The Daytripper

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(steady music) - You might think there isn't much to do on a prairie, but saddle up.

We get sloppy with some of the best barbecue in Texas, climb an indoor mountain, visit a museum you can believe or not, dine in the town's old fire station, and finally, place our bets on the fastest ponies in Texas.

This ain't a normal prairie.

In fact, it's a Grand Prairie!

GP, are you with me?!

(upbeat music) (moderate music) Smack dab in the middle of Dallas and Fort Worth, you'll find Grand Prairie.

These days, the prairies are few and far between around here, but oh, there was a time.

So this town got its name when a woman traveling the railroad stepped off her train and said, you guessed it, "What a grand prairie!"

And since the very beginning, this town has been sort of a midway point for travelers going between Dallas and Fort Worth.

I mean, going back to the wagon trains, then the railroad, then the Bankhead Highway, which we're walking beside right now.

Ah, yes, but smart travelers have always known that this town is more than just a midway point, and can even be a full destination.

Downtown Grand Prairie is an interesting stop.

Since being bypassed by the modern highway, it has sat fairly untouched by developers, making it easy to imagine the days of classic cars cruising up and down the strip.

So this is the old Bankhead Highway, one of America's first cross country highways.

- Where did it go?

- All the way across the country.

I saw a map of it.

- There you go!

See Luke, he's educated.

This was like the Route 66 before Route 66.

I mean, if you wanna travel the Bankhead, you're not gonna get there as fast.

- Sometimes when day tripping, you just need to go along for the ride.

You like that?

- I like that.

- That's like a tagline.

- I like that.

- The road less traveled.

- No, Luke, that's... - Oh, okay.

(chuckles) - While much of downtown GP flies under the radar, our lunch stop definitely does not.

Right here on Main Street between Brisket Lane and Sloppy Juan Way, seriously, they renamed the streets for them, you'll find the one and only Zavala's Barbecue.

Located in an old burger drive-in, this spot now smokes up some of the finest Q in Texas, served with heart, soul, and a whole lot of pepper.

I mean a whole lot of pepper.

And the man behind the pits?

Joe Zavala.

Good to see you, brother.

- I know!

Welcome to downtown Grand Prairie!

- Hey, now you know I've been here a lot of times.

But I'm excited.

These guys have never had Zavala's Barbecue.

So let's show the world what you do.

- All right, let's go!

- Everyone who graces the door gets a healthy helping of Joe's biggest Texas smile, and a good dousing of smoky meat cologne.

- That smoker over there was actually in my backyard.

My wife wanted me to get it out of there as soon as possible.

- So this really did start just like a little hobby?

- You know, I learned from my dad, backyard, wanted to do the same thing he did, and I did that, and just turned into a restaurant after that.

- A backyard brisketeer.

His buddies seemed to like it, so Joe started taking pre-orders for briskets, and quickly realized the barbecue biz is hard.

- First weekend, we didn't get a single order.

I was like so embarrassed when I told everybody, I was like, "Sold out!

Now taking orders for the next week."

But in reality, we didn't sell a single thing.

(Chet laughing) We came absolutely obsessed to learn how to make a better brisket, cooking every single weekend for about six months.

And we just kind of kept on growing, and now we're here.

- It got totally outta hand.

Eventually, Joe started not just selling, but selling out, because well, his brisket is something special.

I've never seen more pepper crust in my life.

- I wanna go on record to say there's not another barbecue joint in Texas or the world that puts as much pepper on their brisket.

- Hey, stake in the ground.

- Stake in the ground.

- Like we're we're dying on the peppery hill.

- Yep.

Over here are almost carnitas.

We throw some coke in there, some orange in there, wrap it up for another three or four hours so it gets nice and tender.

- Ooh!

Oh, man.

And that's just one taste of Mexican flair Joe adds in.

Everything on the line has a little special touch.

Craft sausage, fresh pico, and bam!

You got yourself a Tex-Mex barbecuterie board.

Oh, my gosh!

You gimme all day, I couldn't finish that.

- We have our sausages here.

