Magzbox com texas highways september 2015 by hlespoaslaos

THE PEOPLE, THE PLACES, & WIDE-OPEN URBAN SPACES

TE X A S H I G H W A Y S

T h e T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E o f T E X A S

S E P T E M BE R 2015

ESCAPE CITY TO THE

PLUS DALLAS

FRIED CHICKEN TO TAI CHI

EL PASO TO HOUSTON

INSIDER TRAVEL TIPS

SAN ANTONIO

MITCHELL LAKE'S PELICAN PARADISE

GRAPEVINE'S

URBAN WINE TRAIL

ARE YOU

Texas PROUD? ! E M O H N O T BRING I

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SEP15TH

Up FRONT

WHERE WE’LL BE NEXT MONTH:

Extraordinary Style

ome of us find cities irresistible—whether it’s the pulsating energy, endless entertainment, or that “If I can make it there…” air (cue the Sinatra). And some of us deliberately bypass the bustle and buzz, avoiding freeways and frenzy at all costs. If you can identify with either of the above, or even if, like me, you fall somewhere in between, we hope you find inspiration in this issue’s salute to Texas’ metropolises and their “People, Places, and Wide-Open Spaces.” Starting on page 52, our writers distill an abundance of urban diversions with their insider travel tips, and on page 60, our photographers capture city parks and other places to play. We also announce the staff ’s selection of 2015’s Extraordinary Texans, among them a 10-year-old lemonade magnate from Austin and a MacGyver-like waterpark wizard who makes amusement rides from railroad tankers, bridges, and oil rigs. At Texas Highways, we’ve crossed paths with countless extraordinary Texans over the years in our community of readers and contributors. And we’re saddened to report the passing

WHERE TO FIND US

Drop us a line anytime at letters@texashighways.com. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.

PH O T O :

J. Griffis Smith

We’ll paddle Rio Grande resacas in search of nature and nostalgia, star-gaze at Carthage’s Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, and join Big Tex for a State Fair tour. Then, gather ’round for ghost stories at old Fort Concho, cruise the historic Bankhead Highway, and top things off with a Stetson from Hatco in Garland. All this fall!

this summer of someone more than deserving of the title: Fran Gerling, who for more than two decades tested and styled recipes for the magazine. Simply put, Fran put the “ooh” in food. As former Senior Editor Nola McKey says, “Fran was one of those rare stylists who could do it all—test the recipe, fix any problems with it, and then make the final dish look beautiful. She worked tirelessly on every last colorful detail.” Former Photo Editor Griff Smith remembers regularly showing up to Fran’s kitchen early in the morning, “and by the end of the day we would have captured two or three styled food shots.” For their 1997 collaboration on the bowl of chili pictured above, Griff recalls that “Fran had to put the (borrowed) $1,700 frame on her credit card, in case we damaged it. We didn’t.” Our deepest thanks to Fran for adding her special touch to Texas Highways for so many years, and to the other extraordinary Texans out there who make our planet a better place.

Jill Lawless, Editor ANY TIPS ON THESE SPOTS? LET US KNOW ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, OR INSTAGRAM

Tell us your top “Main Street” in Texas, whether it’s along a quaint courthouse square or within a buzzing cityscape. Nominate your favorite at texashighways.com, letters@texashighways.com, or on Facebook, and we’ll reveal the winners in next year’s Readers’ Choice Texas Top 40!

wine up wine down

wine all over town Bet you didn’t know that West Texas is responsible for 80 percent of the total wine grape production in the state. We’re proud to be home to ﬁve award-winning wineries and acres upon acres of vineyards. So come, savor a glass and enjoy a tour.

visitlubbock.org 800.692.4035

THIS IS WEST TEXAS

V O L U M E

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N U M B E R

S E P T E M B E R 2015 The P E O P L E , the P L A C E S , and W I D E - O P E N S PA C E S of

F E AT U R E S

Extraordinary Texans

Foremost among Texas’ natural resources are our people. We introduce you to seven extraordinary Texans whose creativity and commitment represent the best of the Lone Star spirit—and sweeten life for all of us.

The City Insider

The beneficiaries of a booming population and economy, Texas cities deliver an ever-evolving array of entertainment for locals and visitors. Our seasoned contributors opine on urban leisure, both classic and chic.

Introduction by E. DAN KLEPPER

Text by CLAYTON MAXWELL

Urban Scapes

Texas urbanites appreciate the convenience and opportunity of city life, but the call of the wild still beckons for denizens of the concrete jungle. These beautiful city parks provide critical havens for respite and recharge.

Text by MELISSA GASKILL

Photographs by WILL VAN OVERBEEK

FIND MORE ONLINE Be sure to visit us at texashighways.com for more content and events.

PH O T O :

When Cuatro, age 7, went fishing with his family this year, he had no idea what he might catch. And he never, ever, in his wildest dreams thought it would be this whopper, a 40lb, technicolor Dorado (aka, Mahi Mahi) that he reeled in just off the coast of Corpus Christi. Memories are most definitely made here in the Texas Coastal Bend, and it’s high time to create some for yourself. With a little help from our local guides, the world is your oyster: Catch some reds on the beach or trout in the back bays. Go giggin for flounder on a midnight run or crabbing right on the jetties. Or maybe even snag a Dorado, just like Cuatro did. Plan your trip online and don’t forget the tape measure and a camera, because memories are made here.

VisitCorpusChristiTX.org or 800.766.BEACH (2322)

V O L U M E

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N U M B E R

S E P T E M B E R 2015 The P E O P L E , the P L A C E S , and W I D E - O P E N S PA C E S of

(15 D E PA RT M E N TS 7 ) Merge

21 ) Texas Ticket

71 ) True Texas

Bigfoot, sweets, cemeteries—and more!

Listen: The Bugle Boy in La Grange

The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail

8 ) Scenic Route

P L AT E S

25 ) Eat

77 ) Events

Dallas’ Trinity River Audubon Center

Chicken Scratch’s ode to poultry

DRIVE

87 ) Daytripper

29 ) Drink

11 ) Texas Wild

September events to spring your step

San Antonio’s reclaimed bird paradise

A walkable wine trail in Grapevine

Chet pulls back the curtain in Lufkin

15 ) Made in Texas

33 ) Travel

88 ) Travel Matters

Kevin Fowler’s favorite dance halls

Classic Gulf Coast seafood at Gaido’s

Fishing with dad, catching a lesson

18 ) Souvenir

37 ) Next Weekend

89 ) Rear View

Handwoven textiles from Paint Rock

A Piney Woods getaway to Crockett

North Beach in Corpus Christi

Destinations in this issue

Dallas 8, 25, 58, 65 San Antonio 11, 48, 59, 68 Goliad 15 Coupland 15 Stonewall 15 Spring Branch 15

Quihi 15 Swiss Alp 15 Paint Rock 18 La Grange 21 Grapevine 29 Galveston 33 Crockett 37

Austin 45, 46, 50, 54, 62 New Braunfels 47 Houston 42, 49, 55, 65 Los Fresnos 51 Corpus Christi 52, 55, 69, 89

El Paso 56, 66 Lubbock 57, 67 McAllen 57 Fort Worth 58 Amarillo 63 Beaumont 64 Brownsville 71

Laredo 71 Edinburg 71 Port Isabel 71 Rio Grande City 71 Zapata 71 Lufkin 87

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Some images in this issue are available as prints in two distinctive formats. For more information, call toll-free 866/962-1191, or visit www. texashighwaysprints.com.

THE PEOPLE, THE PLACES, & WIDE-OPEN URBAN SPACES

TEX A S H I G H W A Y S

ESCAPE CITY TO THE

PLUS DALLAS EL PASO TO HOUSTON SAN ANTONIO GRAPEVINE'S

PH O T O :

ON OUR COVER

Children play on Dallas’ Continental Avenue Bridge, a former roadway that’s now a park, with the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in the background. Photo © Sean Fitzgerald

Courtesy Laning Photography

TEXAS

™

H I G H W A Y S

GOVERNOR OF TEXAS

Greg Abbott TEXAS TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

Tryon D. Lewis Chair Jeff Austin III Commissioner Jeff Moseley Commissioner J. Bruce Bugg, Jr. Commissioner Victor Vandergriff Commissioner TxDOT Executive Director LtGen Joe Weber, USMC (Ret) PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE TRAVEL INFORMATION DIVISION

Division Director De J. Lozada Publisher Joan Henderson Creative Director Mark Mahorsky Editor Jill Lawless Senior Editor Lori Moffatt Associate Editor Matt Joyce Editorial Coordinator Cindy Newsom Contributing Editors Erin Inks, Julie Stratton Photography Editor Brandon Jakobeit Contributing Photographers Michael Amador, Kevin Stillman, Will van Overbeek Art Director Jane Wu Associate Art Director Kirsti Harms

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Digital editions are also available: www.zinio.com/texashighways

Web Editor Lois M. Rodriguez Digital Art Director Matt Wetzler Operations Manager Deborah Follien Circulation Manager Andrea Lin Data Manager Mark Smith Marketing/Ancillary Manager Katy Venable Production Coordinator Raquel V. Sanchez Accounts Payable LaKena Cooks Accounts Receivable Ana Alvarez Warehouse Manager Oz Lopez For advertising information AJR Media Group, 25132 Oakhurst Dr., Ste. 201, Spring, TX 77386 800/383-7677; www.ajrmediagroup.com Subscriptions are $24.95 annually ($39.95 foreign). 800/839-4997 (903/636-1123 outside the U.S.); or go to www.texashighways.com. Current and back issues also available at 512/486-5811. To be removed from mailing list sales, write to Texas Highways Marketing, Mailing Lists, Box 141009, Austin, TX 78714-1009. Texas Highways (ISSN 0040-4349) is published monthly by the Texas Department of Transportation, 150 East Riverside Drive, Austin, Texas 78704; phone 512/4865858, fax 512/486-5879. The official travel magazine of Texas encourages travel within the state and tells the Texas story to readers around the world. Periodicals Postage paid at Austin, Texas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Highways Circulation, P.O. Box 8559, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8559. © Texas Department of Transportation 2015. All rights reserved. www.txdot.gov MEMBER, INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION

MERGE G O T SO MET HI NG T O SA Y ?

Your Guide to Fun After Sundown

In days gone by, I flipped through Texas Highways as a country gal’s overview, but today your wonderful magazine has climbed the ladder to become a serious “must read.”

H I G H W A Y S T h e T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E o f T E X A S

AU G U S T 2 0 1 5

DORIS RICHESON, Possum Kingdom Lake

OUR FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA OF THE MONTH...

Kudos to @Texas Highways for not only putting a neon Sasquatch on the cover of its latest issue, but also [running] a short article about Bigfoot in Texas. @SoFriedBigfoot

It’s a battle as I drive by Susie’s South 40 Confections daily. The Texas trash is my fave. Cheryl Miskell, Midland

Food For Thought In response to a letter in the August issue, readers were eager to chime in on the topic of Texas Highways’ food coverage. We value the feedback. Here’s a sampling of the comments: I have eaten at several places that were in articles in your magazine. I plan my travels around restaurants. Keep letting us know where there are great places to eat in Texas. PHYLLIS THOMASON Paducah

You apparently labor under the impression that people travel to eat. Not so. “What I had for dinner” is just an easy topic to write about. HOWARD HARDT Houston

EDWARD STOLL Granger

I, too, am a lover of old cemeteries. I always look at the dates and wonder if they had a good life. I know many had a hard life. I also like taking rubbings of the tombstones. I find it a peaceful excursion.

Cemetery Buffs

PAMELA MAY Odessa

Barbara Rodriguez’s August column about historic cemeteries resonated with many readers. Of course, the Texas State Cemetery is wonderful. And the little “Boot Hill” in Fort Davis is interesting. My favorite has to be in Nacogdoches.

My family’s cemetery in Starrville is beautiful. It was founded in about 1852 by the Garys in Smith County between Tyler and Gladewater. You would want it to be your final resting place for your earthly body, among the pines.

DAVID FERRIS Austin

JUDY HAYS Houston

R E A D E R S R ECO M M E N D

I look forward to reading the restaurant reviews each month. I pull out the ones we’re interested in and put them in a file we carry in our truck. They come in handy when traveling. NITA VOIGT Victoria

If I want to read about barbecue or oysters, I’ll go to a culinary bookstore. I’m not interested in “where’s the beef.” I want more Texas!

No Place but MOMS Place The chicken-fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and coconut-and-chocolate-cream pie at MOMS Place in Aubrey are the best in the state of Texas—and we have tried lots of others! CLAUDIA & STACE KIPP, The Colony MOMS Place is at 204 S. Main St. in Aubrey. Hours are 11-8 Mon-Fri, 8-8 Sat, and 8-3 Sun. Call 940/202-4940; www.worldfamousmoms.com.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Send feedback and recommendations to: Texas Highways, Box 141009, Austin 78714-1009. Email: letters@texashighways.com.

S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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Scenic ROUTE 3 2º 4 2’ 1 2.7 0 ” N 96 º 42’ 1 8 .8 6” W

P Prairies and Lakes In southeast Dallas between I-45 and US 175 off Loop 12 (Great Trinity Forest Way), turn south into the entrance to the Trinity River Audubon Center. Stop at the center to pay admission and view exhibits, then set out to explore the center’s five miles of trails and nine ponds. The cattails tend to grow in the wetland ponds to the northeast of the building. Great egrets—one of the 220 bird species found at the center— often congregate around the Great Egret Pond.

For more information, visit the Trinity River Audubon Center, http://trinityriver. audubon.org. 8

texashighways.com | S E P T E M B E R 2015

PH O T O :

To order a print of this photograph, call 866/962-1191, or visit www.texashighwaysprints.com.

S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

Sponsored by:

877-TXCOAST TEXASADOPTABEACH.ORG

D R I V E TEXAS WILD

+ MADE IN TEXAS + SOUVENIR + TEXAS TICKET

TEXAS WILD

Silver Wings FROM SEWAG E TO AVIAN REFUG E AT MITCHELL L AKE AUDUBON CENTER

text by GENE FOWLER

EGRET EYES Great egrets are a common sight at San Antonio’s Mitchell Lake Audubon Center.

