ST-Texas - Wife's First Ride - Clark Gardens Loop

Wife's First Ride - Clark Gardens Loop Saturday, 10/07 131 Miles


Well, I talked my wife, Jamie, into going on a short ride with me. I'm not sure if this was a good or bad idea. What if she likes it? Then what? Anyway, we left our home in Willow Park (on the map near the pushpin by Lake Weatherford) around 10:30AM. I remembered a botanical garden that I had previously read about nearby that I thought she would enjoy. Also some friends have a small ranch southwest of Fort Worth, near Bluff Dale, which we also planned to go by for a quick visit. This way the ride was broken up so we had frequent stops. She really enjoyed Clark Gardens and the visit with our friends, Danny and Debby. Clark Gardens just east of Mineral Wells is really a nice place. It has 35 acres of native Texas and Texas adaptable plants in a gorgeous environment (OK, I'm being a little girlie here, but she's going to read this too). If you're into Texas landscaping at all, you can learn alot here and get some really great ideas.


This is a map from Clark Garden's (website) which gives a better perspective of where it's located.


Well, she's ready to go, let's see what happens.


Jamie at the entrance to the gardens. This is only about 20-25 miles from our house so she didn't have a chance to get tired or bored with the ride. She said it was kinda windy, so we'll exchange her open face helmet for a full face one when we get to our friends' house near Bluff Dale. I had loaned them a helmet sometime in the past and they weren't using it, so we borrowed it back.


The next few pictures were taken inside the gardens at various locations. Most are self explanatory and are just scenery. (This section is for the women, so bare with me.)











They're hard to see, but there's a bunch of butterflies on this plant.











They have a very large model train set up there. There are numerous bridges and different elevations involved. It includes some very detailed work.





This model inside the train building includes a replica of the famous 1930's resort hotel in Mineral Wells.


It also has a replica of the Parker County courthouse in nearby Weatherford.





She said I had to put a picture of myself, if I put her's on here. There's a little waterfall behind me to the left.


These are guineas which are supposedly good at killing snakes. I don't know if this is a fact or not. I do know that they are really good at making noise.





This chapel is in the central part of the gardens and I suppose it is used for weddings. It's really a pretty stone building.


Inside the chapel.


Don't think I've ever seen black swans in Texas.





We just had to stop in Mineral Wells and go shopping. They were having a sidewalk sale!!! How do you pass that up??? (Actually I'm guilty of buying a pair of New Balance shoes.)


Jamie and our friend Debby at her place near Bluff Dale.


These are some new additions to downtown Bluff Dale. Bluff Dale is a neat little town. Not much there except two or three really good eating places and a deer processing service. This was the last picture of the day. She was ready to get home and I wanted to catch the end of the Texas/OU game. Overall it was a nice ride and I would highly recommend visiting Clark Gardens, especially if you want to impress your wife or significant other.