We have our brisket boudin, turkey, pork ribs.

- And then bring me to the king.

- That is our 44 Farms Brisket.

- Oh, look at that.

- Oh!

- That is perfectly rendered.

My team does an unbelievable job.

- There's not a way in the world there could be a better slice of brisket.

- Oh, it's great.

- The entire tray is a smoky mix of magic with a few curve balls totally outta left field, like jalapeno cheese hominy.

- There's nothing better than cheese, jalapenos, cheese, butter, cheese.

(Chet laughing) - I can't disagree.

And let us not neglect the most famous barbecue taco in Texas, El Sloppy Juan.

- You're gonna get sloppy!

(Chet laughs) - Does it come with a bib?

So this might be the only taco with a road named after it in Texas.

- 100%.

If that doesn't give you East Texas, just really good sloppy Joe, I don't know what does.

- This is something special.

There's a whole lot of like nostalgia in there, but just deliciousness!

- That is pure love in a tortilla.

- The amount of sloppy love in this tortilla is the same that Joe and his wife, Kristen, put into everything they do, using barbecue to serve something much bigger.

So Joe, have you been able to quit your day job?

- No, no, no, no, not yet.

- Wait, this is still kind of a side hustle?

- Yeah, yeah, I have an unbelievable team, but I do love my day job and I kind of need this thing called insurance.

- Oh, okay, sure.

- Yeah, yeah.

Actually, in 2019, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

It's a type of bone marrow cancer.

Barbecue kind of saved my life, made me be able to slow down.

We started the Zavala Family Foundation.

We're able to raise money for people in the restaurant industry affected by cancer.

We write $1,000 check, no questions asked 'cause I tell people, it's like, "People going through cancer don't have time to fill out a piece of paper why I need money," because I'm a part of my career now.

look, I have cancer, I get it.

But how do we have fun with this?

How do we do good with it?

How do we just enjoy life?

- Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Life's a gift.

- It is.

- Even with cancer, you know, like that's amazing.

Amazing that all of this is still a passion project for Joe, but through it, he seized every stomach and every heart that's had the honor of sitting at his tables.

- This is a dream come true.

I cannot believe you're here.

- Trust me, this is all one-sided.

I'm the one enjoying this the most.

(catchy music) Okay, dude, did I not tell you?

- Okay, it's not like I don't believe you, but sometimes, you just hype things up.

You're a hype guy.

- What are you saying?

I enjoy everything I eat!

Who else would say that?

Oh, everyone?

- That's the best barbecue I've had with this crew.

- Ooh!

- Oh!

- For sure.

- That's saying a lot.

I wanna go back for more of them Sloppy Juan's.

I didn't get to try it.

You ate it all.

(all laughing) - I did, my bad.

- I wouldn't know what it taste like!

- My bad, my bad.

Daniel's just gonna have to go back and eat another Juan.

(chuckles) Now what if I told you that in the middle of this prairie, there was a mountain?

Now what if I told you that mountain was air-conditioned?

Oh, yeah.

And this, you have to see to believe.

We're headed to Bolder Adventure Park, one piece of the 170 acres of entertainment known as Epic Central with restaurants, playgrounds, and even an indoor water waterpark.

But Bolder is a full-on summer camp all to itself.

And this is owner and mountain mover, Paul Fontanelli.

There's a mountain behind me.

What is going on in here?

- Welcome to Bolder Adventure Park.

Adventure as high as you could take it.

- This is the stuff they do like in Switzerland, and Italy does these.

- Yeah.

I traveled all around the country and found the coolest stuff and packaged it all here at Bolder.

- See, so you didn't have to wait for the mountain to sort of tell you what to do.

You just built the mountain.

- That's right.

- Oh, impressive.

- All ages can come out here and have a nice time.

- Very impressive.

- He ain't lying.

There are ropes, courses, and activities for every level.

But the real showstopper is the giant mountain in the middle.

- Technically, it's called Via Ferrata, which we call it the Mountain Experience.

So you clip into the cable, you follow this trail through caves and tunnels all around the mountains we've got here.