PH O T O :

To order a print of this photograph, call 866/962-1191, or visit www.texashighwaysprints.com.

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TEXAS WILD

Catering to birders, the refuge has a bird blind on its “bird pond” and clears brush in certain areas to create views of the basins and polders.

ARA BEESLEY, DIRECTOR OF THE MITCHELL LAKE AUDUBON Center in San Antonio, thought she might have fallen prey to some strange trick when she first started working at the center two years ago and didn’t see any American white pelicans for a few weeks. “After all,” she explains, “the pelican is our signature bird, and Mitchell Lake is one of the few places in North America where you can see them year-round.” Beesley’s first weeks were an anomaly, however, and her exploration of the refuge’s lake, mudflats, and shallow wetlands soon coincided with the presence of the white pelicans, characterized by large throat pouches and long beaks. And when Beesley gave me a tour of the 1,200-acre preserve this summer, we saw dozens of the broad-winged birds, as well as neotropic cormorants, black-bellied whistling ducks, scissor-tailed flycatchers, and dickcissels. “We are right along the central flyway, so we are a perfect stopover as birds migrate through,” Beesley says. “We have a range of unique habitats so we attract all types of birds—we have uplands, ponds, wetlands, and brushlands. We also get lots of coastal birds. Birders come here from all over the world.” When you visit Mitchell Lake, stop first at the visitor center to register, pay the $5 entry fee, and pick up a loaner pair of binoculars and a map. The center is in the 1910 Leeper House, the former home of the McNay Art Museum’s first director, John Leeper; the building was moved from the museum grounds to Mitchell Lake in 2003. The home’s broad porches with overhead fans offer a relaxing place

texashighways.com | S E P T E M B E R 2015

MITCHELL LAKE AUDUBON CENTER is at 10750 Pleasanton Road, about 10 miles south of downtown San Antonio. Hours are 8-4 Tue-Sun. Entry costs $5; $2 for children 6-16. Call 210/628-1639; mitchelllake. audubon.org.

PH O T O :

Michael Amador

to gaze at the surrounding xeriscaped gardens and their frequent butterfly and hummingbird visitors, and to study the list of birds that have been spotted at the refuge. “We create habitat through ‘wildscaping’ with drought-tolerant plants,” Beesley says, listing examples such as native lantana, pink skullcap, and blue mistflower. Mitchell Lake Audubon Center offers about two miles of walking trails through its 385 acres of upland habitat—thorny South Texas Brush Country with thickets of oak, mesquite, huisache, and prickly pear. There are also five-and-a-half miles of roads that visitors can drive or hike among the refuge’s 215 acres of wetlands and ponds, and along the shore of the 600-acre lake. Catering to birders, the refuge has a bird blind on its “bird pond” and clears brush in certain areas to create views of the basins and polders. While there are plenty of birds in the upland habitat, the majority of the action is typically at the lake and the wetlands. The center offers guided birding tours each week (normally on Sundays). A tour this summer recorded 53 species, including a great blue heron, six black-bellied whistling ducks, and eight painted buntings. In the late summer, shorebirds like black-necked stilts, American avocets, sandpipers, herons, and egrets flock to the refuge’s wetlands; in the winter, ducks are the most common sight, including northern shovelers, blue-winged teals, and hooded mergansers. With its mission to connect people to nature through conservation and education focused on birds and bird habitat, the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center hosts some 4,000 schoolchildren for camps and field trips each year. “Kids don’t spend as much time outside these days and have less opportunity to experience nature,” says Danielle Ormon, a spokeswoman for Audubon Texas. “When kids touch and feel nature, hold it up close, the experience sticks with them S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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TEXAS WILD

and they in turn teach their parents.” The center also offers opportunities for older children and adults to participate in “citizen science” data collection projects, such as a recent Frog Watch. Participants memorized the sounds of various frog calls and then identified eight separate species in the preserve, from small Blanchard’s cricket frogs to

Diabolical

large Gulf Coast toads. This fall, citizen scientists will look for the endangered Texas horned lizard. Formed thousands of years ago through natural drainage, Mitchell Lake has always been a magnet for migratory birds. Native Americans likely camped at the site, and given the lake’s proximity to San Francisco de

Mysterious

Weird

Lurking in Orange, Texas Opens October 3, 2015

starkmuseum.org

Based on the book Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother and other Botanical Atrocities by Author Amy Stewart. © 2009 Algonquin Press New York, NY. All Rights Reserved. Stark Museum of Art is a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation. ©2015 All Rights Reserved.

texashighways.com | S E P T E M B E R 2015

la Espada Mission (about three miles away), the missionaries probably relied on the lake to water their livestock. Early maps identified the lake as Laguna de los Patos (Lake of the Ducks), and it was a popular site for duck hunting and bird watching in the 19th Century. The lake takes its name from Asa Mitchell, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, who bought the lake and surrounding acreage in 1839.

HOOT & HARVEST FESTIVAL The center hosts its annual Hoot & Harvest Festival on October 17 with a native plant sale, butterfly walks, nature displays, hayrides, and arts and crafts. The Last Chance Forever Bird of Prey Conservancy will be on hand with golden eagles, hawks, and owls.

In the early 20th Century, San Antonio enlarged the lake with a dam and began piping its sewage there, at first untreated sewage, and then after 1930, treated wastewater. While that may sound unpleasant, landfills and sewage treatment plants attract a diversity of winged creatures and are often popular with birders. Regardless, don’t let the site’s distant past dissuade you from a visit today. The Texas Legislature decreed that the lake no longer be used for wastewater treatment in 1972, and the San Antonio City Council declared it a bird refuge in 1973. The National Audubon Society took over management of the site in 2004. Retired biologist Ruth Lofgren, 98, worked with the League of Women Voters to help resurrect the lake from a sewage swamp into a wildlife center— a transformation she calls a “miracle.” “It’s wonderful for people, especially children, to have an opportunity to get acquainted with nature,” Lofgren says. “I just love seeing a thousand pelicans swoop from one area of the wetlands to another. It provides such a soothing experience in a person’s life.” +

MADE IN TEXAS

Dance-Hall Dude KE VIN FOWLER ON HIS FAVORITE TEX A S DANCE H ALL S text by John Morthland

EVIN FOWLER GOES FOR A GOOD love song as much as the next redblooded country music singer-songwriter, but you need only look at his song titles to understand the brand of country he likes best: “Beer, Bait and Ammo,” “Loose, Loud and Crazy,” “Girl in a Truck.” Fowler has made his name in the contemporary sub-genre known as Texas Country with catchy, good-timin’ anthems that celebrate huntin’ and fishin’, country girls, and cold beer. A native of Amarillo, Fowler studied guitar and songwriting on the West Coast before arriving in Austin in 1991. He first played guitar in the popular hard-rock band Dangerous

PH O T O :

Courtesy Laning Photography

Dance halls remain close to Fowler’s heart— so much so that he does an annual statewide tour, from Thanksgiving weekend through New Year’s Eve, called “Deck the Dancehalls.”

Toys, then fronted his own Southernrock group Thunderfoot. But in 1998, he returned to the country music he’d grown up with, which he plays with a rock edge. While Fowler is in high demand these days on the fair-and-festival circuit, he developed his country career in the legendary dance halls of Central and South Texas. Rural Texas towns once revolved around these halls, with their clapboard-and-corrugated-tin construction, friendly old-timers, Spartan furnishings, and wooden dance S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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MADE IN TEXAS

“I’ve played all over the world, and I’ve seen no place on the planet that has a dancehall scene like we have here.”

Albert Dance Hall in Stonewall

floors that shine like military uniform buttons on inspection day. Dance halls remain close to Fowler’s heart—so much so that he does an annual statewide tour, from Thanksgiving weekend through New Year’s Eve, called “Deck the Dancehalls,” during which he plays as many of them as he can. (Dates for 2015 were pending at press time.) “All the historic dance halls offer the same experience, and that’s the cool thing about them; they’re a step back in time,” he says. “I’ve played all over the world, and I’ve seen no place on the planet that has a dance-hall scene like we have here.” Asked to give the lowdown on his favorites, Fowler invited me to Rustic Ranch, his spread outside of Wimberley where he’s collected and restored several historic buildings. So, we conducted the interview in … Fowler’s dance hall.

Schroeder Hall, Goliad County (est. 1890) “This place just reeks of history and 16

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tradition,” Fowler says. “You look at the photographs on the wall and everyone’s played there: Hank Thompson, you name ’em; you feel like you’re part of country music royalty. They have one of the best dance floors in the state, and they take good care of it.” www. schroederdancehall.com.

Old Coupland Inn and Dancehall, Coupland (est. 1992 as a dance hall; originally built in 1904 as the town drugstore) “This one has the restaurant and the old hotel,” Fowler says. “You go into that hotel and it’s really cool; everything there is still specific to the old days. People come to dance and drink beer, but it’s multi-generational, everyone from the kids to grandma and grandpa, eight to 80. Coupland was probably the fi rst place I saw litt le kids sleeping on the tables and benches when it got late, but as I learned, it’s like that at all the dance halls.” www.coupland dancehall.com.

Albert Dance Hall, Stonewall (est. 1922) “The Easley family bought this about five years ago, and they did a great job restoring the dance hall without hurting the feel of the place; the floor is incredible. The general store is still there, too, only now it’s more like an icehouse. Every time we’ve been to Albert it’s always been full, and there’ll be a lot of people hanging around outside as well, under these big old live oaks. They don’t do as many public dances as they used to, but they do a lot of weddings there now.” www.alberttexas.com.

Anhalt Hall, Spring Branch in Comal County (est. 1887) “You talk about history and nostalgia, this one started out in the 19th Century as a meeting hall, and it’s still going strong as the community center,” Fowler says. “The dance floor is dark oak and it’s huge. No tables around the dance floor, just benches. They’ve got high ceilings, arched beams, and some PH O T O :

Courtesy Freddy Martinez

THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS: Paintings by JAIME ARREDONDO of the coolest woodwork you’ve ever seen, and they’ve still got polka bands and country bands playing there regularly.” www.anhalthall.com. September 12 -

Quihi Gun Club & Dance Hall, Quihi (est. 1890) “I’ve never played this one, but I was there for a friend’s wedding recently and it is great. It’s near Castroville, at the end of a little road that was still dirt until just a couple years ago,” Fowler says. “The road is lined with all these tall trees so it’s dark even in the daytime, and when you get back there the dance hall is this big, corrugated tin barn, way up off the ground on these six-foot cedar posts, because the hall stretches way out over the creek, and it floods there a lot. It’s run by a committee, by members who put in the money and effort to keep it going for future generations. They have two public dances per month, and the rest of the time they rent it out for special occasions. It’s just a great room; I’ve got a true soft spot for that place.” www.quihidancehall.com.

November 15, Main Gallery

FREE Reception & Artist Talk: September, 19 5 p.m.

Irvingarts

Open 7 days a week ( Free parking ( 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd. !% (

( www.IrvingArtsCenter.com

We are Texan, We are Cowboy!

Swiss Alp Dancehall, Swiss Alp (est. 1900) “Oh, man, it is so rustic here, I just love the Swiss Alp, right there on Highway 77 near Schulenburg. It’s all old barn wood and rusty tin, just a barn, really,” Fowler says. “But the dance floor is swirling, and the place has such a great feel; if you spill your beer in there nobody’s gonna complain, let’s put it that way. I figured out early on when I started playing the dance halls, you just have to play music that’ll keep ’em drinking beer and dancing, and if you do that everything’ll be fine.” www. swissalptexas.com. +

Come honor our heritage at Celebrate Bandera September 4-6

For more info on Kevin Fowler, check out www.kevinfowler.com. Upcoming Fowler concerts include the Colorado County Fair on September 26, the Texas Rice Festival on September 30, and the State Fair of Texas on October 10.

photo by Diann Bayes

UPCOMING SHOWS

BanderaCowboyCapital.com 830-796-3045 S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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Textile Style WOOLEN ACCESSORIES H A NDWOVEN IN PAINT ROCK text by Melissa Gaskill

SMALL BELL TINKLES AS I PUSH open the door and enter the store, worn wooden floorboards creaking beneath my feet. A tall ceiling soars overhead, and dust motes dance in the light streaming through large windows as I walk between stacks of rugs. I flip through the variety of patterns and muted shades, then run my fingers across several thick, colorful saddle blankets draped across a rack. On a shelf nearby, a pile of brightly striped placemats ($15-$30) catches my eye, and I know I’ve found my Paint Rock souvenir. This tiny town, about 30 miles due east of San Angelo, owes its name to an impressive collection of rock pictographs on a

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Concho County once ranked as the nation’s leading sheepproducing county, and many people in the area still raise sheep for wool and Angora goats for hair.

bluff near the Concho River. Early artists created pictographs by applying minerals and dyes to rock, most commonly with their fingers but sometimes with brushes made of animal or plant fiber. Tours of these paintings, located on the private Campbell Ranch, are one of the area’s main tourist attractions and the reason for my visit. At my appointed time (reservations are a must), Kay Campbell meets me in the visitor center, where stacks of photos and drawings and chunks of rock cover several tables. Campbell grew up on this land, which PH O T O :

Brandon Jakobeit

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her grandfather D.E. Sims purchased in 1870, primarily because he wanted to preserve the rock art. She explains that the paintings span thousands of years and multiple native peoples. While we can (and do) speculate what they mean, no one knows for sure. Then we hop in her car and drive down to the bluff. About 70 feet high and several hundred yards long, this bluff of limestone boulders and cacti contains more than 1,000 images. I easily pick out geometric designs, along with images that look like canoes, stick figures, and hands, some of the latter reminding me of the palm outlines my children once brought home from school. With Campbell’s guidance, I also see an hourglass, what looks like an old Spanish-style church, a stalk of corn, a bison, a roadrunner, and a bird that could be a turkey. Tally marks line one surface, as if ancient visitors kept track of time spent here. Some paintings have faded, but others, protected by

INGRID’S CUSTOM HAND-WOVEN RUGS is at 141 S. Roberts (US 83) in Paint Rock. With advance notice, you can tour the factory and watch employees spin, weave, and finish items. Call 325/732-4370. To arrange to see the rock art, call 325/732-4376.

