Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Southfork Ranch

On our last visit to Dallas, we finally took the time to visit Southfork Ranch.
As huge Dallas fans, we have wanted to see the ranch for years. Just north of Dallas in Parker, Texas is the setting for Ewing ranch.


As you enter the visitors center you are greeted with a short video presented by J.R. (Larry Hagman)


The tour begins by passing the famous driveway....remember how long it seemed as they came racing in? Well that is the first example of, shall we say trick photography. It was made to seem long by the use of mirrors and filming a segment, backing up, and repeating....they put powder or dust on the tires of vehicles and the drive to give it a country road appearance....it sure looked real to me!


As we approached the house, the guide explained the seemingly small house; as compared to our memory of the mansion....once again, magic of photography. This house is 5000 sq ft and the mansion on the show was 35,000 sq ft. How was this achieved? No shots were made in this house...all done on set! Only outdoor shots were filmed on location. The owner did not want his family life disrupted to that extent! His other requirement was that all filming was done May thru August. His children were in school and he wanted their privacy during school months.
It is a beautiful home and a fantastic location!



The living room is small but the picture of Jock over the mantel was so great. Of course it is a replica of the original, which mysteriously disappeared from the set and miraculously appeared over Larry Hagman's mantel! Good Job JR!



The peaceful patio where so many morning breakfast scenes took place. (I now understand why....they couldn't go inside/ha)



And now the famous pool....small uh? Yep, mirrors again! Plus they wore a clear harness and would swim...be pulled back....swim, repeat! Sounds like good exercise to me! Wow that pool looked so big on the show!!




The bedrooms were all small with pictures of the stars on the walls; but my favorite room in the house was the master bath. Very exquisite!



Dallas ran from 1978 to 1991 and I still watch the reruns when I can find one.
It was a great show and JR is still the guy I love to hate!

One funny story about the love of Dallas. I have a friend who was on the drill team in high school during this era. Her Mom and Dad came to every game to watch her perform at halftime, and quickly left to watch Dallas! One night after the game she had an accident leaving the stadium. When the police arrived, they were so nice to her and said, "don't cry, it's just a fender bender". She replied, "I'm not crying about the car, I'm crying because I have to call Mom and Dad during Dallas" LOL


Nanny


















15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I went there when I visited my brother in Sept 08! Very interesting place, but I was shocked at how small the rooms are, especially the bedrooms!
Did you take the golf cart tour? Brian & I took lots of pics, which I posted at the time - you can check em out if ya like!

It's Just Dottie said...

I have always wanted to visit Southfork Ranch. I loved the show Dallas.I like the reruns also.
Dottie

tootie said...

I've always wanted to see Southfork! I was a huge Dallas fan. I have fond memories of watching it with my mom :)

Marguerite said...

Hi Nanny! Your blog is fab and I just love it! Great post about South Park! I've always wanted to visit and I just adore that bathroom! Thanks so much for stopping by and for the follow!

Anonymous said...

Hi Nanny, I just put the archive thing at the bottom of my page & changed the setting to 100 posts per page, so that oughta help - i can't remember exactly when i posted the Dallas pics, so they may be in 2009 too - when i get home, i'll look closer

Solar Powered said...

That is a great post...that looks really cool. I thought it would be a letdown but sounds well worth the trip. Guess I need to venture out there.

Jared tells a story of getting bopped on the head by a friend's mom for talking during Dallas! He said he was so confused because it was a foreign concept not to be able to talk during a tv show - ha!!!

Amanda said...

I remember watching Dallas and then Falcon Crest right afterwards. I've never made it out to South Fork, but looks like it would be worth the trip down memory lane.

Jill from Killeny Glen said...

TRICK photography and mirror!?!?! Oh wow... that is cool how they can do that!!
Used to love Dallas...have not seen it in YEARS!!!

theUngourmet said...

How fun! I loved Dallas! We have been thinking about a Texas trip. It would be fun to check this out while we're there. ;)

Deb said...

funny story...I remember the world stopped to see who shot JR....nice photos of Southfork...

Pam said...

Cool post. I loved Dallas when I was a kid.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

this is so amazingly beautiful!
fun and witty.

grammy said...

That last story was so funny...now they could record it...or watch it on the internet (o: You could probly buy the show on a DVD now. I myself was never a fan. I have no idea why, but must have liked something at the same time. (o:
Love the way you showed us the whole place.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

I loved Dallas also, Nanny.... Would love to see the ranch--but it sounds like it is nothing like what we thought it was... As long as I live, I'll never forget the night when we found out who shot J.R...... What a show!!!
Hugs,
Betsy

Tanna said...

I can remember it making the front page of the newspaper the day after... "Who Shot J.R.?" LOL Oh how I enjoyed watching that show!