Kids as young as three, four years old, up to my dad loves to say he holds the record for the oldest person on the Mountain Experience at 77.

And the biggest, the boldest thing you can do is jumping off the top of the arch on our free-fall experience.

- Okay, we may have to work up to that.

- I think you'll get it.

- I think we'll have to work up to that one.

Let's start with the basic experience, if you can call anything around here basic, and luckily, we do get our own mountain goat guide, Brandon.

- There we go.

- My life is in your hands.

- Oh, man, don't tell me that.

(Chet laughs) Don't tell me that!

- Hey, you signed up for it!

I know this mountain's fake, but it does not feel fake.

I didn't see this path because it really doesn't exist.

It's just a bunch of little foot stompers in the wall.

Next up, we have the bridge of peril.

Woo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo!

In my mind, I'm 20,000 more feet up, and there's a pit of crocodiles underneath me.

(steady music) Via Ferrata is Italian for iron path, and I hope this path is as solid as iron hanging off this wall.

To call a cable a bridge is a stretch.

I'm not so sure this is a real bridge.

(steady music continues) I'm amazed this isn't real rock.

I think this is actually a mountain.

So I'm about 50 feet up in the air, and this is what I have to cross.

Don't look down.

Don't look down.

Who says we don't have mountains in Texas?

I mean, come on!

We got indoor mountains in Texas.

- Yeah, we've got air-conditioned mountains in Texas.

- Like a true professional, Greg is climbing with his audio gear and his headphones over his helmet.

- I can't hear without 'em.

- Oh, oh, Greg!

Stop it!

Look, Ma, ah!

I keep trying to take my hands off.

It's not working.

Easy does it, bro.

Easy does it.

We made it to the top.

And I gotta say, the mountain may be fake, but the nervous butterflies are real.

Greg, watch out!

You're about to fall!

I feel like a jello jiggler over here.

Definitely way more intense than I expected.

A lot more fun than I expected too because you're locked in the whole time, there's no fall risk, it's all in your head.

You just gotta be brave to get through it.

(steady music continues) Feet back on the ground.

That actually feels really good.

Speaking of things you don't find indoors, how about a sledding hill?

All right, race you to the bottom!

- Already?

- Ah!

- Oh, my God!

(upbeat music) Oh, my Gosh!

- I would have not expect that at all.

Dude, I- - I caught air!

- Now I understand why they were greasing the bottom of the tube.

(upbeat music continues) - That was pretty good, but I want to go up top now.

- Dude, I don't think we need to.

I mean, we've done a bunch of stuff today.

It's a good day.

- Right there, right there!

It's calling your name.

- I'll lead the way.

- We gotta get harness back up and- - Just do it.

- Okay, fine.

You know that question, "What would you do if your friends told you to jump off a cliff?"

I guess now I know my answer, but at least I'm not alone.

- All right, Chet, you're the 5% now.

We're here.

- I can't believe y'all got me back up here.

How often do you do this, Brandon?

- I do this every day.

- You jump off this thing every day?

- Every day.

- Why?

- Hey, why not?

Why not?

(Chet woots) - Keep on tripping, y'all, and vaya con dios.

Ah!

Vaya con dios.

(Chet laughs) Whether you come to climb, zip, soar, or sled, Bolder Adventure Park is a full-throttle, feet-off-the-ground kind of experience that'll leave you grinning from helmet to toe.

It might be hard to believe there's a mountain indoors, but this next stop will have you questioning more the mountains, even reality itself.

Welcome to Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Within these walls is a strange collection of artifacts, stories, and all-out oddities.

This is Manager Rachel Rotella with the rundown.

- We actually have five attractions here under one roof.

We have our Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Odditorium, which is all your strange, odd, weird things from all around the world.

- Odditorium.

We have our Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum, we have our Mirror Maze, we have our 7D Moving Theater, and then we have our Power Up projected video game as well.

- How long do we have here, Teresa?

Seven hours, something like that?

Let's go!

- Yeah, you need to get three hours.

