..it was back in the 60's...you remember those days of big hair,
bell bottoms and polyester
We were long on kids and short on money...in the very early 60's, for entertainment, all seven of us would pile into whatever company car Bob was driving at the time and head out to Bachman Lake to watch the planes take off and land from Love Field....at that time there was no DFW...but there was a great place to park very near the end of the runway
It's probably not allowed now but we could park on the road that runs along the right side of the lake...you could actually see the pilots in the cockpit...the noise was deafening and frightened our little Nicki half to death!
After a few years we discovered another place that we came to love...maybe because it also was free :)
White Rock Lake, as pictured above at the top of my blog boasts a 10 mile drive, including bike and walking trails around it. Thanks to Mr. Google just tonight I learned that The White Rock Lake Dam, completed in 1911 at a cost of $765,000, is what makes the lake possible
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The bike and walking trails were added years after we took our children there.
The main attraction for us was the spillway. For many years a catwalk connected the top of the dam with the sidewalk that runs along Garland Road but it was removed. The spillway,where our kids once played in the water, is now off-limits. I snapped the following pictures last May...Bob and I still enjoy riding over there.
There is currently major construction and improvements under way at the spillway.
...began in 2008...expected completion 2010...
this is what it looks like now..
This will be after renovation
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Back in the 30's there was a bath house and beach for swimming...It has been renovated and is now a boat house.
"August 9, 1930: Mayor Tate attends opening of Bath House and Bathing Beach on lake's eastern shore. Street car line extended to western shore, where fleet of speedboats are available to transport swimmers from new boathouse to new bathing beach."
On a large bluff at the northern end of the White Rock Lake area is Flag Pole Hill...our kids enjoyed running up and down the 'hill' playing hide and seek among the low, cedar trees. I have taken grandchilden there for kite-flying ....
"This part of White Rock Lake Park is a popular place for parties, picnics, family reunions, and other large gatherings. Oftentimes, public events are held here. One is the annual Earth Day Festival. In the spring of 2003, a rally was held at Flag Pole Hill to protest the then-impending War in Iraq."
Another attraction located on the lakeside is the Dallas Arboretum. ..have pictures but they're not on my computer..so I found these...unable to give credit as photographer not mentioned.
"Rancho Encinal, a large Spanish-style hacienda built on 44 acres of prime lakefront property in 1939, was once the home of geophysicist Everett Lee DeGolyer and his wife Nell. "Mr. De," made his fortune in the oil business,. Since 1976, the DeGolyer estate has formed the largest portion of the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. The addition of the adjoining Camp estate increased the size of the grounds to 66 acres. In September 2002, the Arboretum facilities were expanded with the opening of the new Trammell Crow Visitors Center, which consists of a gift shop, meeting space, and an attractive patio area overlooking White Rock Lake."
The lake is surrounded by luxurious homes..not the least of which is the former home of H.L. Hunt.
...again, thanks to our Mr. Google.
"Mount Vernon", an almost exact replica of George Washington's famous Virginia home, sits on ten acres of land on the west shore overlooking White Rock Lake. It is best known as the home of the late H. L. Hunt, a self-made oil millionaire, who for many years was one of Dallas' most colorful citizens. The residence was occuppied by the Hunt family from January 1, 1938 through September 1999. In 2002, the present occupants completed a major restoraton of the property and threw a party to celebrate, at which several members of the Hunt family were in attendance."
I took this shot from the east shore of the lake...
a couple of Mr. Hunts neighbors
we took our children there when they were small, we've taken our grandchildren there, and now our children take
us there.
For the last three Sundays Eddie has taken Bob and I for a drive around the lake...I took these pictures this past Sunday.
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