Texas Tech Reminiscing & Dallas Bound – Summary:
- Who: Kelly Kingston; Sidne Smith
- What: Stated at my friends’ bachelorette pad; Toured Texas Tech before returning to Dallas
- When: Wednesday, April 11
- Where: Lubbock, TX; Dallas, TX
Quick Resources:
My Route:
Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip Blog Post
My Travel Story:
I spent the majority of Tuesday driving from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Lubbock, Texas, where I went to college at Texas Tech University – and stayed with college friends, Kelly Kingston and Sidne Smith, in their downtown bachelorette loft!
This is a view of downtown Lubbock, and yes, there are high-rise buildings in West Texas!
I was really impressed with the girls’ place! Especially since it actually shared a wall with Kelly’s office right on the other side of the building for a short walking commute.
These New Mexico girls really have an eye for art and design too!
Wednesday morning, I said my goodbyes to the girls and drove over on Broadway St. to the university campus to see the new construction, art installations and other onsite changes from my stomping ground days.
If you’ve never been to West Texas, the wind is something else here. Enough to lift small sorority girls wearing oversized shirts into the air!
Double T statue in front of Mesquites Bar & Grill!
One of our mascots, Raider Red (who looks like Yosemite Sam), with his Guns Up hand sign in the window of Chimy’s!
On the signal light pole next to the intersection in front of campus was this tortilla boi sticker – a tradition from Texas Tech’s football history of throwing tortillas during games at the opposing team. It’s not as big of a student tradition as it used to be, but the memory lives on!
Here’s a video tour of the Texas Tech University campus for an overview of the buildings, facilities, artwork and football stadium!
Here’s a view down the main campus entrance corridor, lined with trees and marked with these red tile roof archways on either side of the roadway entrance.
This is the Texas Tech University Seal, a favorite photo spot for students on campus, which sits in front of a shallow fountain pool.
“One of the most well known landmarks on campus is the statue of Will Rogers and his horse Soapsuds. This memorial was dedicated on February 16, 1950 by longtime friend of Rogers, Amon G. Carter. Carter believed Texas Tech was the perfect setting for the statue and that it would fit into the traditions and scenery of West Texas.
The statue stands at 9’11” tall and weighs 3,200 pounds; its estimated cost was $25,000. On the base of the statue, the inscription reads “Lovable Old Will Rogers on his favorite horse, ‘Soapsuds,’ riding into the Western sunset.”
Today Texas Tech tradition and legends surrounds the statue. According to one legend, the plan to face Will Rogers so that he could be riding off into the sunset did not work out as it would cause Soapsuds’ rear to be facing downtown. To solve this problem, the horse and Will was turned 23 degrees to the east so the horse’s posterior was facing in the direction of Texas A&M, one of the school’s rivals.
Before every home football game the Saddle Tramps wrap Old Will with red crepe paper. Will Rogers and Soapsuds have also been wrapped up in black crepe paper to mourn national tragedies.” — Tech Tech University Webpage
Here’s a view of Memorial Circle & Pfluger Fountain, a central piece to the the campus which memorializes former military troops and fallen students/faculty/employees.
A view inside the Student Union Building, where I spent a lot of time as a student on campus!
An artistic rendering of our other mascot, the Masked Rider!
Here’s an artistic statue outside of the Texas Tech Library, highlighting the importance of education. (I think?)
A bookman statue outside of the Student Union Building and close to the University Library!
Inside the library, there are displays of student’s projects like some of these 3-D printed designs!
This is a new addition to the library since my time as a student, a chair made from books for reading books!
This is also a new artistic addition to the library, which resembles the Greek statue in front of the library.
A view of the Mass Communications building, which was the former business building, a transition that occurred during my time there as a student.
Here is a view of Murdough Hall (male wing), which is attached to Stangel Hall (female wing) through the shared dining, volleyball courts, and laundry facilities in the middle of the complex.
On my way back to my car, I passed through the landscape architecture building and saw this structural mini-park model hanging on the wall – which looks like it’s been there since ’72 with all the spiderwebs!
Before I left, I swung by the Jones AT&T Stadium, where I went to a few games and a few box office events.
I left Lubbock that afternoon, and made the drive home – just like my college days! I pulled over at a rest stop a ways out of town and took pictures of the maps – for those who aren’t familiar with the great state of Texas!
These displays show some of the diverse geographic regions of Texas country.
I made it to the outskirts of Fort Worth when I finally realized I forgot what Dallas Metroplex drivers were like compared to the drivers I had gotten used to in Oregon. After a few hours in traffic through never-ending construction, I finally made it back to my parents’ home in Frisco!