- Ah, let's go.

How weird does it get in there?

- Pretty weird.

- That sounds like my kind of place.

- Let's go!

- All right, thank you.

- Yeah.

- Oh, sorry.

- Are we going?

I was like, "Are we going?"

- We're already getting weird with this interview.

(laughs) Right off the bat, a shrunken head.

I mean, how small did they have to cut up their bites of food?

Like very tiny.

- I don't think that was what they did.

- You ever asked a barber what he does with your hair after you get a haircut?

This barber kept it and made a vest outta it.

- Whoa.

(Chet laughs) - This is what Big Tex does during off-season.

The entire place is full of things that force us to grapple with reality.

This vision or nightmare to some was started by a guy named Robert Ripley in 1918 as a comic feature in the New York Globe, and he started collecting these oddities and then took him on tour, eventually spawning dozens of odditoriums across the globe.

- Zoltar!

- Anybody have some money?

I wanna be big.

- Wait, wait, no.

- Wait.

- That's not what you want.

- No, you're right.

I don't want to be a grownup.

I wanna be a kid again!

It's the Roll Your Tongue station.

Evidently, only a small percentage of people can roll their tongues.

- Bleh.

- That's crazy.

- Try to touch your... - I found out later there are people on the other side of that mirror.

The folks already think I'm pretty weird.

But then again, isn't the entire human race?

Did it work?

(laughs) - Oh, yeah.

- All right, one attraction down.

I would do anything for Salinas, including go to the wax museum.

Kevin!

What's up, brother?!

Uh!

Uh!

(Chet babbling) - No, please, no, please- (Chet vocalizing) - Just like it- - Make it stop!

- Now this location started in 1972 as a wax museum, hoping to glean some tourists from the recently opened Six Flags down the road.

The wax museums are cool because you get to size yourself up with real celebrities and think, "What would I do if I actually saw them in public?"

I know him!

Make sure I'm on the good list, okay?

Nice.

I mean, you only ever see pictures of the old presidents, which you have no concept of like how tall they were, how big they were.

And you see 'em all here, you're like, "Okay, it's presidents of all sizes."

- I saw the wax museum, and it's probably the best wax museum on the planet.

They're doing amazing work, incredible work.

The best ever.

- So Leatherface, what are you serving for dinner?

I mean, how's the steak here?

Pretty good?

The celebs do get a little spookier if you dare.

Ah!

Hey, come on.

You're good.

- Oh, break time?

- Now Ripley's are usually in high tourist areas, and sometimes, get labeled a tourist trap.

But when a place is this fun, I'll happily let 'em trap me in all day.

Guys, have y'all ever seen live horse racing?

- Only on my 75-inch TV.

The horses are way bigger than the TV even, Luke, I promise.

But Grand Prairie, one of the few places you can actually see this.

- And bet on it.

- All right, I know, yeah!

But you guys are way underdressed for this occasion.

- I wear a buttoned shirt.

- No, no, no.

There's a fit you have to have to go see live horse racing.

- Are you kidding me?

- Greg, under the seat, I've got some hats.

Here, you see that?

Pass that one up.

You gotta have the drip- - I won't even fit in the truck!

Get the dickens.

- Oh, oh, I'm The Prince!

Ooh!

- There we go.

We still look pretty terrible.

I think I'm gonna dress up a little bit.

- It fits!

- If y'all have anything nicer in your bags, you're gonna put it on 'cause we're going to race day.

- Well, I heard that we were actually gonna do this, so I brought a tuxedo.

- Now we're talking, Daniel.

- Why'd you leave us off the email list?

- Truthfully, you can wear whatever you want, but I gotta make sure my boys don't slouch.

And let's face it, I never miss a chance to dress up.

Lone Star Park is a great place to see all the heart-pumping, hat-wearing trackside excitement of horse racing.

But first, I wanna see these athletes up close.

All right, so we are down in the paddock where the horses basically get ready to go out on the track.

- They're not horsing around, we know that much.

- That's true.

They're definitely not horsing around.

Look at the stirrups, they're totally different.

