Southfork Ranch

Hey everybody, Callie here! School is back in session and while we are all busy with our new school year stuff, we're still on sharing vacation pictures here on the blog! Remember how we went to Dallas recently? Well, while we were there we got to visit Southfork Ranch! It's about half an hour or so away from the store we went to in that post, in a town called Parker.

Holy blurry backseat photo, Batman!

If you haven't heard of Southfork Ranch, don't worry, I am here to tell you! Southfork is the home of the Ewings, the really rich oil tycoon family of the tv show Dallas which is one of my favorite tv shows ever! Well, the older one anyway! Dallas was on tv from 1978 to 1991, which was a long time before I was born. There were two movies from 1996 and 1998 and then a brand new tv show about the kids, who were now grown up, on TNT for two seasons in 2012. That makes it one of the longest running tv shows!

We took almost 100 pictures from Southfork but here are some of our favorites.

We drove right to it! The people who own the ranch now give out tours and there's a gift shop. There was construction outside of this entrance but it's not the one that you're supposed to go into.
There is construction all over everywhere we went on vacation so we think this is kind of funny! - Penny

Isn't it cool? Chloe especially loved this because it was basically a set for a tv show!
It was so pretty! I bet the whole cast loved filming there. I know I would! -Chloe

We of course wanted to go on a tour! Penny and I have seen this show before but all of us love museums and stuff like that so we knew this would be tons of fun!

We didn't take any pictures inside the gift shop where you buy your tickets for the tour, but we went through a little door:

And we found this amazing museum! We got our picture taken in front of that big shiny Dallas sign on the star, but since we didn't take the photo we didn't want to post it and get into trouble.
Our picture is awesome! We wore hats and everything! - Penny

They had this huge family tree on the wall:

And this thing about JR Ewing, who was kind of like the family bad guy, a little anyway! 

That picture on the right is from one of the most famous episodes ever, the cliffhanger "who shot JR?" We learned at the ranch that they actually filmed every single one of the cast members shooting JR, even JR! Just in case some footage got leaked. I think that's pretty smart!

Here are some saddles which were used on the tv show! The Ewings might have been oil tycoons but Southfork was a ranch and Miss Ellie, who was the mom of the whole tv show, was a Southworth and it was really HER ranch!
Miss Ellie is my favorite!!  - Penny

Here is Lucy's wedding gown! Lucy was the daughter of the third Ewing brother, Gary, who wasn't on Dallas often but who was the daughter of Mr. Gary and Mrs. Val Ewing on the show Knots Landing.
Someday when I get married, I'm going to have a super fancy dress just like that! -Chloe

And here's a photo of the original cast! From left to right standing up is JR (oldest son), his wife Sue Ellen, Jock (JR and Bobby's dad), Bobby (youngest son), his wife Pamela, and Ray. Sitting in the chair is Miss Ellie (Jock's wife and JR and Bobby's mom) and in the red is Lucy (JR and Bobby's niece, and Jock and Miss Ellie's granddaughter). We learned that Bobby rarely wore a hat because he was already so much bigger than the other guys and it made him super tall!

There were lots of pictues and newspaper clippings about the tv show and about the fans and the ranch all over the walls.

This really neat photo of Jock

This whole blurb about the filming of the show

And all kinds of memorabilia! This is a script signed by Larry Hagman, who played JR.
Real, actual, TV scripts!!! -Chloe

Then we went outside where we got on these big carts and drove all over the property. We got to see where an oil derrick used to stand and all sorts of things on the property, both from the show and not. This is a cafe (it was closed when we went so we didn't get to eat there!) and it's connected to a convention center. They do weddings and everything here too!

Here is the driveway! 

They put flour on the sides of the road to make it look like it was a gravel driveway! -Wrennie 

And the back of the house! It was SO cool right up close~ and just like I remembered!

We drove right up to it and then we got to go inside!

It was quite a bit different inside. It was smaller than it looked on tv! But the newest owners are obviously big Dallas fans because they redid the inside of the house and made all the bedrooms like the show characters would have liked them and stuff like that.

Can you imagine have a house just for people to come look at?! -Wrennie 

This is the kitchen! It's laid out almost exactly like it was on the show except that Miss Ellie's kitchen was a lot bigger, and also yellow. 

This isn't the real picture of Jock that hung over the fireplace but it's pretty close! 

There was even a picture of Miss Ellie, JR, and Bobby sitting on a table! 

This was Lucy's room. Apparently a fan loved this show so much that she hand quilted the quilt on the bed JUST for this bedroom!

And this was Bobby's room. It was from before he was married she said! LOL!

We got lots of pictures of the actual pool that was used in the tv show.

I wanted to go swimming so bad! It was hot. -Chloe

I think this was my favorite part!! 

And a picture of the JR and Sue Ellen bedroom, which was SUPER pretty. I want my bed on a raised platform in the middle of the room with curtains and stuff! 

Me too Callie! -Chloe

We saw a picture of JR and Sue Ellen on their wedding day

And the PRETTIEST chandeliers ever!! Seriously, look at this dining room!

We did have this one lady on the tour who just would not listen!! The tour guide said, don't go down the hallway so the lady went down the hallway, and the tour guide said "don't touch anything in this room" so she did... it was REALLY annoying. -Penny

That lady was do rude! She sat down in the chairs and picked up books. Who does that?! -Wrennie

There was so much to see in the house that I could share pictures forever, but that would be very boring for everybody wouldn't it? So here's a picture of the house and the gazebo, where Lucy married Mitch.

A couple of other neat things on the property were pretend graves for Jock, Sue Ellen, and JR. On the tv show, they were buried on the property, but this is just for pretend.

And there was also something from the newer tv show, Elena's cottage, which was built just for the show and was preserved just like it was because it was the actual set. It was really kind of neat how they had that set up. It was a lot smaller than it looked on tv, and all one room really!

They had glass up to protect the set. I was on a real TV set!! -Chloe

And one more really cool thing: Jock Ewing's Lincoln Continental, exactly like it was on the show!!

It was a really fun trip and not something Penny and I are ever going to forget!! I think that Wrennie and Chloe enjoyed it too even though they haven't watched Dallas yet (they're going to though)!!

We had a blast! We have to wait till we get it on DVD but we're really excited to watch the show now that we've been there! -Wrennie 

Stay tuned, we've got more fun stuff coming up!

Love,

Callie

Clothes
Callie: 
    Shirt: Batman shirt from The Beach Shack
    Skirt: Springfield Collection
    Hat: AG Tee, Shorts, Hat and Bracelet Set
    Shoes: AG Julie's Tunic Outfit
Wrennie: 
    Shirt: Batman shirt from The Beach Shack
    Leggings: Our Generation Mad About Plaid
    Boots: Saige's Meet Boots
    Hair Flower: Michael's
Penny:
     Shirt: AG Sequined Star Tee
     Pants: AG Starry Hoodie Outfit
     Hat: AG Tweed Driver's Cap
     Shoes: AG Flamingo Beach Dress
Chloe: 
    Shirt: AG Sequined Star Tee
    Pants: AG
    Shoes: Truly Me Blue Flats