From Texas to Beyond

Local, Near and Far: Our journey of exploring the world.

Page 11 of 31

Hiking at Ray Roberts Lake State Park

Kicking off our day trip to Denton, Rebekah and I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon picnicking and hiking one of the top trails in Texas at Ray Roberts Lake State Park.

Looking for inspiration as we planned our day trip, Rebekah found an article by Texas Monthly listing the top 30 hikes in Texas. Due to the relative convenience of Ray Roberts Lake State Park located just north of Denton, we decided on this hike to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

While the state park has many areas to explore around Lake Ray Roberts, we followed Texas Monthly’s suggestion and focused on the Greenbelt Corridor Park. Following the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, the 11 mile Greenbelt Corridor Trail winds from Lake Ray Roberts south to Lake Lewisville. See the map on the park’s website for detailed information on the Greenbelt Corridor.

Hiking the Greenbelt

Hiking the Greenbelt

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Denton: A Day Trip Overview

Hiking the Greenbelt at Ray Roberts

Hiking the Greenbelt at Ray Roberts

Last Valentine’s Day, David and I wanted to have some sort of shared experience instead of the traditional chocolates and flowers.  We wanted something close (within a 1-2 hour drive), inexpensive, and possibly outdoors, if weather permitted.  In Texas, the weather in February could be freezing with ice all over the road or 80 degrees.  The weather that week turned out to be fantastic 55-75, so we knew something outdoors was an option.  I went to my Texas Monthly Outdoors App which has list of hikes, swimming holes, parks and campgrounds which helped us narrow our search to trails in Mineral Wells, Possum Kingdom, Fort Worth, or Denton.  We had not explored much of Denton, so we started making plans.  We filled up our water bottles, grabbed our Valentine’s cards, and as a treat, stopped by Central Market to get our picnic eats.  After an easy trip up I-35, we arrived at the Ray Roberts Lake State Park.   Continue reading

Gear Review: Scarpa Mojito Shoes

Every Friday we take a break from our regular blogging schedule to allow the authors an opportunity to feature a certain topic they are passionate about. In the past you’ve read about art, studying abroad, experiencing culture through food, and the great burger adventure. Through this and other future posts we hope you’ll enjoy reading, we hope to share with you our personalities, passions, and interests on a more personal level.

When David and I were preparing for our Italy trip, we talked about doing some hiking between the cities in Cinque Terra. David had done some research and found out that there was a nice trail between the cities that was paved. Later on, we would learn that one of the trails was having some construction work done on it, and we would have a harder and more difficult hike through the Italian countryside, but that is a story for another day.

As we prepared for our trip and were thinking about the various terrains we would be on: asphalt, cobblestone, light hiking trails, sand, and some others, we started to think about shoes that would work best for this trip. Taking a backpack so that we could be mobile, we didn’t want to have the limited space taken up by several pairs of shoes. David had decided he was going to take his hiking boots, but I didn’t have any hiking boots at the time. That led me back to Backwoods to find a shoe that could handle the terrain and wouldn’t be too heavy.

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Curly’s Frozen Custard

I’m a total snob when it comes to frozen dairy. There is a distinct difference to me in the texture, taste, and creaminess when you order for ice cream vs. custard vs. yogurt. A custard differs from yogurt and ice cream in that the recipe includes eggs that give it a more creamy texture while typically remaining cold for longer than its counterparts. This level of dedication to frozen confections has required long hours of work and the consumption of A LOT of delicious treats.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many non-chain options for custard in Fort Worth that are both reasonably priced and high quality. Enter, Curly’s Frozen Custard. I love the unique flavors they produce with great quality, attention to detail, and even two “mystery ingredients”.  Curly’s menu at first glance may seem small, however, they have found the perfect combination of the tried and true favorites along with a special flavor every month to add something different.

Chocolate concrete with Oreo mix-in.

Chocolate concrete with Oreo mix-in

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Lakewood Brewing Company

A few weeks ago, I was presented with another free Saturday, as Rebekah was working. After a great time the previous month checking out some new Fort Worth-area breweries, Shannon Brewing Company and Bearded Eel Craft Brewery (now closed permanently), I knew it was time to trek to the Dallas side of the craft beer scene. I met up with my good friend J-Higs, and had a tasty beer crawl across the eastern part of the Metroplex starting at Lakewood Brewing Company in Garland, and  finishing at FireWheel Brewing Company (now closed permanently), 20 minutes east in Rowlett.

First on the agenda, Lakewood Brewing Company. I had heard great things about this brewery, and I remembered enjoying its flagship beer: The Temptress. This brewery, producing great beer since 2011, is becoming big in the Texas craft beer scene and I wanted to know more!

Exterior of Lakewood Brewing Company

Let’s take a look at Lakewood Brewing based on our Brewery Grading Scale. Continue reading

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