Woke up and it was pouring rain and freezing. Texan weather hasn't been kind to us. Decided that after my shower (first in over 48 hours) it was the perfect opportunity to give myself a manicure.

Checked in at the campground reception on our way out and chatted to the lovely receptionist. She only charged us the tent site rate of $18 which we were stoked with. Best service and hospitality we've encountered so far. She recommended a family owned Diner down the road for breakfast, still yet to top Dot's Diner in New Orleans.

Drove to downtown Fort Worth and found a car park that was only $5 for the day. Before we even had the chance to park an attendant was directing us into the park and gave us a ticket. Sam paid but assumed based on the man's appearance that we had been hustled. Turned out the ticket was legit, but had been recycled. Would rather give our money to a presumably homeless hustler than the council anyway. Sam was grumpy at himself for judging the guy based on his appearance.

It had stopped raining but was still a pretty rubbish day. Visited the Water Gardens and thought we had encountered a fail when the first water feature had been drained. The gardens featured a variety of waterfalls, cascades, streams and fountains. Would've been much more spectacular on a sunny day.

Next, we followed the tourist map to Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District in search of some cowboys and cowgirls. Turned out that the map must be intended as a driving reference only. The map made it appear that the area we were headed was a 15-minute walk when it actually took an hour. It also involved jumping a barrier and walking along a large bridge on the road, which was pretty dodgy.

But eventually we got there and it was worth the walk. Bars & Saloons lined the street and everything was Western themed. I jumped on my first Bull and we saw some cowboys on horses. There is a Rodeo there every Friday & Saturday. We were gutted that it was only Wednesday as you could tell it would've been an incredible experience.

Had some beers at the White Elephant Saloon which is the oldest pub in the area. Its walls & ceilings were lined with cowboy hats and other memorabilia. Then we had dinner at Miss Molly's, which was the closest thing to a home-cooked meal we've had. The starter salad came with a "side" CUP of dressing. I thought it was hilarious as the salad would've been swimming and no one would use that much dressing. But I witnessed a rather large man prove me wrong shortly after. As we were leaving Sam said to the waitress that we were gutted we weren't here for a hoedown. She laughed and said she hadn't heard the expression hoedown used before.

Decided to hail a cab rather than walk back to van. A man across the road whistled down a cab, so we thought we would get the next one. But he came over and said "jump in I don't need it I've got my horse". Only in Texas. The taxi driver didn't know what I meant when I told him he was dropping us at a car park, so I had to try and explain.

The car park "attendant" from earlier was still hanging around with a group of others. They must've been freezing. He gave us a wave as we left. We hit the road towards New Mexico, tumbleweed blew over the road occasionally just like in the movies. Stopped in a picnic area to sleep on the way.