overhangs of rock, remain clear. I want to hug Campbell and thank her and her family for keeping them safe. Back at the visitor center, I admire a rug on the floor and am thrilled when Campbell says it was made right here in Paint Rock. The shop, she tells me, is catty-corner from Paint Rock’s circa1886 courthouse, a two-story stone structure topped with a red roof. Sure enough, when I drive back to the town, I notice the sign: “Ingrid’s Hand-Woven Rugs.” Native Austrian Reinhard Schoff-

thaler bought this shop in 1981 from his cousins Ingrid and Leo Haas, who started the operation in 1979. Schooled in Austria as a chef, Schoffthaler came to the United States in 1969 to learn English. He opened a restaurant in New York, but quickly discovered that that career wasn’t compatible with raising his daughter. So, when the shop became available, he decided to move to Texas. Ingrid and Leo stayed on for two years, teaching their cousin the business. At the time, the shop ran five looms; since then, a local craftsman has built eight more. At first, weavers worked exclusively with sheep wool and goat mohair, most of it from nearby ranches. Concho County once ranked as the nation’s leading sheep-producing county, and many people in the area still raise sheep for wool and Angora goats for hair. But, Schoffthaler says, those fibers have a soft texture, and coarse

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fiber makes better rugs. He began ordering coarse fiber from New Zealand, and then about 10 years ago, he received a call from Dan and Dale Goodyear, who raise alpacas in Pennsylvania. “They heard about us from the Texas Tech University International Textile Center, where we used to have our fiber dyed,” Schoffthaler recalls. The Goodyears sent a few pounds of their alpaca fiber to the Paint Rock shop, and the weavers succeeded in working with it and sent the resulting textiles back to the Goodyears to sell. “Then it snowballed, because people raising alpacas all know each other and they spread the word,” says Schoffthaler. As a result, the shop now works with fiber from across the country and Canada, including about 30 suppliers in Texas, creating rugs and other items from goat, alpaca, llama, yak, and even bison hair. Alpaca remains Schoffthaler’s

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favorite. “It’s a great fiber,” he says. “A pair of alpaca socks is very warm and causes no allergies because there is no lanolin. For rugs, we use a coarser grade that is very sturdy.” For saddle blankets, the weavers use slightly thicker wool, which makes the pads very durable, and very popular. “People always reorder our horse blankets,” he says.

The shop works with fiber from across the country and Canada, including about 30 suppliers in Texas, creating rugs and other items from goat, alpaca, llama, yak, and even bison hair. Fiber arrives at the shop in raw form—looking as if it just came off of its original owner, albeit perhaps a bit cleaner—and is corded and spun around a jute core. That makes it durable and reversible. It takes roughly 20 pounds of

fiber to produce a six-by-nine-foot rug. These days, the shop makes the rugs, and its 1,600 or so fiber suppliers sell them. (Schoffthaler is happy to share contact numbers.) Current orders will keep the Paint Rock looms busy for the next three to four months. As a result, Schoffthaler does no marketing and keeps only a small inventory at the store, which opens Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. While you can still walk in and order a custom rug, he says, you’ll have to wait awhile to receive it. The looms can produce a rug up to 12 feet wide and any length. Saddle blankets and placemats are created in the same manner as the rugs and on the same looms, only on a smaller scale, of course. Back home, my colorful striped placemats brighten my table, reminding me at every meal of a quiet Texas town, a cliff covered in mysterious images, and a family dedicated to preserving them. +

TEXAS TICKET

MADE FOR LISTENING Singer-songwriters Susan Gibson (playing the guitar) and Elizabeth Wills mesmerize the crowd at The Bugle Boy at an intimate July concert.

Now Hear This! A FORMER ARMY BARRACK PROVIDES SWEET HARMONY IN LA GRANGE

text by Roger Wood

N A MODEST SPACE THAT DOUBLES AS AN office and the green room for performers, singersongwriter Sara Hickman relaxes momentarily and reflects. “There’s a lot of love invested in this place, and it makes what I do exquisite,” she says. As an acclaimed recording and touring artist, this 2010-2011 “Official State Musician of Texas” has played prominent concert halls nationwide. Yet here, minutes before gracing the little stage beyond the door, Hickman professes high praise for The Bugle Boy, an acoustically pristine listening room in La Grange. “There’s this camaraderie among all the folks here,” she explains. “You’re in this old wooden building, and the sound is so beautiful, and the people are attuned, and it’s all about the music. Being in this place makes me happy that I chose to be a songwriter.” Specializing in the eclectic blend of musical styles commonly dubbed “Americana,” this 80-seat venue has hosted PH O T O :

Michael Amador

“The connection that this environment allows, between the artist and the audience, is so visceral and so important.”

approximately 110 shows annually since 2005. “We like real, soulful, honest music performed by the person who composed it,” says Lane Gosnay, the founder and executive director. “We value that form of expression, that art.” Though not located in a big city, The Bugle Boy attracts big talent—thanks to that reverence for song. Most of those are Texas-based artists, such as Hickman, Joe Ely, Ruthie Foster, Marcia Ball, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Shinyribs, and many others. But the booking also regularly includes luminaries from beyond the Lone Star State, such as Janis Ian, A.J. Croce, and Greg Trooper. Staffed primarily with volunteers, this grassroots enterprise opens for only S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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Sept 25 - Oct 18 Dallas

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three hours per event, usually on Fridays and Saturdays, with concerts ending at 10 p.m. Although beer and wine (as well as soft drinks and snacks) are sold before shows and during intermissions, The Bugle Boy de-emphasizes alcohol consumption as a business model. It also expects audience members to be respectfully unobtrusive during songs: no chatter, disruptions with food or drink, or cell phones. Indeed, a large sign near the main entrance advises, “QUIET PLEASE. LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS!” That allusion to wartime history fits the 70-plus-year-old building that houses The Bugle Boy, which takes its name from a 1941 hit song. The simple rectangular structure originated as a U.S. Army barrack at Camp Swift, near Bastrop, during World War II. Then in 1948 the Sons of Hermann Lodge purchased it and moved it to the current location to be a meeting hall. Fiftysix years later it changed hands again when Gosnay and friends brought The Bugle Boy into being. While those three incarnations might seem unrelated, this timeworn edifice has consistently united individuals sharing common bonds—military, fraternal, or musical. Today a friendly sense of mission

prevails among staffers and supporters at this haven for songwriters. “The connection that this environment allows, between the artist and the audience, is so visceral and so important,” says Gosnay. She credits the commitment of local aficionados who have embraced and nourished her original vision. “People started showing up and volunteering. They adopted this place as something that mattered to them.” According to Heather Eilers, the community outreach and volunteer coordinator, “It sort of happens organically with folks that are fans of this music. They come to shows, observe how we operate, and ask how to volunteer.” That same spirit extends to multiple community service programs maintained by The Bugle Boy Foundation, a nonprofit organization since 2008. The president emeritus of the board, David Vogel, notes, “Music is the draw that gets people here, but it’s about more than just the concerts. We have really gotten involved in helping people, and we’ve become a community asset.” One example is the Soldier Songs and Voices program, exclusively for U.S. Armed Services veterans. Two Sundays per month it utilizes the venue for PH O T O :

Michael Amador

Retreat. Relax. Always a Great Time in Kerrville!

The - Texas Hill Country Arts - Destination THE BUGLE BOY is at 1051 N. Jefferson (TX 77) in La Grange. For information about the listening room, the Soldier Songs and Voices program, Swan Songs, the Talent Trust scholarship, community outreach programs, and upcoming concerts, call 979/968-9944; www.thebugleboy.org.

songwriting and guitar-playing workshops that promote musical expression as therapy. Another effort is Music and Memory, which, Gosnay explains, â&#x20AC;&#x153;creates personalized playlists on iPods provided to nursing home residents, especially people with dementia and those who are withdrawn.â&#x20AC;? There are also separate programs to assist selected artists with financing recording productions, to present music education sessions in public schools, and to archive documentary material at the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas. Meanwhile, now seated on the stage, Sara Hickman cradles an acoustic guitar and sings, accompanied only by Kristen DeWitt on harmony vocals. On the final chorus, the two women lean toward each other, their voices blending into a breathtaking moment of sonic beauty. On the rear wall to their right, a small placard with hand-drawn lettering urges, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Believe in the Magic.â&#x20AC;? That simple imperative perhaps succinctly explains the phenomenon that is The Bugle Boy, a place where believersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; producers, performers, and patronsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; nurture their faith in the power of communion through music. +

Go to KerrvilleTXArts.com for more information on Kerrvilleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing visual and performing arts.

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D R I NK

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Itchin’ for Fried Chicken CHICKEN SCR ATCH IN DALL A S

text by MATT JOYCE

WINNER WINNER Chicken Scratch’s chicken biscuit sandwich and chicken and coconut waffle are among its most popular dishes.

PH O T O :

Brandon Jakobeit

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“You know how when you were a kid, and on the Fourth of July you went to the park and threw the blanket out? That’s what it’s meant to be, an overall experience, with the courtyard and music.”

EFORE OPENING HIS RESTAUR ANT CHICKEN Scratch in Dallas, Chef Tim Byres and a couple of friends made a five-day, 2,500-mile road trip across parts of the South and Midwest on a quest for chickenfried inspiration. Regional characteristics revealed themselves along the way, Byres said: the cayenne-infused spiciness of “hot chicken” in Nashville, the buttermilk-battered crispy crusts of Kentucky, and the Thanksgiving-like spreads associated with Sunday fried-chicken dinners in Oklahoma. Byres summoned such influences—both in a culinary and atmospheric sense—for Chicken Scratch, which opened in 2012 featuring chicken (fried and otherwise) in a casual beer garden with a play area for children and an outdoor music stage. “I think there’s a big turn to nostalgic American things, and you see a lot of that in food like fried chicken and barbecue,” said Byres, a 2014 James Beard Award winner for his cookbook, Smoke: New Firewood Cooking, and the culinary

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CHICKEN SCRATCH is at 2303 Pittman St. in Dallas. Hours are 11-9 Sun-Thu and 11-10 Fri-Sat; The Foundry bar opens 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Mon-Fri and 12 p.m.2 a.m. Sat-Sun. Call 214/749-1112; www.cs-tf.com.

PH O T O S :

Brandon Jakobeit

creator behind the Dallas barbecue restaurant SMOKE. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That was part of the idea for Chicken Scratch. You know how when you were a kid, and on the Fourth of July you went to the park and threw the blanket out? Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meant to be, an overall experience, with the courtyard and music. We went with fried chicken because it just seemed to make sense for that kind of family feeling.â&#x20AC;? Nostalgia is surely a factor in the renaissance of the comfort-food staple as a focus of trendy restaurants across the state. (Lucyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in Austin, Houstonbased Maxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wine Dive, and Sissyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in Dallas are a few other examples.) But letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face it: Fried chicken never

MAKE IT! Check out Tim Byresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; recipe for smoked ham hock and stewed collards at texashighways.com/recipes-entrees.

PECAN-WOOD ROTISSERIE Chicken Scratchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nonfried options include rotisserie chicken, salad bowls, stewedchicken tacos, and chicken tamales.

went out of style. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too delicious. These newer eateries are just offering welcome attention and variations to a dish that has long drawn legions to stalwarts like Babeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chicken Dinner House in Roanoke, Allenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Family Style Meals in Sweetwater, and the Barbecue Inn in Houston. Set in a semi-industrial West Dallas neighborhood just a few blocks from the

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Chicken Scratch and the adjoining bar, a sister business called The Foundry, share a large courtyard with a cactus garden and picnic tables shaded in daytime by a lofty elm tree, and brightened come evening by string lights. There are monkey bars and half-buried tires that beckon kids to climb, and a spigot and drinking bowls for dogs. In keeping with the

Our attractions are timeless. The memories are lasting. <HDU URXQG UDLOURDG H[FXUVLRQV Ă&#x192; 6FHQLF GRJZRRG WUDLOV +LVWRU\ DUFKLWHFWXUH Ă&#x192; $ZDUG ZLQQLQJ FKHIV

Named one of Texasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; top travel destinations. ZZZ YLVLWSDOHVWLQH FRP Â&#x2021;

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neighborhood’s industrial character, a strip of several shipping containers— cut open on the side to provide covered seating—lines one edge of the courtyard, and an imaginative stage comprised of stacked pallets hems another (bands play most weekend nights in the warmer months).

Chicken Scratch, which also has indoor seating, serves various chicken plates, including fried chicken strips and boneless thighs, as well as bone-in legs, wings, and thighs; pecan-wood rotisserie chicken; and stewed-chicken tacos. Byres said the restaurant’s most popular dishes of late have been its

“knife and fork biscuit sandwiches.” The sandwiches come in a few different configurations, including the decadent, six-inch-tall Foundry: a split buttermilk biscuit, crispy and chewy, enveloping a fried chicken thigh layered with mashed potatoes, hefty bacon slices, beer mustard, a couple of American cheese slices, and a touch of oregano vinegar honey. Another treat is the Chicken and Coconut Waffle, a buttery waffle served with a strip of fried chicken and coconut-maple-chili syrup.

THE FOUNDRY Chicken Scratch’s adjoining bar, The Foundry, offers a full lineup of craft beers from Dallas and beyond, as well as cocktails, frozen drinks, and wine. In both dishes, the surrounding cast of characters, such as the hearty mashed potatoes on the biscuit sandwich and the sweet syrup on the waffle, accentuate the spice and tang of the crispy chicken. The kitchen creates the savory chicken flavor, Byres said, by brining the meat in lemon-sage salt water and then coating it in flour spiced with salt, cumin, and pepper. After deep-frying, the chicken is drizzled in a touch of white vinegar and a bit of honey that’s infused with fresh oregano. Depending on the dish, the cook then puts a few pickle slices on top for that “spicysour-vegetabley flavor,” Byres said, noting he picked up the pickle technique from his mother. “Fried chicken is mainstream in the sense that everybody knows it, but that’s also difficult because everybody has their own style and flavor as they remember it as kids,” Byres said. “It’s kind of like brisket in Texas; everyone will fight you over it. You can’t compete with a memory, but we’re not trying to. At Chicken Scratch we just do our fun take on it.” And gathering with friends and family over plates of Chicken Scratch’s fried-chicken dishes certainly is fun, whether you’re making new memories or waxing nostalgic about the past. + 28

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Diffused lighting and mellow jazz greet us in a chic, contemporary space with low, cushioned ottomans as well as standard tables and chairs.