I mean, there's barely a saddle there 'cause the jockey stands up the whole time.

They don't call it the most exciting two minutes in sports for nothing.

Now these horses are thoroughbreds, and they are indeed built for speed.

But it takes a brave jockey to stay in the saddle, and this is one of the bravest, Stewart Elliot.

So what's your favorite part of this?

- Winning.

(both laughing) - Y'all are all competitive, huh?

- Yeah.

- Stewart's been racing his whole life and even won the Kentucky Derby atop of horse named Smarty Jones.

Tonight, he's got six races on six horses.

So have you ridden all these horses before?

- Some, I have.

Some, I haven't.

One has never run before.

- Never run?

How do you have any idea it's built for this?

- Well, we find out.

(both laughing) - Those horses are athletes, and you guys are crazy, (laughs) just for strapping on and riding them.

You know, I've never met a jockey before.

Maybe I should put a little money down.

- Big spender over here.

What you got?

- I know.

- (laughs) It takes cash.

I got a $5 bill.

- Let's do it for the win.

Come on.

- Spend a little, lose a little.

- That's my motto.

Each race lasts about two minutes.

It's fast, it's furious, it's fun.

Get it!

Get it!

Ah!

Second, I think.

Am I having the money?

- Should we let you know what winning means maybe at some point?

- Oh, did I bet on just winner?

- Yes.

- That's all you did.

- (grunts) Sorry, guys, we gotta sell the camera.

- No, no, no, no, no!

- Give it to me.

I'm gonna hawk it in the parking lot.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Obviously, you don't have to bet money, and you should only bet what you're prepared to lose, ahem.

But placing a small wager is a bit of the tradition.

And we've got Dave here to give us some tips.

He's the stadium announcer and even makes public predictions before every race.

- What's our record here for you personally?

I'm like the weatherman.

As long as it's sun shining outside, I'm brilliant.

No.

(Chet laughing) Keep it simple, have fun, don't be afraid to bet if you like a jockey's name, if you like a horse's name.

Trust me, the racing gods will take care of you when you first come to the track.

It's about fun.

- You can bet on who will win or who will come in second or third or even name the top three in order.

It gets complicated, but I got a plan for at least one of us to win.

This next race has six horses, and we've got six crew members.

One per horse?

I like those odds.

Let's go get to the track and watch this thing.

- Go to the rail and bring 'em home.

(Dave laughs) - That's it!

Off to the races.

Come on!

Ah, look, the crew finally got gussied up.

Well, at least they wore hats.

Is that a tuxedo T-shirt?

- Wait, I don't know.

I said I brought a tux.

(Chet laughs) It's a tux.

- Here we go!

There it is!

All right, come on.

Let's go!

(cast cheering) Whoa, whoa, whoa, the number seven!

Who's got the number seven horse?

- Yeah!

- How much did you win?

- Enough to buy snacks on the way home, that's what I know.

- Yeah, let's do it!

Let's do it!

- Yeah!

Woo!

- The thrill of victory.

The agony of defeat.

And whether you're a seasoned bettor or a first-time fan, Lone Star Park leaves you with memories that last long after the final bell.

Now y'all know I love it when businesses repurpose old buildings, so let's head to Grand Prairie's old fire station.

It's now extinguishing both thirst and hunger.

Welcome to FireHouse Gastro Park, part restaurant, part cocktail lounge, part music venue, part coffee shop, and part indoor terrarium, dreamed up by owners Jason and Carlee Smith.

- Is he coming?

He's supposed to be here.

- I dunno.

(leaves rustling) - Oh, my Gosh.

- Sorry.

Guys, I'm sorry.

I tried to go to the bathroom.

I got lost in a jungle.

What is this doing in the middle of the restaurant?

(light music) - What am I having, Jason?

- That is mezcal, pressed watermelon, agave, a little bit of basil, and then the flowers or basil flowers on the top.

- Ooh!

- Yeah, we call it southern charm.

- Oh, that's refreshing.

That's amazing.

This is not your average cocktail.

