s books, an outstanding selection of vinyl records, and even contemporary home décor. A custom framing studio, A&G, operates at the back of the store. If you enjoy searching for vintage treasures, Cottonwood Market is your spot.

Lunch at Lockwood Distilling Co.

At last, shopping done, we headed to Lockwood Distilling Co. (506 Lockwood Drive) for lunch. The distillery produces a variety of liquors, from hibiscus-infused vodka to bourbon to gin, and even flavored rums. Lockwood is more than a tasting room, though. Its restaurant serves lunch, dinner, and in-between. Select a shareable plate for a quick snack or one of their signature sandwiches for a meal. Texas/Louisiana cuisine inspires many of the menu items like the shrimp and grits, muffaletta sandwich, and pastrami made with brisket.

Lockwood Distilling Co

The versatility holds with a number of different ways to sample their product. Choose from over a dozen seasonal cocktails or order a tasting flight. The flights include a sample of four liquors, with three options: Lockwood flight, with a sample of vodka, gin, and bourbon; a rum flight; and an aged bourbon flight. You can also purchase unopened bottles to take home, too.

We didn’t need reservations for lunch, but if you plan to visit on a weekend evening, be sure to call for reservations. Even with the outdoor seating area, Lockwood is often packed in the evenings.

We’ll definitely be back!

Did you know: The Cottonwood Arts Festival takes place at Cottonwood Park (1321 W Beltline) the first weekend in May and October.