Umbra Winery

Grape Escape THE G L A SS IS A LWAYS H A LF FULL ON G R A PE VINE’ S U RBA N WINE TR AIL

W text by Helen Anders

H E N B R YA N based Messina Hof Winery decided to open a North Texas tasting room, there wasn’t much debate about which city it would call home. “The town is called Grapevine,” the winery’s general manager, Nathan DeWitt, says with a grin. “You’d expect it to be a great spot.” So, in December, Messina Hof, which also has locations

PH O T O :

Kevin Stillman

FIND MORE ONLINE The full Urban Wine Trail at texashighways. com/drink.

in Bryan and Fredericksburg, joined Grapevine’s urban wine scene. As Grapevine gears up for its 29th annual GrapeFest wine festival and competition on September 17-20, eight downtown tasting rooms and two wine bars already pour samples and glasses of various wines. (Delaney Vineyards, home of the only vineyard in Grapevine, also offers tours and tastings at its picturesque facility a couple of miles south.) A walkable wine-tasting trek awaits, but I don’t want to drive to get there, so I let the city-sponsored Grapevine Visitors S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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IVANHOE GROWN Homestead Winery makes wines from grapes grown in Ivanhoe, northeast of Sherman.

Shuttle ($5 for a day pass) pick my friend and me up at the Gaylord Texan Resort and deposit us on Main Street. First stop: the tasting room of Homestead Winery, a block off Main inside a one-story 1890 Victorian house at 211 E. Worth Street. Upon entering the building, I feel a little uneven on my feet, and I haven’t even had my first sip. It’s not me, though. The original wood floor slopes toward the center. Emily Parker McRoberts, the daughter of Gabe and Barbara Parker, the winery’s owners, tells us Homestead’s wines come mostly from grapes grown on her family’s farm in Ivanhoe, near the Oklahoma border. In Ivanhoe, you can tour the vineyards and taste wines at a tasting room; wineries in Denison and here in Grapevine offer samplings 30

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and special events. We indulge in a flight of five wines, starting with a floral white wine called Desert Rose, made from Muscat Canelli grapes with peach and pear notes. Next, we try a mellow Homestead Red, a blend of Ruby Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Zinfandel, offering a hint of plum. The winery’s aromatic Moon Shadow Riesling tastes fruity and light; I think it would make a good porch-sipping wine. Chilled and a litt le sweet, Rose of Ivanhoe, Homestead’s undisputed bestseller, consistently wins gold awards at GrapeFest. Emily tells us that it’s a sweeter version of Homestead Red, and that it makes a wonderful sangria as well as being a good foil for spicy fare. “It goes great with Tex-Mex, chili, and peppery steaks,” she says. “But my PH O T O :

Kevin Stillman

DRINK

favorite way to enjoy it is poolside, with a bowl of frozen strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.” We end our Homestead tasting with a two-ounce pour of Chocolate Rose, a rich and sweet wine made from Ruby Cabernet grapes, then infused with dark chocolate. It’s easy to see why this wine is a three-time winner of GrapeFest’s People’s Choice award.

Upon entering the building, I feel a little uneven on my feet, and I haven’t even had my first sip. It’s not me, though. The original wood floor slopes toward the center. Next, we walk a few blocks to the tasting room of Umbra Winery at 415 S. Main Street, where diffused lighting and mellow jazz greet us in a chic, contemporary space with low, cushioned ottomans as well as standard tables and chairs. Poster-size canvas prints of Sophia Loren and Al Pacino survey the scene from a copper-flecked green wall, but the centerpiece of the room is a yellow resin bar illuminated by LED lights, which glow warmly through hand-laid quartz. Umbra serves Mediterranean-inspired small plates, and we find that the spicy finish of Umbra Tempranillo from Texas’ High Plains region pairs perfectly with fluffy beef-and-veal meatballs in a slightly spicy tomato sauce, as well as a gorgeous, crunchy bruschetta topped with olive oil, bright basil, roasted tomatoes, and carefully applied drizzles of reduced balsamic vinegar. A couple of blocks south, we find the newest tasting room, Bingham Family Vineyards, at 620 S. Main Street. Here, Kyle and Gracie Bingham run a tasting room with a cool, urban vibe, complete with an open ceiling with track lighting, a granite bar, and wood tables and wooden wine racks to add elements of

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photo by Gary Rhodes

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warmth. For five generations, Kyle’s family has farmed vast acreage near Lubbock, but for the past decade they’ve concentrated on grapes, supplying them to other wineries. This year, the family is finally selling wine under its own brand. We especially like Bingham Family Vineyards’ mellow and fruity Trebbiano, which strikes us as perfect for a summer evening. Then it’s time to explore the tasting room of Messina Hof, housed in a replica of the 1891 Wallis Hotel, an early railroad hotel that’s an area cultural landmark. The third-oldest winery in Texas, Messina Hof opened in 1977 and now grows 900 acres of grapes in Texas’ High Plains, with smaller vineyards in Denison and Bryan. Of the hundred or so wines that Messina Hof makes, about 45 are available in Grapevine, including a rotating nine on tap. Standing at the polished dark wood and marble bar, we taste a crisp Blanc du Bois with mango

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and grapefruit notes and a bold, steakworthy Sangiovese. In addition to tastings, you can enjoy a glass of wine with cheese and charcuterie in Messina Hof’s lounge, which overlooks the production area, or on the upstairs verandah, which overlooks Main Street. “If you squint hard enough and imagine taking away the neon and making the trees a little shorter,” says General Manager Nathan DeWitt of the view, “you can see what Grapevine looked like 100 years ago.” Messina Hof’s wines are distributed to stores and restaurants, so later in the day, we’re able to order a bottle of its hearty GSM (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre) with our steaks at Winewood Grill, an upscale restaurant down the street. Our day winds down, so we’ll save the tasting rooms of Grape Vine Springs Winery, Su Vino, and CrossTimbers for a future trip. But we have one last stop to

ALL ABOUT WINE IN GRAPEVINE For more information on Grapevine, GrapeFest (held this year Sep. 17-20), and Grapevine wineries, call 800/457-6338, visit www.grapevinetexasusa.com, or go by the Visitor Center at 636 S. Main St.

make: the tasting room of Sloan & Williams, at 401 S. Main Street, where Alan Kunst Jr. and Ralph Mattison Jr. create more than a dozen wines, including a bright Roussanne. Tonight, though, we’re after dessert. Sloan & Williams offers a selection of eight wine-flavored ice creams from the New York-based Mercer’s Dairy. My favorite, a rich and creamy Port ice cream, turns out to be the perfect final note for a day of savoring Grapevine’s prime product. +

T R AV E L

COASTAL DELIGHTS A mainstay of Galveston dining since 1911, Gaido’s is still the place for classics like boiled shrimp, crawfish fondue, and filets with rich sauces.

A Century of Seafood IN GALVESTON, GAIDO’ S DEFINES CL A SSIC

N text by June Naylor

OT EVEN 10 YEARS OLD when my parents treated me to my first meal at Gaido’s, the famous restaurant on Galveston’s Seawall, I figured that the giant crab perched on the roof meant this was a very special place. My dad explained that Gaido’s had opened in 1911, was a legend in Texas dining, and had been his favorite eating destination on the Texas coast since he was my age. That day, my earliest definition of classic dining was formed as we sat down to white tablecloths and napkins and enjoyed fresh seafood served by waiters wearing starched shirts and bow ties. PH O T O :

Will van Overbeek

I’m a fool for cornmealbattered, fried oysters, which Gaido’s tops with chopped bacon and hollandaise sauce.

Countless visits later, I’m returning to Gaido’s, still owned by the same family, to treat my husband to the place I consider the Texas Gulf Coast’s quintessential seafood spot. I’ve long since changed my concept of a classic to incorporate restaurants both fancy and very casual, and Gaido’s today falls somewhere between. Service remains solicitous and the tablecloths are still snowy white, but guests rarely dress up anymore for dining in the series of rooms that look much as they did in the 1970s. The restaurant’s décor serves as a S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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window into history, both of Galveston and the maritime world. Just inside the front door, we’re greeted by a splendid collection of antique brassand-copper deep-sea diving helmets dating from nearly a century ago. Several dining room walls are covered with vintage photography, some documenting the building and rebuilding of the historic Seawall and others showcasing the magnificent Victorian architecture for which Galveston is famous. Some of my favorite images include those illustrating the island city’s New Orleans-like cemeteries with aboveground mausoleums and crypts. But best of all is a prominent 1920s photo of smiling young women lined up on the beach and Seawall for the International Pageant of Pulchritude, a bathing-beauty revue that drew more than 100,000 spectators each year. Arriving for Sunday brunch, we luck into a window table that gives us a view, albeit across the parking lot, of the Gulf. Looking around our dining area, I take

in a sea of tables filled with young couples, grandparents with grandchildren, vacationing families, and the afterchurch crowd. Judging from those arriving with gift-wrapped packages, Gaido’s serves as a place for celebrations, too. We’re delighted to find that Gaido’s offers a Bloody Mary bar during Sunday brunch. Once we’re given glasses holding chilled vodka and ice, we help ourselves to the self-service table and add tomato juice, horseradish, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces, and garnishes of lime, celery, and olives. Then we throw in a few non-classic options, such as pickled okra, green beans, and pieces of crisp bacon. We fashion our meal to include a few traditional dishes, as well as some newer offerings. I’m usually a fool for cornmeal-battered, fried oysters, which Gaido’s tops with chopped bacon and hollandaise sauce, but this time I’m tempted by a dish called Cy’s Demise, which features a dozen charcoal-grilled oysters finished with melted butter and grated Parmesan cheese. PH O T O :

Will van Overbeek

I figured that the giant crab perched on the roof meant this was a very special place.

A house classic is the shrimp bisque, a creamy soup made with a sumptuous seafood stock, shrimp, pureed tomatoes, and sautéed carrots and onion. Alongside, we find a good foil in the lump blue crab salad mounded atop sliced avocado and tomatoes, with tart, lemony remoulade sauce for dipping. A modern twist on sautéed Gulf catch, the sautéed golden tile filet—that’s a fish caught at a depth of 600 feet or more— was crusted in garlic and topped with shrimp, avocado, cilantro, and lime. In the restaurant’s brunch-specific menu, we find dishes that marry traditional and modern ideas, such as the Oysters Benedict. Poached eggs crowning oysters on the half-shell are topped with spinach, tomatoes, and hollandaise. But I’m most drawn to the Crawfish Hash, a bed of skillet-fried potatoes blanketed in saffron-crawfish fondue and hollandaise made nubby with jumbo Texas lump crab. One night during our Galveston stay, we dress up for a dining experience of the old-school classic variety at the

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SHOPPING · DINING · NATURE · RELAXATION sŝƐŝƚ ŽĞƌŶĞ͘ŽƌŐ

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T R AV E L

Pelican Club, which is also owned by the Gaido family. The Pelican Club is attached to the rear of the Gaido’s spread, with its separate entrance on a street one block inland from Seawall Boulevard. Compared with the informal ambiance at Gaido’s, the Pelican Club evokes 1940s elegance, with subdued lighting, posh upholstery, and etchedglass details in the room dividers. Waiting until our table is ready, we sip martinis at the sleek bar, a milky glass shelf that’s lighted from below to impart a soft vanilla glow. The music soundtrack—a little Sinatra, a little Ella Fitzgerald—evokes dinnertime of elegant eras past. Dinner at the Pelican Club isn’t an experience we’d anticipated finding at the beach, but chef Ross Warhol’s resume doesn’t bear the usual suspects, either. His Culinary Institute of America education and work in kitchens from Spain to Napa Valley to Chicago imbued him

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with haute cuisine prowess, which he pairs with keen understanding of Texas and Southern cooking.

Looking around our dining area, I take in a sea of tables filled with young couples, grandparents with grandchildren, vacationing families, and the after-church crowd.

The Pelican Club menu finds everything from chicken-fried steak with a cognac-and-peppercorn-infused gravy to smoked-trout salad with confit potatoes and haricots verts as accents. Our favorite items during our Pelican Club dinner include poached halibut over a bright green sweet-pea mash, and seared, dry-aged rib-eye steak with tiny potatoes and dinosaur kale.

Innovative and flavorful, the dessert of fennel mousse atop an olive oil biscuit with blackberry jam surprises and delights us both. The two meals combine for two lasting impressions. First, we are reminded that we’ve overindulged yet again. But most of all, we come away knowing that a classic—in this case, the Gaido’s of both old and new definitions—never goes out of style. +

GAIDO’S AND THE PELICAN CLUB Gaido’s, at 3828 Seawall Blvd. in Galveston, opens daily for lunch and dinner. Call 409/761-5500; www.gaidos.com. The Pelican Club, at 3819 Ave. T in Galveston, opens for dinner Wed-Sat. Call 409/761-5503; www.pelicanclubgalveston.com.

NextWeekend W HAT A R E YOU D O I NG FO R FU N?

Pining for Crockett CELEB R ATE HISTORY A ND MUSIC IN THIS BUCOLIC PINEY WOODS TOWN

text by JOH N MORT H L A N D

RATCLIFF R&R Near Crockett in the Davy Crockett National Forest, Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area offers swimming, fishing, and hiking.

PH O T O :

Kevin Stillman

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NextWeekend

CROCKETT

Crockett offers equal parts history, culture, and outdoor activities, making the most of its rich heritage and the natural beauty of the Piney Woods of East Texas.

Warﬁeld House Bed and Breakfast

The DISTANCE to CROCKETT

Houston 115 miles; 1.75 hours

Dallas 150 miles; 2.5 hours

OR A CITY-DWELLER USED TO NOISE, there’s nothing quite like waking up under a colorful quilt in an antique bed and then looking out the window over a small-town street scene that’s absolutely quiet. That’s how my day began at the Warfield House Bed and Breakfast, just a couple blocks from the Crockett town square. Of course, you can find this pleasure in many small towns, but Crockett, population 6,500, happens to be one of my favorite burgs. Crockett offers equal parts history, culture, and outdoor activities, making the most of its rich heritage and the natural beauty of the Piney Woods of East Texas. There are nearly 300 Texas Historical Commission 38

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San Antonio 250 miles; 4 hours

CROCKETT The Crockett Area Chamber of Commerce provides visitor information and offers tours of the town and its historic sites by appointment. Call 936/544-2359; www.crockettarea chamber.org.

