I am not suggesting that we almost died on our trip to the Great Trinity Forest, but let’s just say that it was not totally safe.
It was pretty, at first.
And then we got lost.
Unlike your typical city park, the Great Trinity Forest is actually a massive 6,000 acre forest in Dallas’s “urban core” – which is PC-speak for the neglected lower-income neighborhoods that border the forest.
According to the Dallas Observer:
“The “Great Trinity Forest” has always been more of a concept than a reality. We’re really talking about 6,000 acres of floodway along the reaches of the Trinity River through poor, sometimes very tough areas in the southern half of the city. Much of it was cleared for farmland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, then in many places developed as neighborhoods. Most of the area was abandoned and allowed to “return to nature” within the last 40 years.”
So what we were really exploring was a massive wildland that the city gave up on. Full of wild animals, middle-aged science teachers, illegal dumping, homeless camps, and poorly maintained trails that lead to nowhere.
We saw the trees, the flowers, and the cacti.
And we got lost.
And it started to get dark.
And we ran into a homeless camp.
And then we ran into more clearings filled with cacti.
We eventually backtracked and made our way out.
But the danger fun wasn’t over.
There is a train station near the forest.
The train station has a little park area with the most bizarre sculptures, so we had to stop and take pictures.
I am messing with my Instagram filters when Michael tries to get my attention.
Michael: “Um, it is time to go now.”
Me: “Hold up, I am Instagramming this pic.”
Michael: “No no, you don’t understand. We need to go now. Look over there!”
I look up to see a stray pit bull trotting toward us while eyeing the chihuahua.
A Dallas woman was recently mauled to death in an area pretty close to the Trinity Forest, so we were not taking any chances. We bolted to the car and then whipped out the cameras just as a second pit bull appeared.
The Forest Trip was an adventure, but I prefer safety the city.
I don’t need to be stumbling around cacti in the forest or risk getting mauled by pit bulls to enjoy nature. Dallas’s manicured lawns and parks are all the nature I need.
No Comments