To read about the penultimate Pit Stop, Lagen Island in the Philippines, click here.

The finish line and final Pit Stop of THE AMAZING RACE 5 is Dallas, Texas, eighth largest city in the US and seat of Dallas County. Straddling the Trinity River near the junction of its three forks in North Texas, Dallas is the second largest city in the state and a busy financial, commercial and industrial center. Locals call their city the "Big D" because, as they claim, everything is bigger and better in Dallas. Indeed, Dallas has a larger-than-life image in the American psyche: site of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, home of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and Neiman Marcus, setting for the popular 1980s TV soap opera, Dallas. It may not surprise you, then, to learn that shopping is among the favorite pastimes in Dallas, along with sports, sports, sports, including football, rodeo and the Texas Motor Speedway.


Dallas was founded shortly before the middle of the 19th century as a trading post. In 1846, the town was named after Vice President George M. Dallas. In the 1870s, Dallas became a railroad junction and, coupled with the developing cotton market, fueled rapid growth in the town. By 1920, cotton prices were sky-high and land values in the region soared. In 1930, oil was first struck 100 miles east of Dallas, and the city quickly became the burgeoning oil industry's financial center. After World War II, the rise of technology company Texas Instruments paved the way for what today is a large and prosperous high-tech sector with big defense contracts. Dallas continues to grow rapidly and has spread so far that it is now connected with neighboring Fort Worth by a series of suburbs, forming the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.


Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden
If you need a refreshing break from the rush-rush, bling-bling of downtown Dallas, there may be no better spot than here, a lush green oasis along White Rock Lake. You'll find natural and precisely manicured gardens and the largest collection of azaleas in the US.

Meadows Museum of Art
This remarkable museum, located on the Southern Methodist University campus, houses the finest collection of Spanish art outside Spain. The collection features paintings by Spanish Masters from the Golden age of Spanish art, including Zurbarán, Ribera, Goya, Velázquez and Murillo, up to the 20th century, including Dali, Picasso, Tapies and Miro.

Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
This museum, the most popular attraction in North Texas, is housed in the former Texas School Book Depository, the site where, according to Warren Commission findings, Lee Harvey Oswald fired shots at President John F. Kennedy's motorcade, killing the President and critically wounding Texas governor John Connally. The spot where Oswald crouched down and fired shots out the window is encased in plexiglass. The museum chronicles the Kennedy presidency and its legacy.

Fair Park
This 277-acre park in South Dallas is a National Historic Landmark and the only still-intact world's fair site in the US. Its conglomeration of classic 1930s Art Deco buildings are in excellent condition and house a series of fascinating museums and exhibitions, including the Women's Museum, the African-American Museum, the Age of Steam Railroad Museum, The Dallas Museum of Natural History, the Dallas Aquarium and the Science Place & Planetarium.



Ang, Ien & Della Couling. Watching Dallas. Routledge, 1985.

Curran, Barbara A. 25 Years of Dallas: The Complete Story of the World's Favorite Prime Time Soap. Virtualbookworm.com, 2004.

Dallas: The Complete First and Second Seasons. DVD, 2004.

Greene, A.C. Dallas: The Deciding Years--A Historical Portrait. Tom Munnerlyn Books, 1974.

Sham, Brad. Stadium Stories: Dallas Cowboys: Colorful Tales of America's Team. Globe Pequot, 2003.