Amarillo 515 miles; 7.5 hours

Texarkana 190 miles; 3.25 hours

markers in Houston County, and the Houston County Historical Commission has issued a book compiling them, if you’d like to fashion your own tour. I chose instead to investigate the Houston County Museum (open Fridays and Saturdays), housed in the 1909 International & Great Northern Railroad Depot, just three blocks west of the square. Dorothy Harrison, the museum president, showed me around the exhibits, as she will for all visitors. In the front room, a beautiful 100year-old quilt and a bulky 150-yearPH O T O :

Kevin Stillman

old sewing machine vie for attention with handwritten letters of Andrew E. Gossett, a Houston County settler who fought in the Texas Revolution and donated the land on which Crockett was built. The Gossetts named the town after Davy Crockett, a boyhood friend of Andrew’s father, Elijah Gossett, in Tennessee. Crockett is believed to have camped near here on his way to the Alamo in 1836. Also in the museum, photographs and memorabilia celebrate bull rider Myrtis Dightman, a Crockett native who in 1961 became the first African American to qualify for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association National Finals Rodeo. In 1997, Dightman was the first living African American inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Each Labor Day Weekend, the Myrtis Dightman Hall of Fame Rodeo and Trail Ride—held at the Porth Ag Arena— honors his pioneering achievements.

In the museum’s other rooms, cotton and agricultural tools portray the story of Houston County’s development. So do bigger displays, such as a re-creation of the local offices of the HoustonLeon County Coal Company, founded in 1900 to mine lignite; the 1930s vintage counter of Bishop Pharmacy; and memorabilia from the local Coca-Cola bottling plant, run by the Edmiston family for 109 years until it was sold in recent years. It turned out to be one of the more diverse small-town museums I had seen in Texas. “Everything here is donated by people from Crockett and Houston County, and we’re always looking for more,” Harrison said. After the museum, a stroll around the square seemed in order, but first I went a few blocks north to Rosemary’s Hilltop Kitchen for a buffet lunch of Southern favorites. Rosemary’s offered an ample spread, but most of the

diners seemed unable to pass up the fried chicken. After helping myself, I could see why: The skin was crisp and crunchy, with moist meat inside. Back on the square, a patchwork of new and old buildings, I ogled coonskin caps in the window of Davy Crockett Drug. And in Millar & Berry Antiques, one of those delightful, stuffed-to-thegills stores with items like linen postcards, vintage furniture, and Depression glass, I stumbled onto my prize find: a hefty iron paperweight of a cowboy, complete with hat and boots … on the green, lining up a putt. Evoking an emphatic “huh?,” it was reasonably

FIDDLERS FEST Crockett will host the World Champion Fiddlers Festival on October 24 in Davy Crockett Park. www.facebook.com/ worldchampionshipﬁddlersfest.

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NextWeekend

CROCKETT

bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins across the street from the café. A native of nearby Centerville, Hopkins was a Camp Street fixture before moving to Houston in the ’40s to make his name. “You’d be surprised how many people have come to see [the statue] from around the country and even around the world,” Gillette said. In 2013, Gillette helped make possible a mural of East Texas blues artists painted by Crockett High graduate Robert Morrison on the brick wall of the Knox Furniture building at the corner of Goliad and Camp streets. Vibrant, larger-than-life likenesses of Hopkins, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Frankie Lee Sims, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Texas Johnny Brown, Big Mama Thornton, and T-Bone Walker look down on the street where these musicians once hustled to earn a living.

Larry Bruce Gardens grows fresh produce for the onsite restaurant (pictured at left), where he and his wife, Sara, serve a buffet lunch in a bright dining room with broad windows overlooking the gardens.

priced and thus irresistible. I bought it and quit shopping while I was ahead. That evening I went to meet Pipp Gillette at his Camp Street Cafe & Store on Third Street. Camp Street (Third’s original name) was once the business strip of Crockett’s African-American community. Over the years, the 1931, false-front tin building has housed a barbershop, pool hall, taxi stand, and café. Pipp and his late brother Guy spent summers on their grandfather Hoyt Porter’s ranch at nearby Lovelady. In 1983, the brothers moved from their native New York to take over the ranch. Their grandfather’s Camp Street building was part of the deal, and they 40

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restored it in 1998. A singing duo specializing in cowboy music, the Gillette brothers fashioned the café into a live music club presenting acoustic roots music like blues, cowboy, Cajun, oldtime, and bluegrass on weekends. Photos, posters, and newspaper clippings hang on whatever wall space isn’t already covered by signed promo shots of the artists who’ve played there. The Gillettes also researched the neighborhood and its role in Texas music history. In 2002, they spearheaded an effort to get the Piney Woods Arts Association and city businesses to commission local artist Jim Jeffries to create a statue of quintessential Texas

I decided to start the next morning with a litt le physical activity. Just a 20-mile drive east on Texas 7 is Davy Crockett National Forest and Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area, home to camping and picnic sites, hiking trails, and a lake with fishing, swimming, and nonmotorized boating. There’d been moderate rain overnight, leaving the morning air cool, clear, and clean as I walked down a short length of the Lakeshore Trail. For 15 years at the dawn of the 20th Century, the Four C Mill, among the largest sawmills west of the Mississippi, occupied the area, along with its company town of Ratcliff. (Visitors can see concrete and brick ruins of the sawmill on the sawmill driving loop.) PH O T O S :

Kevin Stillman

I wandered around the lake before heading back in the general direction of my car. Before I got there, I noticed a marker for the Tall Pines Trail, so I took that deeper into the woods, until it was so quiet that a simple bird chirp sounded like a scream. (Spring flooding damaged the parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s infrastructure. Check with the park before visiting.) Next, I returned to my car for the short drive to Larry Bruce Gardens (www.larrybrucegardens.com) outside Kennard, a small town about 17 miles east of Crockett. Bruce had been in the landscaping business since 1985, but decided after the 2008 economic downturn that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be better off growing food on his property, which has been in the family for five generations. Bruceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gardens have expanded from one to seven acres since then, growing fresh produce for the onsite restaurant, where he and his wife, Sara,

CROCKETT CHRISTMAS Christmas in Crockett, an annual holiday arts-and-crafts fair, will be November 21 on the downtown square, featuring about 200 vendors selling gifts and food. www.crockettareachamber.org.

Lightninâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hopkins sculpture by Jim Jeffries serve a buffet lunch in a bright dining room with broad windows overlooking the gardens. The restaurant, which also sells canned fruits, vegetables, and jams from the gardens, opens for lunch

Tuesday-Friday and Sunday; reservations are required. On the Sunday I visited, we started with the salad bar, featuring mixed lettuce, spinach, and an array of other fresh vegetables. Then there was rich, smooth tomato-basil soup, which perfectly blended sweet and tart. The main course was lasagna in a tangy tomato sauce, with flavorful green beans and red potatoes on the side. A slice of chocolate chip cake with vanilla ice cream ended the mealâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and I smiled for the entire three-and-a-half hour drive back home to Austin. +

September 19-November 25 Named one of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Best Pumpkin Festivalsâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fodorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Travel, 2014 Over 65,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash come together to form the nationally acclaimed Pumpkin Village. A multitude of special events are also available throughout the festival including Harvest Tea, a hay bale maze, music, the Tom Thumb Pumpkin Patch and more.

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People

Extraordinary

TEXANS

The individuals who help make Texas special Text by C L AY T ON M A X W E L L Photographs by W I L L VA N OV E R BE E K

People

his yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lineup of Extraordinary Texans possesses the brio and gratitude of Texans who love what they do. Here is a San Antonio restaurateur who inspires aspiring chefs throughout the city and beyond, a 10-year-old Austinite who makes lemonade to help save the honeybee, a Houston artist who is leading the way in art as social practice, and a New Braunfels inventor who pioneers water park technology and sustainability. These and the other hardworking, creative stars featured here keep things shining big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas.

WEB EXTRA For more Extraordinary Texans, see texashighways.com/webextra.

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The

Extraordinary

MIKAILA ULMER BeeSweet Lemonade Owner and Honeybee Advocate

t takes grit and vision to transform a bee sting into a thriving lemonade business, but 10-year-old Mikaila Ulmer of Austin, the owner of BeeSweet Lemonade and a recent guest of the White House, has both by the bucketful. In 2009, after then four-year-old Ulmer was stung twice in one week, her parents encouraged her to learn about honeybees and why they are vital to our ecosystem. As she overcame her fear, she became an advocate for bees and their honey, and soon embarked upon teaching the world about their ecological importance through delicious lemonade. Ulmer’s spirit of social entrepreneurship was sparked right along with her bee fascination. Motivated by the Acton Children’s Business Fair, an annual marketplace for young entrepreneurs based in Austin, and inspired by the nationwide Lemonade Day in May, Ulmer found her Great Granny Helen’s flaxseed lemonade recipe in a cookbook from the 1940s, added

mint from her garden and local honey, and her first batch of BeeSweet Lemonade was born. “These experiences taught me how to handle ingredients, how to take on loans, and how to understand profit margins,“ she says with confidence. Ulmer’s pluck so impressed entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” reality-show personality Daymond John that earlier this year, he invested $60,000 in the business to help it grow nationally. Already, more than 32 southern Whole Foods stores stock her lemonade, and thanks to the recognition from “Shark Tank,” she hopes to soon make BeeSweet available in schools, hotels, and airports. Of her “Shark Tank” recognition, Ulmer notes, “I was kind of stunned I won the award, but I was also very proud knowing that I had worked really hard and that he believed in me. I am so excited to see what comes next.” S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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Extraordinary

TONI TIPTONMARTIN Food Activist and Author

y illuminating the past, food activist and author Toni TiptonMartin is reframing the future. In her new book, The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks (the University of Texas Press), Tipton-Martin gives voice to the African Americans who worked in kitchens throughout the United States, revealing the wisdom, artistry, and values that characterize their role in culinary history. Using her rare antique cookbook collection as source material, along with modern classics by Edna Lewis and Vertamae Grosvenor, she highlights how African Americans have long occupied a creative place in the kitchen. “People these days are speaking about the dearth of opportunities for young people in the urban cores,” says Tipton-Martin. “By showing them that they have a strong and vibrant food industry history, one that helped their ancestors move into the middle class, I hope that some young people might consider careers with food.” 46

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Tipton-Martin, who has been a repeat guest at the White House to share her work, believes in the power of positive food culture so much that she began a foundation called The SANDE Youth Project to combat childhood hunger and obesity by promoting the connection between cultural heritage, cooking, and wellness. Through the SANDE Foundation, Tipton-Martin has hosted the Peace Through Pie initiative, an MLK Day pie and culture sharing event, and in June, she organized the first annual Soul Summit in Austin, an unprecedented gathering of scholars, chefs, authors, and activists who explored issues of race, identity, power, and food. “There is no simple solution,” says Tipton-Martin, “but if you look at history and really think about it, you come to a place where you realize there is room for everyone at the table. The work is meant to bring us together.”

The

Extraordinary

JEFF HENRY Inventor and Schlitterbahn Water Parks Founder

eff Henry is the inventor and entrepreneur behind Schlitterbahn Water Parks, which today has four locations in Texas and one in Kansas City, Kansas. This adventuresome, affable, and tireless visionary for attractions like lazy rivers for tubers and land-based water surfing has 60 patents to his name and is always the first man to take the plunge on Schlitterbahn’s new rides. How else can he figure out how to make things better? And Henry is committed to making things better—as well as faster, taller, and a whole lot more fun. That’s why he is pioneering new ways to repurpose such unlikely candidates as railroad tankers, bridges, oil rigs, and other structures for new lives in Texas water parks. In fact, much of what you see in his parks used to serve other purposes. Henry used timber discarded from the 2011 Bastrop fires to build decking, furniture, and siding at his parks in New Braunfels, South Padre Island, and Corpus Christi. Right now, using salvage from an

old shipyard and oil rigs, Henry is constructing a transportable ocean-based ride that will move among his Texas coastal sites; it will be the tallest in any park in the world, wet or dry. “Using old oil rigs and tankers means I get a source of structural material at a low price, and then I get to build even bigger and cooler things,” say Henry, with the excitement of a boy at play. And when there are problems, Henry and his team find the solutions. “I am like MacGyver in a lot of ways. I work with 50 guys who have been with me for about 30 years and they are all incredibly competent. We are right on the borderline of being insane—we’ll do some crazy stuff—but we are very calculated about what we do.” Crazy stuff has led to some crazy success for America’s first family of water resorts. And it is clear that this man, who built his first tree house from repurposed redwood when he was seven and hasn’t stopped building since, loves what he does. “It’s a lifestyle, not really a job,” he says. S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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Extraordinary

JOHNNY HERNANDEZ Chef and “Godfather of Mexican Food,” San Antonio

ot only is San Antonio chef Johnny Hernandez putting San Antonio on the national food radar, he is also changing the way people think of Mexican cuisine. With his first restaurant, La Gloria, which opened in the Pearl Brewery redevelopment in 2010, he introduced the street food of interior Mexico, a territory he maps like a food anthropologist. Now he has a growing empire that includes a botanero called La Frutería, the meat-centric El Machito, and the upscale Casa Hernán event space. Chef Johnny continues to push taste bud frontiers at the expansive new La Gloria that will soon open on San Antonio’s north side. Here, diners can try out his cacao and tequila tasting program, as well as enjoy tortillas and chips made from corn grown by the Mexican and Guatemalan farmers Hernandez has befriended during his many research trips. “There is nobody doing it the way we are doing it,” says Hernandez. “Bringing in the native corn and cacao gives us another rich story to 48

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share with people about what Mexican food is and where it comes from.” And what really makes Hernandez the “godfather of Mexican food” in San Antonio—as he was dubbed this summer by television food personality Andrew Zimmern—is his dedication to food education. As the founder of San Antonio’s popular Paella Challenge and a supporter of the Culinary Institute of America at the former Pearl Brewery, Hernandez is helping teach and provide scholarships for the future chefs of the region. His titanic grill at El Machito—said to be the biggest in town at nine feet—serves as a practical training zone in open flame and live fire cooking for students at the CIA’s San Antonio campus. “I love to learn and explore and then share this amazing food culture. I want our customers and culinary students to learn about and experience bits of history or unique things that they’ve never seen before.” Chef Johnny is bringing plenty of the never-been-seen-before our way— and it tastes delicious.

