The Fort Worth Japanese Garden—a Place for Meditation

The Fort Worth Japanese Garden—a Place for Meditation (YouTube link)

In Japan, a tea garden or stroll garden offers more than a place to cultivate favorite plants.  It provides a place for meditation, relaxation, repose and a feeling of tranquility.  A typical Japanese tea garden can be viewed from my previous article:

Visiting Yoshiki-en Garden (吉城園 / よしきえん) in Nara—Personal Experience

 Yoshiki-en Garden is located in Nara, Japan, which is one of the places that I have visited in Kansai area last year.  You can read all of the articles here.

History^[1]

The Fort Worth Japanese Garden ⭐ was completed in 1973. The garden was originally the site of an old gravel pit.  Few changes were made to the existing terrain in an effort to capitalize on every existing stone and tree.

It is a traditional stroll Garden with winding paths through the landscapes and around ponds. The Garden consists of 7.5 acres of filled with cherry trees, Japanese maples, magnolias, bamboo, bridges, and ponds which are home to over 1,200 Koi fish.

Admissions / Hours

The following admission fees are based on the information from 05/2017.  To confirm, call the Japanese Garden office: 817-871-7685.

Adults	$7.00
Seniors	$5.00 (ages 65 and up)
Children	$4.00 (ages 4 - 12)1
Free	with Fort Worth Botanical Society Membership

Notes:

1. Children ages 3 and under are free.  Un-escorted children under 13 are not admitted; one adult may escort 5 children.
   

The following opening hours are for your reference.  To confirm, go to www.fwjg.org.

Winter	Open Every Day from 9 am to 5 pm
Summer	Open Every Day from 9 am to 7 pm

Notes:

1. Last entrance—30 minutes before closing
2. Open all major holidays except Christmas

Photos

Fort Worth Stockyards Rodeo (YouTube link)

References

1. The Fort Worth Japanese Garden
2. Events at Fort Worth Botanic Garden
3. Japan Travel (Travel for a Purpose)
4. The Japanese skill copied by the world
• Mindfulness has become trendy around the world in recent years – but in Japan, it’s been ingrained into the culture for centuries.

Caddo Lake State Park—a Picturesque Cypress Swamp in East Texas

Caddo Lake State Park—a Picturesque Cypress Swamp in East Texas (YouTube link)

In a previous article, I have described a unique experience of meeting three people — two Canadians and one Japanese — in Uji, Japan and I have dubbed them as "Instagram Friends".^[1]

One of the Canadians, she, was excited to mention Caddo Lake to me as one of her dream locations to visit after learning that I'm from Texas.  Caddo Lake is not only known to the foreigners, but also it's one of the favorite photogenic places known to Dallas-area Photographic Societies.

Caddo Lake 

Overview^[2]

Caddo Lake State Park is named for Caddo Lake, a sprawling maze of bayous and sloughs covering 26,810 acres (10,850 ha) of cypress swamp. The average depth of the lake is 8–10 ft (2.4–3.0 m), with the deep water in the bayou averaging about 20 ft (6.1 m). An angler's delight, the lake contains 71 species of fish. Naturalists can enjoy stately cypress trees, American lotus, water lilies, waterfowl, alligators, turtles, frogs, snakes, raccoons, mink, coypu, beavers, squirrels, armadillos, and white-tailed deer.

How to Access

Caddo Lake State Park can only be accessed by car.  It will take about 3-4 hours drive from Dallas area.  On the way to Caddo Lake, there is no clear sign telling you where it is until you reach Harrison County.  Therefore, unless you have a good GPS device or a detailed map, it's nontrivial to get there for the first-time visitors.  On the way there, you may also visit Jefferson一a historic city in Marion County.

When to Visit

Besides choosing a sunny day to visit, you would also like to visit Caddo Lake in a calm day. Why?  The reason is that when it's windy, the water will be murky and the tree reflection on the water will not be clear.  Also, you won't be able to reach farther out from Mill Pond in the canoe.

Activities

You can rent a canoe from the Park Office.  At the office, you will get two keys from the rental一 one for the canoe and one for the paddle shack.  Based on the instruction from the Park Ranger, you drive a bit down the road to the bridge.  After putting on life jacket and picking up paddles, you go to the canoe to unlock it from the chain and drag it down to the waterside.

After you finish, you just return everything back to their original postions and then drive back to the Park Office to return the keys.  The rental fee is based on hours and three hours is recommended if you want to have a relaxing experience.

If you decide to visit, you could also consider to stay there overnight in one of their cabins. But, if it's weekend, you are required to book  at least two nights (i.e, Fri and Sat nights).  There are also nice hiking trails in the park.  However, they are not well marked.

Photos

References

1. Visting Uji (宇治) near Kyoto and Nara—Personal Experience
2. Caddo Lake State Park
3. Caddo Lake State Park, Texas [Official] (video)