In fact, it's Mama's Medicine, the company they started together in Los Angeles before moving back to Carlee's hometown here to raise their family.

Carlee, you grow up here and then- - I grew up here and then I went off to Los Angeles to be an actress.

- To do the thing.

- The dream, the thing.

We actually met in catering, which is sad.

You could think we had met on a movie set or something.

- That's a sad story, yeah.

But we met on a movie set, remember?

That's what we were gonna say.

- It was a movie set.

- Yeah, it was an amazing film.

- He didn't have to do anything but acting.

- Maybe not the acting.

[Chet] They're being humble.

Both have had great success, and Jason still acts quite a lot.

- It's my hobby that I get paid for, I think, right?

It adds up to not much sleep.

You know this life.

I mean, you know, stuff.

- No, I mean just keeping the family first, it'll add up to no sleep.

- Yeah, and to bring something that we love so much and to have like family around and other people's family around felt really- - That's awesome.

- She didn't cry either.

She was about to.

- I was about, yeah.

- There was like a little moment there.

- Yeah, yeah, that's okay.

- It's awesome.

- So a lot of the old firefighters will come back in and with like good stories.

- Oh, yeah.

It's really sweet.

Yeah.

- Oh, that's awesome.

It's obvious they both love what they do, and I love these dirty bird fries.

It's a deconstructed Nashville hot chicken sandwich.

So hot chicken, slaw, house pickles, french fries, comeback sauce, Nashville seasoning.

- Ooh!

Oh, holy moly, that's good.

This is really a special place.

- Thanks, brother.

- I mean, it's gotta also feel good that y'all are the most attractive restaurateurs in Texas.

We were here officially to award y'all that.

I don't know if y'all know that, the most attractive, yeah.

- Oh, my God!

Thank you.

- The committee voted.

It was Daniel and Greg.

- Thank you.

(laughs) - All jokes aside, it's not often you can have a great time in an old fire station.

And while the dirty chicken is the most popular item, I got my eye on one of their burgers.

So this, my friends, is their smokehouse burger.

Not a vegetable in sight.

I guess I do have vegetables.

It's fried zucchini that's healthier than fries?

- It sounds like a better option.

- Maybe when you dip them in ranch.

What's the likelihood I can get a patty, a bun, two onion rings in my mouth at one time?

Oh, the seared patty and the bacon, the onion rings.

You know, a lot of times, I'm a burger traditionalist, right?

I want the mustard, I want the pickles.

And then you run into a burger like this, and you start to question your whole belief system.

This is good.

I think what I love most about this place is it is a master's class about what's possible with historic renovations, right?

You take something that's kind of old, abandoned, and some people wanted to tear down, and you turn it into the total community hotspot, and suddenly, people can see what's possible in a historic downtown.

Like this is absolutely awesome!

Hey, who wouldn't wanna come and eat a smokehouse burger in a historic firehouse?

Like sign me up.

- Hey, Chet, don't forget to do the sign off.

- We're not signing off yet, Daniel.

I got one more spot.

- What?

- Illuvia.

It is a nightly light and fountain show, happens every night here at Epic Central.

From indoor mountains to head-scratching oddities, smoky barbecue, juicy burgers, and a day at the races, this place certainly lives up to its name and is indeed a grand prairie.

All right, so I will see all y'all out on the road.

Vaya con dios, amigos.

Howdy, y'all.

Follow along with my adventures at ChetTripper on Instagram, and at TheDayTripperTV on Facebook and YouTube.

Or head to thedaytripper.com for travel guides, past episodes and info on our mobile app and Team Daytripper.

- The Daytripper is made possible by Rudy's real Texas barbecue shipping nationwide at rudys.com.

Visit Georgetown where big ideas meet small town charm.

Georgetown the most beautiful town square in Texas.

Texas Farm Bureau Insurance protection and peace of mind for Texans since 1952.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick in Georgetown making Texas road trips possible for over 50 years.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet, Buick, Texas true.

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Texas local bottler providing the Lone star state with a variety of Coca-Cola products.