The

Extraordinary

RICK LOWE Artist, Project Row Houses, Houston

ever underestimate the power of art to transform a community. Especially when in the hands of artist and social architect Rick Lowe, founder of Houston’s Project Row Houses. In the early 1990s, a question from a high school student inspired Lowe to use his creativity to find real solutions to problems facing his community. With the help of fellow artists, Lowe organized the purchase and renovation of 22 charming but derelict 1930s row houses slated for demolition in Houston’s predominately African-American Third Ward. Working closely with the neighbors, Lowe has since transformed the Project Row Houses into a thriving cluster of gallery spaces and sites for established and emerging artists’ residencies. There’s also a residential mentorship program for young mothers, an organic gardening program, and a neighborhood think-tank for low-income housing design. At the forefront of a paradigm known in the art world as “social practice,”

Lowe’s work is widely recognized for challenging the concept of what art can do, so much so that the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation awarded him with a “genius” grant last year to help him realize his ideas. Lowe, who lives near the Project Row Houses, recognizes that this kind of social art is never finished and always changing. On any given day of the year, the PRH is abuzz with kinetic energy; artists and residents are preparing for shows, sharing ideas, and making plans. And Lowe is there in the thick of it, shaking hands and waving to neighbors. “The PRH is a neighborhood where most of our residents, staff, volunteers, and visitors share a heightened awareness of our cultural community,” Lowe says. “We have an open-door policy where residents and visitors alike are welcome to come and share their thoughts. We value that as a way of maintaining an open and engaging atmosphere. That’s how we keep a pulse on what’s going on in the neighborhood and what we should be addressing.” S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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Extraordinary

ROLAND SWENSON

Co-Founder of South by Southwest Festival, Austin

he words “South by Southwest” now trip readily from the tongues of music, film, and technology enthusiasts across the planet. The mammoth, multilayered festival that brings hundreds of thousands of people to Austin each March makes dreams come true: Bands are discovered, trends are uncovered, new stars are made. So it’s hard to believe that this revered whopper of all festivals kicked off as a homespun music event by Austin Chronicle staffer Roland Swenson and his colleagues back in 1987. “I always believed that SXSW could be a large and influential event, which is why we worked so hard to get it off the ground,” says Swenson. “However, when we started SXSW, we couldn’t really imagine how much the world would change. It’s hard for us to have a perspective on SXSW’s place in the world because we are so close to it. But I frequently have ‘Wow, how did we do that?’ moments.” This native Austinite and former UT student attributes much of the festival’s success to Austin’s amazing growth as a creative community and also to his 50

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dedicated co-workers. “The best part of my job is working with the people here who are so passionate about SXSW and the work we do,” Swenson says. Swenson has overseen SXSW’s expansion from a festival of about 700 registrants to a film, technology, and music conference of more than 84,000 official registrants and countless unofficial participants in 2015; it has become Austin’s top grossing event of all time. Swenson is excited to see further cross-pollination of genres as the festival moves forward. And, despite all the work, Swenson still has fun. “This year, I saw a great show by one of my favorite bands, Spoon, who played a free outdoor show on Auditorium Shores on Lady Bird Lake, which included a fireworks show, and I also saw a wonderful act from Pakistan, led by 80-year-old female singer Mai Dhai.” A lifelong Austinite, Swenson still enjoys what SXSW has offered faithfully for almost 30 years: music so good you’ll be talking about it long after the show is over.

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Extraordinary

JUAN LONGORIA

Los Fresnos High School Conjunto Program Founder

hrough music, Juan Longoria Jr. is changing high school kids’ lives along the Texas/Mexico border. As the founder of the Los Fresnos High School Conjunto program, this award-winning accordion player is motivating students to work hard, stay in school, and strive for their dreams, simply by teaching them to play the music that is an integral part of their cross-cultural identity. Longoria, who learned to play the accordion from his father and has now passed it on to his own son, says that conjunto music is deeply rooted in both who he is and life along the border. “Since my first talent show in elementary school, this music has followed me. Whenever folks are getting together, it’s always, ‘Hey, Longoria, bring your accordion.’ It’s part of the culture here.” When Longoria, who also plays in the popular conjunto band Conteño, pitched the idea for a conjunto program to the administration of Los Fresnos High School in 2011, Principal Ronnie Rodriguez loved the idea

and got on board to make it happen. “Now,” says Longoria, “teachers from other schools tell me, ‘I wish we would have had a program like this.’” With a business degree from the University of Texas at Brownsville, Longoria believes in the power of education; his greatest satisfaction is helping his students succeed, especially those who are at risk of dropping out. “I’ve seen a lot of students who were failing, but they’ve improved their attendance and grades so that they could be in the program. And some have become so motivated because they are able to graduate, that now they want to go on to college, too.” Longoria’s 14-year-old son, who is now winning his own awards for the accordion, will be a student in the program this year. Longoria wants to teach him and all of his students to take the music seriously. “This is an art form. If you are going to sing, sing with passion. If you are going to play, play with passion. You have to feel it; you have to put your heart into what you are doing, or why bother?” + S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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Places

The

City INSIDER Our writers share their favorite city spots

riters for Texas Highways cover a lot of ground. With more than a quartermillion square miles and some 3,000 communities in play (including six of the country’s most populated cities), we’ve got our work cut out for us. Whether highlighting the latest festival, introducing the newest music venue, exploring a wildlife trail, or celebrating one of the state’s classic restaurants, we strive to introduce readers to the best Texas has to offer. This month, the magazine has inspired a statewide bevy of talented writers to provide insight into some of the hidden gems and neighborhood favorites thriving in their city of choice. Up for some Hot Joy? Writer Michelle Burgess suggests heading to San Antonio’s Southtown neighborhood for spicy goods from this lively Asian fusion restaurant and bar. And Corpus Christi native Kathryn Jones says take a tour of the Texas Surf Museum … dude! Others rave about Melt Ice Creams in Fort Worth, the Earth Born Market in McAllen, Lubbock’s Tornado Gallery, tai chi at Dallas’ Crow Collection of Asian Art, craft beer and Tiffany stained glass in El Paso’s Camino Real Hotel; you get the idea. Hometown or home-awayfrom-home, these discriminating writers have tackled the city life with both head and heart, ferreting out the fun inherent in the hustle and bustle of urban Texas. Now it’s your turn. —E. Dan Klepper

PH O T O :

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Austin PAULA DISBROWE

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fter moving to Austin 10 years ago, my husband and I quickly embraced a few local customs, like plunging into the cold waters of Barton Springs (the spring-fed pool is about 68 degrees all year long) on New Year’s Day. Our two children were born in Austin, and we’ve relished creating new traditions for them as well. In our family, Friday is pizza night, when we head to Home Slice for garlic knots, delicious thin, crispy pies, and the genius touch of offering kiddos flourdusted balls of dough to knead until dinner arrives. When the weather is just right, we pack baguettes and cheese and head to the lush, peaceful refuge of Mayfield Park and Preserve [above] for an easy hike and the spectacular, somewhat surreal experience of watching the resident peacocks fan their brilliant plumes—my kind of dinner theater. The round-the-clock ease of hearing a fiddle or bass guitar makes Austin incredibly special. For state-of-the-art acoustics, ACL Live at The Moody Theater is a bucket-list destination for any music lover (we’ve seen Lyle Lovett, Raul Malo, and Willie Nelson there). But I also adore the quirky charm of old-school institutions like Broken Spoke, the Continental Club, and Saxon Pub (especially on Sunday nights when Fastball’s Miles Zuniga plays with The Resentments). Nestled on a leafy corner in east Austin, Launderette is one of the hottest new restaurants in town. But we don’t go for the buzz; for us it’s the ultimate neighborhood restaurant. When we nab a table in that casually hip space, we sip perfect cocktails and dig into hangar steak with anchovy-kale butter, and fried oysters with coriander dipping sauce. We’ll head home full and happy; grateful for the place and the people that have made us feel right at home. Contact the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, 866/462-8784; www.austintexas.org. PH O T O S :

(from top left) Michael Amador, Will van Overbeek, © Kenny Braun

Houston

HEATHER BRAND

ouston is constantly reinventing itself. What was once mosquito-ridden swampland now ranks fourth among the most populous metropolises in the United States. After five years away, I was prepared to find my hometown much altered, and I was right. Houston is filled with exciting new finds, but fortunately some of my favorite places are still going strong. One of the things I missed most during my Houston hiatus is the Sunday brunch at Hugo’s, where buffet tables loaded with traditional Mexican cuisine tempt the eye and bust the gut. I’ve been guilty of overloading my plate with fresh tamales and huevos poblanos, followed by a steaming cup of spiced Mexican hot chocolate. But my latest destination of choice is Bistro Menil, the new eatery on the grounds of the Menil Collection. You can dine in on savory pizzas and classic entrées such as seared tuna or duck confit, but I prefer to place an order to go, and then picnic on the adjacent lawn [below] with a carafe of wine under the sprawling live oaks. I’ve always enjoyed the peaceful sanctuary of the nearby Rothko Chapel. This intimate space lined with Mark Rothko’s large canvases in shades of black provides a meditative experience. James Turrell’s Twilight Epiphany Skyspace offers yet another quiet escape from the urban bustle. Added to the campus of Rice University in 2012, this massive work of art features a sequence of colored lights projected at sunrise and sunset onto a square canopy with a 14-by-14-foot aperture, through which visitors can observe subtle shifts in the sky. Amid all the new developments, some things never seem to change. At the West Alabama Ice House, which opened as a gas station/convenience store in 1928, friends and strangers alike gather at outdoor picnic tables to swig beer from longnecks and swap stories. This local watering hole harkens back to the days when Houstonians used icehouses to escape the Texas heat. Now, even without the benefit of cooling blocks of ice, I still find it an ideal place to chill out at the end of a long day. Contact the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800/446-8786; www.visithoustontexas.com.

Corpus Christi KATHRYN JONES

ne of my favorite memories of growing up in Corpus Christi is surfing—as a spectator sport. High school friends who rode the waves off Padre Island spent hours waxing their boards and debating who made the best ones. The name of surfing champion Pat Magee, whose surf shop was a popular local hangout, came up a lot. I live in North Texas now, but when I go back I can relive those good vibrations at the tiny and too-often-overlooked Texas Surf Museum [above], located downtown a short walk from the seawall. A lifesize sculpture of a 1948 Ford “Woody” station wagon, commissioned by the museum, greets visitors at the entrance. New Braunfels sculptor Chris Kouri constructed it from 800 pounds of Styrofoam blocks. Painted turquoise with faux wood panels, the iconic surfer vehicle with surfboards strapped on top looks ready to hit the beach. Many of the museum displays come from Magee’s collection. Colorful vintage surfboards mounted on a long wall bear the dates and names of their builders—including the first known surfboard built in Texas by Walter Ellisor. Continuing Corpus Christi’s laid-back vibe, my husband, Dan, and I like to drive along the winding curve of the bay for several miles. Along Ocean Drive, a Cape Cod-style cottage painted a sunny yellow with blue shutters houses the Yardarm Restaurant. We had our first date there more than 30 years ago. The Yardarm boasts one of the best views on the bay. Big windows face the water and a back deck offers al fresco dining. But it’s the fresh seafood that keeps drawing us back, including the succulent oysters Rockefeller and the ceviche with generous chunks of salmon and other raw fish marinated in lime juice and combined with tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Clinking our glasses of Pinot Grigio, we toast another perfect day by the bay. Contact the Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800/766-2322; www.visitcorpuschristitx.org. S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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Places

El Paso

E. DAN KLEPPER

l Paso, the state’s “capital” of borderland history and culture, harbors a natural world all its own, an attractive feature for nature enthusiasts like me who enjoy exploring the Chihuahuan Desert environment alongside the pleasures of city life. Along with a population of more than half a million people, El Paso is home to the 26,627acre Franklin Mountains State Park, considered one of the largest urban parks in the country. The Franklin Mountains, a 23-mile-long and three-mile-wide desert habitat, provide a natural backdrop to the busy city and contain some of the oldest rock in Texas. Yet, great food and live music lie a mere 15 minutes away from its easy-to-reach trailheads! Elsewhere in the city, the 52-acre Keystone Heritage Park pairs nature with culture by

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preserving one of the last remaining wetlands in El Paso County alongside artifacts of an archaic village more than 4,000 years old. In addition, the park hosts the El Paso Desert Botanical Gardens, an artful landscape of native plants and garden architecture including culinary, cactus, and butterfly gardens, as well as a healing garden featuring medicinal plants. On Saturdays, shopping the farmers market at nearby Ardovino’s Desert Crossing means perusing dozens of vendors and local goods including produce from the agricultural fields visible from atop the mountain trails in the state park. Despite its location 15 minutes from downtown across the Texas state line, Ardovino’s has been considered a classic local El Paso restaurant since 1949. It’s also a favorite hangout for fine food and live jazz, and offers

innovative cuisine, a lengthy wine list, and stellar sunset views from the patio. After a day of exploring the natural world, I’d consider a luxurious overnight at the historic Camino Real Hotel. Designed by Henry C. Trost, the Camino Real set the standard for elegance along this frontier border during the ﬁrst half of the 20th Century, romancing guests with European chandeliers, ornate mahogany carvings, black serpentine marble trim, and an enormous stained-glass dome above the lobby bar. The Dome Bar, the hotel’s modern nod to its sumptuous past, provides a polished but relaxing respite to contemplate El Paso’s unique character and its amicable mash-up of the urban with the wild. Contact Destination El Paso, 800/3516024; www.visitelpaso.com. PH O T O :

