2022-09-26 Tyler Rose Garden

Tyler is famous as the Rose Capitol of the country. We were planning to visit on Friday but when we arrived near the park, we found out that the East Texas State Fair opened that day. Traffic and parking was a mess in that whole area. We went back Sunday about noon when it said online that the garden opened and they had improved the traffic flow so we were able to get in.

There was a wedding planned for later than day which was set up outside. Inside we saw a bunch of young women in fancy formals. They must have been there for pictures as the gowns did not look like bridesmaid gowns and a woman was recording some kind of a program in one corner. We headed outside and boy was it hot. The railings on the stairs leading down to the gardens were metal and would burn your fingers.

There were some lovely ponds which were nice and had shade.

On the other hand, the rose gardens were extremely disappointing. There was an unusual lack of rain in this area as well as most of Texas this year and the weather has also been much hotter. The bushes were in terrible shape. I know they are hoping that cutting them back earlier will let them come back in time for the huge rose festivities in October but unless they get a lot of rain between now and then, I'm afraid everyone will be disappointed.

The older types of roses faired a little better.

And there was a pretty one here and there.

 I hope I get another chance to visit in a better year because I was really looking forward to seeing these famous gardens. We didn't stay long. 

It was fortunate that we didn't plan to leave early Monday morning because my tire light came on Sunday. Monday morning I drove around to the other side of town to the Discount Tire shop to have it checked out. My tires were less than a month old and I had them checked before I left home. It turns out that they were all at 33 to 36 pounds of pressure instead of the 30 pounds they were set for. I guess the tire minder shows overinflation as well as under. They let some air out and I headed back to hook up so Elaine and I could head out for Salmon Lake RV Park in Grapeland TX.