McAllen

DANIEL BLUE TYX

Lubbock

ANDY WILKINSON

ake it from me, a lifelong Lubbock resident and full-on fan of the flatness: Some of the best things in the Hub City aren’t easily found. Especially if you settle for the obvious. Art, for starters. The obvious include the Museum of Texas Tech University, across campus from the university’s Landmark Gallery and not far west of the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts. Don’t miss them. But in between are several less-obvious treasures. In the Depot District, the Tornado Gallery hosts art shows, music concerts, readings, and three working studios. Next, scattered across the Texas Tech campus, is one of the nation’s Top-10 university public art collections [above], featuring internationally acclaimed artists such as Terry Allen, Deborah Butterfield, and Glenna Goodacre in more than 100 works. You’ll want to explore them on foot. Which will make you hungry. Searching for down-home comfort food? Try Wiley’s Bar-B-Q and Burgers on the East Side. In the mood for la comida de México? Wind your way to the industrial district and stop at Los Tacos, offering everything from huevos to enchiladas, with the tacos—not surprisingly—the specialty. Now you’ll be thirsty. Obviously, you’ll want a glass of wine, as Lubbock’s famous for it. McPherson Cellars, back in the Depot District, operates a winery, a tasting room, and several event spaces—their outdoor patio my favorite—in a renovated Coca-Cola bottling plant. Across the street is La Diosa Cellars, an old storefront now harboring fine wines, tapas, and music. Contact Visit Lubbock at 800/692-4035; www.visitlubbock.org. PH O T O S :

(from left) Kevin Stillman, © Larry Ditto

’ve lived in McAllen for the past decade, and as you might expect in the country’s fastest growing metro area, I’ve seen the city change dramatically, but I also love that it still hasn’t lost its friendly, small-town feel. I’m reminded of this every time I step into Rex Café and Bakery, in McAllen’s historic downtown. The neighborhood has become an enclave of upscale restaurants and nightclubs, but when my wife and I take our kids for piping-hot pan dulce on Saturday mornings, every table in this Tex-Mex hole-in-the-wall is full of locals swapping stories over coffee just as they have since it opened in 1947. The McAllen Public Library—housed in a former Wal-Mart— offers a case study in urban renewal. The airy and colorful metamorphosis won an American Library Association design award, and the library hosts a bustling farmers market every Saturday and the McAllen Book Festival in November. Quinta Mazatlán [below] also is a sustainability success story, as developers once eyed this one-of-a-kind adobe mansion for demolition. Instead, the city transformed the grounds into a tranquil wildlife refuge ideal for viewing “Valley specialty” birds like the green jay and plain chachalaca. Just inside the city limits, we frequent the Earth Born Market for bags of fresh grapefruit. All the locally sourced produce is 100 percent USDA organic, and they ship almost anywhere in the continental U.S. For special occasions, my wife and I go to Salt New American Table. Chef Larry Delgado’s menu honors the Valley’s ranching and agricultural heritage, but with a contemporary, sophisticated ﬂair. Incredible dishes like crispy pork shank with habanero salsa and pan de campo embody the spirit of our adopted hometown: Moving quickly into the future, while holding tight to its past. Contact the McAllen Convention & Visitors Bureau, 956/6822871; www.mcallencvb.com.

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Places

I Dallas

JUNE NAYLOR

rowing up in Dallas, I came to enjoy its offerings as a local and then as a frequent visitor from my home a half-hour west in Fort Worth. What keeps me intrigued is Dallas’ artful ease in weaving together its vintage joys and modern interests. To explore nature with a side of architecture, venture off the beaten path to the Trinity River Audubon Center [above], where the nation’s largest urban hardwood forest unwinds over a 120-acre preserve on the outskirts of far southeast Dallas. Simple wildness reigns on landscape good for hiking and waters good for scheduled float trips. Look for any of 220 bird species, as well as beavers, turtles, and river otters. The magnificent LEED-certified center offers its own interest with a striking design in concrete walls, cypress siding, and weathered metal panels. Equally Zenlike, a morning spent at the Crow Collection of Asian Art proves this destination is far more than a stunning assemblage of pieces from China, Japan, India, Korea, and Southeast Asia. The downtown Arts District museum doubles as a profoundly serene retreat devoted to mind-body-spirit health. The free daily wellness offerings range from meditation to yoga to tai chi. Yet more art figures into the perfect lazy day, spent wandering the Bishop Arts District. Start with contemporary art-gazing in Ginger Fox Gallery, go shopping for a vintage lamp at Zola’s, and find a flourishing succulent planted in a distressed wooden box at Dirt. For immersion in Art Deco, stroll through the world’s largest collection of 1930s Art Deco exhibit buildings, punctuated with a remarkable assortment of sculpture and murals, in Fair Park. Ramble around the 277-acre park to admire exquisite architecture, brought together for the 1936 world’s fair that also marked the centennial of the Republic of Texas. Come evening, toast the city’s best rooftop vista from atop the five-story NYLO Dallas South Side hotel. Grab a chaise or barstool at SODA, the casual but very grownup poolside bar crowning the renovated 1911 building. Order some bubbles and raise your glass to Big D’s shimmering downtown skyline. Contact the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800/232-5527; www.visitdallas.com. 58

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n my hometown of Fort Worth, the Cultural District features three world-class art museums, and the stroll from one to the other is rewarding in and of itself. The sculptures on the lawns at the Modern, Kimbell, and Amon Carter—and the locals who gather there—create an artful scene all their own. Seeking the Old West? Head to the Stockyards National Historic District for the twice-daily cattle drive of the city herd. Climb aboard a sleek and lovely Longhorn for the best Christmas card photo op ever. Some come for the steak. For me, Cowtown is about burgers. Two of the best in town are a stone’s throw apart. The original Fred’s Café on Currie Street features top-notch burgers with a camp cook pedigree. Like it hot? Go for the Diablo. And at Rodeo Goat (at Bledsoe and Currie streets), the Whiskey Burger—Irish whiskey cheddar, candied bacon, and blackberry compote—represents the new age of Cowtown on a bun. Cruise south on Currie and turn east on West Lancaster Avenue for a slide over a historic bridge built in 1938. I love bridges, and this one—with its quartet of unexpected benches framed in Longhorn bas-relief, stairs that mysteriously descend to Trinity Park below, and the single best view of the Clear Fork of the Trinity River, as well as the new roller-coaster-railed 7th Street bridge [below]—numbers among my favorites. For the sweetest possible ending to a day in Fort Worth, turn south onto Summit, then east on Rosedale Street, and keep an eye out for the bumblebee yellow of Melt. The buzzing, locally owned ice cream shop is worth a drive from anywhere in the city, or anywhere in the state, for its animestyle happiness, creamy scoops, and seasonal ﬂavors. Sweet. Contact the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800/433-5747; www.fortworth.com.

Fort Worth

BARBARA RODRIGUEZ

San Antonio

MICHELLE BURGESS

t’s reasonable to assume that native New Yorkers don’t frequent the Empire State Building or often hop the ferry to motor around the Statue of Liberty. In San Antonio, though, we locals love our tourist meccas, from the River Walk to SeaWorld to the glorious Alamo, and fairly regularly queue up with out-of-towners to revisit our hometown treasures. We are willing to brave the sometimes frustrating parking situation around the River Walk in order to dine at Biga on the Banks, Boudro’s Texas Bistro, The Luxury (off the beaten path near the San Antonio Museum of Art), or Restaurant Gwendolyn. The latter is especially distinctive in that it eschews modern amenities—and by modern, we’re talking all electric food-prep gadgets— in favor of locally produced, sustainable ingredients hand-prepared in a pared-down kitchen. In recent years, the downtown zone south of Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard has emerged as a hot destination for dining and nightlife, thanks to hip bars and restaurants such as The Monterey [above] and Hot Joy. Another Southtown can’t-miss is The Friendly Spot, a casual

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outdoor gathering place for craft beer aﬁcionados that lives up to its name. We also love The Pearl district, home to an astonishing concentration of phenomenal eateries, and many of the charming culinary standouts in Alamo Heights and Olmos Park. Speaking of Alamo Heights/Olmos Park, this area just a few miles north of downtown also numbers among our favorites for enjoying the outdoors and appreciating our city’s rich history. Nearby is 343-acre Brackenridge Park, home to the zoo, the Smithsonianaffiliated Witte Museum, and the lush and serene Japanese Tea Garden, as well as Pump House No. 1, one of the city’s oldest industrial buildings and a gorgeous place for a photo op. On the west side of the park lie the University of the Incarnate Word and The Blue Hole, one of many springs issuing from underground and the recognized headwaters of the San Antonio River. For a city that loves to celebrate its origins, it’s a great place to start. Contact the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800/447-3372; www.visitsanantonio.com. +

(from far top left) © Sean Fitzgerald, © Nathan Lindstrom, Will van Overbeek

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The Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin PH O T O :

Michael Amador

Spaces

URBAN Scapes Seeking natural serenity in the Texas big city Text by M E L I S SA GA S K I L L

Spaces

et out of the office. Flee that marathon meeting. Park your car. Exit the laundry room. Now: Find a bench under a tall, green tree, breathe the fresh air, and enjoy a moment of peace and quiet. Ahhh. Feel better? Of course you do. Medical doctors and common sense agree that spending even a short amount of time outdoors provides such benefits as stress reduction, creative inspiration, and better health. This applies to adults and children alike, although the latter are less likely to sit on said bench than to run

around it and burn some energy, which is a good thing. Texas is known for its wide-open spaces, those where you see nothing but vast landscape (and perhaps a cow or two) for miles. But it also abounds in urban open spaces—small oases of green (or blue) right in the middle of our busiest cities. These urban havens offer the chance to take a long hike or short stroll, splash in the water, play with your pets, or just relax and meditate. In addition to welcomed slices of the natural world, some feature added bonuses such as outdoor artworks, museums, and historical attractions. Time for a break!

Austin

BARTON CREEK GREENBELT

ﬁrst fell in love with this ribbon of green through the heart of our capital city on hikes with my young and frisky dog. The Greenbelt takes in 841 acres and a 7.2-mile trail along Barton Creek, a Hill Country landscape of limestone slabs and boulders, shaded tranquil pools, and waterfalls that change dramatically with the seasons and rainfall. I never make the same hike twice here, and whether or not rain has recently fallen, a few spots nearly always have water, at least enough for a doggie drink or a refreshing dip of your feet. Along the way, Little Barton Creek and Short Spring Creek join in, and the trail winds beneath limestone cliffs, some crawling with rock climbers, and forests of live oak, juniper, Texas persimmon, hackberry, and cedar elm. Native and ﬂowering plants along the way include fragrant mountain laurel, prairie verbena, and Lindheimer silk tassel, to name a few.

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Enjoy the company of hikers, many with their dogs, and mountain-bikers (limestone rocks and tree roots make for a bumpy ride), or ﬁnd a shady spot all to yourself. The Greenbelt also shelters the endangered golden-cheeked warbler, blackcapped vireo, and Barton Springs salamander. The Greenbelt is accessible at various sites along Barton Creek, including at Twin Falls off South MoPac (Loop 1) and from Loop 360. Hikers can also access the Greenbelt near the creek’s conﬂuence with the Colorado River (Lady Bird Lake) in Zilker Park, a 351-acre park that offers the refreshing Barton Springs swimming pool, picnic areas, a playground, sand volleyball courts, a disc golf course, botanical gardens, and the Zilker Zephyr, a miniature train that makes hourly trips along Barton Creek and the shoreline of Lady Bird Lake. Call 512/978-2600; www.zilkerpark.org.

To order a print of the photograph above, call 866/962-1191, or visit www.texashighwaysprints.com.

PH O T O :

Michael Amador

Amarillo

CADILLAC RANCH

he Texas Panhandle is synonymous with wide-open spaces, but even in its spacious cities one might occasionally feel hemmed in. When folks in Amarillo get a hankering for the wide open, they drive west on Interstate 40, pull off at Exit 60 (Arnot Road), and make a U-turn to the south access road. Through an always-open gate, they follow a well-worn path to the Cadillac Ranch—the iconic collection of 10 cars buried nose-down in a field at the same angle as the great Cheops pyramid (found in the wideopen spaces of Egypt). A group of San Francisco artists known as The Ant Farm dreamed up this public art installation, aided and abetted by the late Amarillo businessman Stanley Marsh 3. The group buried the Cadillacs in Marsh’s wheat field in 1974, and then moved them in 1997 to another of his fields a few miles west. The cars are arranged in a chronological line, from the 1949 Club Sedan to a 1963 Sedan de Ville. Thousands of curious visitors continue to apply multiple layers of spray paint to the Caddies (which has always been encouraged); paint now coats every visible surface and probably weighs more than the cars themselves. Bring your own cans or use some left behind by previous graffiti artists. Don’t expect shade, seating, or any other amenities—just plenty of space to contemplate the quirky installation. If you’re looking for wide-open space in town, check out Amarillo’s Medical Center Park and its trails, playgrounds, fishing ponds, Don Harrington Discovery Center science museum, and Amarillo Botanical Gardens. Call 800/692-1338; www.visitamarillo.com/listings/Cadillac-Ranch/625.

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Spaces

he City of Beaumont Water Utility Department established Cattail Marsh, a 900-acre wildlife refuge, to provide the ﬁnishing touches to its water treatment process. The marsh carries out its job simply by functioning as a natural, beautiful wetland—one that’s accessible to the public right in the middle of this East Texas city. Birders have recorded more than 350 species around the site’s eight cattail-fringed ponds, grassy berms, and Hildebrandt Bayou, which runs along the edge of the marsh. Regular spring sightings include pelicans, egrets, roseate spoonbills, ducks, ibises, sandpipers, and red-winged blackbirds. During fall, you may see

migrating warblers and hawks. Keep an eye out for the impressive resident alligators, too. In addition to birding, visitors to Cattail Marsh can enjoy more than eight miles of gravel levee roads for jogging, hiking, biking, horseback riding, wildlife photography, and picnicking. The marsh is located within Tyrrell Park, which also houses the Beaumont Botanical Gardens (home to a native plant center, Japanese garden, rose garden, and ﬁsh pond), an 18-hole golf course set among pine trees, a 2.8-mile walking trail, sheltered picnic tables, basketball courts, and a playground area. Call 800/392-4401; beaumontcvb.com/listings/cattail-marsh/7.

Beaumont

CATTAIL MARSH

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Kevin Stillman

Houston

DISCOVERY GREEN

Dallas— TRINITY RIVERtheCORRIDOR or decades, stretch of Trinity River

Dallas

TRINITY RIVER

near downtown Dallas, channelized in the 1930s to control ﬂooding, represented little more than a barrier between the city and parts west. In the late 1990s, city leaders realized they had an untapped treasure in their midst and formed the Trinity River Corridor Citizens Committee to work with public and private entities to transform 20 miles of river into public parks and green spaces. So far, the transformation includes hiking and biking trails along the levees and shoreline, a set of gnarly kayak rapids near the Santa Fe Trestle trail, and Trinity Overlook Park, a sheltered spot perfect for taking in the impressive Dallas skyline. Connecting downtown and west Dallas, the Continental Avenue Bridge over the Trinity River has been transformed from a roadway into an elevated park space with an oversize chessboard with two-foot-tall pieces, jets that spray water from the pavement, gardens, and shade canopies. Sitting areas offer views of the spectacular Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, which now carries the vehicle traffic. Parking at the West Dallas Gateway provides access to the Continental Avenue Bridge and the 4.6-mile Trinity Skyline Trail, which is also accessible from the Commerce Street Bridge. The Skyline Trail runs on both sides of the river and crosses at the new Sylvan Bridge, which is pedestrian- and bike-friendly and has a boat launch. A section of bike trail just opened in the Design District, and south of downtown, the river transformation continues with the Texas Buckeye Trail, a horse park, the Trinity River Audubon Center, and the Great Trinity Forest, the country’s largest urban forest at roughly 6,000 acres. Ultimately, plans call for the straightened Trinity to wind naturally once again. Call 214/671-9500; www.trinityrivercorridor.com. PH O T O S :

(from top) © Sean Fitzgerald, Will van Overbeek

n elegant residential neighborhood in the late 19th Century, these 12 acres on the east side of downtown Houston devolved into a series of parking lots by the late 20th. In the early 2000s, several prominent Houstonians looked past all that concrete to envision an urban park, a modern-day village green. Today, Discovery Green is a vibrant 12-acre park, though the word “park” hardly does this urban space justice. Discovery Green packs in everything from large and small dog runs to putting greens, bocce courts, playgrounds, and the Gateway Fountain—a granite surface with 14-foot water jets to cool off kids of all ages. One-acre Kinder Lake hosts kayaking and paddle-boarding, as well as a model-boat basin; a jogging trail encircles the entire area. Add in lawns, gardens, performance stages, a shady deck, and two restaurants, and you could easily spend an entire day at Discovery Green. In addition, the Discovery Green Conservancy, the nonproﬁt that operates the park, hosts some 600 free public events each year, catering to various ages and interests with activities like yoga, parkour, concerts, movies, and ﬂea markets. In winter, part of Kinder Lake transforms into an ice-skating rink, which is no small feat in this coastal Texas city. Come for the activities and entertainment, or just claim a quiet spot and do nothing. No one will mind. Call 713/400-7336; www.discoverygreen.com.

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Spaces

El Paso

FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS

l Paso claims the ultimate urban open space in Franklin Mountains State Park, a mountain range and the nation’s largest urban park at nearly 40 square miles. Its highest point, North Franklin Peak, summits approximately 3,000 feet above the city at 7,192 feet. The mountains form the northern ramparts of the Paso del Norte, or Pass of the North, a route bisecting the U.S.-Mexico border that has been traversed for centuries by Native Americans, soldiers, missionaries, traders, gold prospectors, and other travelers. Today, this island in an urban sea offers more than 135 miles of trails comprised of 30 to 40 sections; all of the trails are open to hiking and biking (park rangers recommend only about 85 miles for biking). Those looking for relaxation gravitate to the Tom Mays picnic area and scenic overlook; from here you can see the city and desert below, and

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beyond, the Rio Grande and Mexico. The park’s northern Chihuahuan Desert landscape features dramatic vegetation, such as lechuguilla, sotol, ocotillo, and yuccas; it’s the only Texas location of a number of plants, including the Southwest barrel cactus. Park yourself in the wildlife blind on the three-quarter-mile Nature Trail to watch for deer, fox, badgers, coyotes, and other small mammals; birds like golden eagles, hawks, and owls; and such reptiles as collared lizards and western diamondback rattlesnakes. The park’s primary entrance points are from McKelligon Road (location of the park headquarters) on the southeast side; from Interstate 10 on the west side; and from US 54 on the east side. Those who want to linger overnight can choose from tent camping sites and ﬁve RV sites (no water or electricity). Call 915/566-6441; www.tpwd.texas.gov/ state-parks/franklin-mountains.

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t Texas Tech University’s National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, travel back in time as well as out-of-doors. The center is home to 48 authentic ranch structures from some of the West's most well-known ranches, including the XIT in the Panhandle and the Four Sixes in King County. Placed in chronological order in a 19-acre historical park with grassy hills dotted with sotol and mesquite trees, the buildings portray the evolution of ranch life from the late 1700s through the 1950s.

A 1.5-mile walking trail leads visitors past vintage windmills, barns, corrals, a one-room schoolhouse, and the old Santa Fe Railway depot from nearby Ropesville. Ponder life in a cabin built with cactus stalks and mud, a dugout, or a two-story, mail-order ranch home—each restored and outﬁtted for its time period. Or just enjoy the fresh air from one of many benches along the trail and watch for jackrabbits and birds, such as thrashers and hummingbirds, which are lured here by wildﬂowers and native prairie grasses.

Located on the edge of the Texas Tech campus, the National Ranching Heritage Center not only offers a respite from the hustle and bustle of modern life, but it also may make you appreciate our modern conveniences a bit more (indoor plumbing and electricity, anyone?). The center also has a six-gallery museum with ranching artifacts and a collection of Western artwork. Hours are 10-5 Monday-Saturday, and 1-5 Sunday (the historical park closes at 4). Free entry. Call 806/742-0498; www.nrhc.ttu.edu.

Lubbock

NATIONAL RANCHING HERITAGE CENTER

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To order a print of this photograph, call 866/962-1191, or visit www.texashighwaysprints.com.

Spaces

San Antonio THE JAPANESE TEA GARDEN AT BRACKENRIDGE PARK

he Japanese Tea Garden at Brackenridge Park began life as a stone quarry in the mid-1800s. Today, the limestone walls of the old quarry enclose shaded walkways, stone bridges, a 60-foot waterfall, lush gardens, and ponds ﬁlled with koi ﬁsh. The quarry closed in 1908, and in 1917, Ray Lambert, San Antonio’s parks commissioner, began transforming it into a lily pond complete with an island and a Japanese pagoda. Local residents donated lily bulbs, and the city provided plants and a lighting system; palm leaves from trees in city parks formed the pagoda roof.

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In 1919, local Japanese-American tea importer Kimi Eizo Jingu and his family moved into a twostory house built with rocks from the quarry next door to the garden to oversee the facility. In 1926, the Jingus opened the Bamboo Room on the second ﬂoor of the house, serving light lunches and tea. Facing anti-Japanese sentiment following Pearl Harbor and the start of World War II, the Jingu family left the house in 1942. For several decades, the facility operated as the Chinese Sunken Garden, and in 1984, Jingu's children and representatives of the Japanese government attended a ceremony as the city rededicated

it as the Japanese Tea Garden. The city and the San Antonio Parks Foundation began a major restoration in 2006, transforming the Jingu home into a café. Today, it serves lunch and a selection of Japanese teas—hot or cold (this is Texas, after all). Out in the garden, the large, openair pagoda surveys a series of koi ponds, the waterfall, and gardens. A short walk from Brackenridge Park and the San Antonio Zoo, this unique urban space offers a quiet (and free) retreat every day from sunrise to sunset. Heiwa, y’all. Call 210/212-8423; saparksfoundation.org/ japaneseteagarden.html. PH O T O :

Will van Overbeek

othing feels wide open quite like the sea. And for the lucky Texans who reside in coastal cities, the comfort and peace of those maritime vistas are right in town. Most of Corpus Christi, for example, faces the water. Those seeking a little open space can pop into one of a series of parks along the city’s shoreline. One particularly inviting spot, McGee Beach on Shoreline Boulevard near downtown, offers a wide, sandy beach. The sand backs up to a stair-stepped seawall that’s a perfect place to sit and watch the gentle, white-capped waves roll ashore, one after the other. Gulls hover overhead, their raucous calls like hysterical laughter, and out over the waves, pelicans circle before crashing headﬁrst into the water, emerging unscathed a few seconds later.

Across the Harbor Bridge on Texas 35 north of downtown lies North Beach. This long, narrow strip of sand sports picnic tables and a few clusters of palm trees that rustle in the constant sea breeze. From a shady spot beneath one of said palms, beach-goers watch kite surfers zipping along the water’s surface at seemingly superhuman speeds and, in the distance, large ships making their way to and from the Corpus Christi port. Both of these car-free beach parks have free parking and public restrooms and are close to restaurants and other attractions such as the Corpus Christi Marina, the Art Museum of South Texas, Texas State Aquarium, and USS Lexington. Call 800/678-6232; visitcorpuschristitx.org/ see-and-do/beaches. +

Long before doctors said it was good for you, Austin freelance writer Melissa Gaskill loved spending time in wide-open spaces, whether in the middle of cities or far from them.

Corpus Christi MCGEE BEACH PARK, NORTH BEACH

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TrueTexas R E A L T E X A S STO RI ES B O RN A ND B RED

Forgotten Conflict THE RIO G R A NDE VA LLEY CIVIL WA R TR AIL Text by GENE FOWLER

P STEAMBOAT DAYS A mural by Angel Hernandez at the Port Isabel Historical Museum recalls the era of steamboat commerce on the Rio Grande.

PH O T O :

ÂŠ Larry Ditto

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BORDER BATTLEFIELD A painting by Clara Lily Ely depicts the Battle of Palmito Ranch. At right, the Commandant’s Quarters at historic Fort Ringgold.

HEN HISTORIANS EXpound on the most important action in the Civil War, they usually focus on batt les fought east of the Mississippi River. But historians of the Lone Star State point out that seminal events also transpired on the Texas-Mexico border, where the Confederacy conducted a subversive and lucrative cotton trade to finance its war effort. Earlier this year, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley professors Russell Skowronek and Chris Miller launched the Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail to highlight this littleknown but fascinating aspect of American history and promote heritage tourism throughout the region. Mapped out on a website and brochure, the trail spans five border counties— Webb, Zapata, Starr, Hidalgo, and Cameron—from the mouth of the Rio Grande near Brownsville to the streets of Laredo. The website chronicles the history of the trail’s 60 sites, from battlefields to museums and nature preserves, with text and podcasts. It also provides maps, access information, and contemporary and historical photos. “The Civil War was a big deal in this region, economically, socially, and politically,” Miller says. “As we developed the trail, we were surprised to find so many people with family

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RIO GRANDE VALLEY CIVIL WAR TRAIL Visit the Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail website for maps and photos, as well as historical information and audio tours in English and Spanish. www.utrgv.edu/ civilwar-trail.

Photo courtesy Rio Grande City ISD; Painting courtesy Texas Southmost College

stories about dramatic events on the border that had an impact on the war.” “Cotton was the South’s most marketable commodity,” adds Skowronek, “but the Union blockaded all the southern ports, so the Confederates moved $162 million worth of cotton through Mexico. If the North had been able to control this international boundary, the war could have ended a year earlier, sparing some of the 600,000 who lost their lives.” Businessman Charles Stillman, the founder of Brownsville, grew rich brokering and shipping cotton as teamsters hauled the white gold from southern plantations to the border. On the Rio Grande—an international waterway that the Union navy could not blockade—steamboats hauled the cotton from Roma, Rio Grande City, and other Valley towns to the wild Mexican port of Bagdad. Ships from all over the world offloaded weapons and supplies for the Confederacy before taking on cotton, which they carried to textile mills in places like England and France. At the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg, you can “go aboard” a steamboat re-creation, complete with cotton bales, and see a short film about the Valley’s steamboat era. The museum also exhibits Civil War arms and broken dishes, bottles, and other relics from long-gone Bagdad, which was S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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destroyed by a hurricane in 1867 and never rebuilt. In Brownsville, Stillman’s 1850 antebellum home is now the Stillman House Museum, outfitted with antique Stillman family furnishings. Next door to the Stillman House, the Brownsville Heritage Museum’s exhibit includes Civil War cannon balls, cavalry insignias, and rifle shot from the Palmito Ranch Civil War battle. Craig Stone, program and education coordinator for the Brownsville Historical Association, says Brownsville residents are still finding Civil War artifacts in their yards, sometimes carried there long ago by Rio Grande flooding. While the Civil War Trail does not cover sites in Mexico, Skowronek says the trail literature touches on aspects of Mexican history that are important to understanding the regional picture. Brownsville changed hands between the Union and Confederacy five times during the Civil War, forcing refugees back and forth across the river to Matamoros. Meanwhile, Mexico had its own civil war raging from 1862 to 1867, when French invaders joined Mexican Conservatives in battling the Liberal followers of Benito Juárez. Complicating the Rio Grande situation even more, Juan Cortina—known as the “Mexican Robin Hood”—and his vigilantes raided both sides of the border before and during the American Civil War, sometimes fighting the Confederates

and sometimes the French. (Cortina’s sword is on display in the Stillman House Museum.) Covering the period from 1846 to 1876, the Civil War Trail also encompasses sites from the war between the United States and Mexico. Many figures who played major roles in the “War Between the States,” including Ulysses S. Grant, fought in the 1846 Battle of Palo Alto, which was the opening clash of the Mexican-American War. North of Brownsville, the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park offers hiking trails that overlook the undeveloped battlefield—a thorny coastal prairie of cordgrass, mesquite thickets, and cacti. The park’s visitor center also has interactive exhibits explaining the battle. Artifacts on view include percussion pistols, cross sabers, cannon balls, and unit buttons. On November 14, the park will host its annual Memorial Illumination with the lighting of 8,000 luminarias at the Resaca de la Palma Battlefield to honor Mexican and American veterans of the war. The Civil War Trail also takes visitors to the nearby coast, where the Port Isabel Museum of History exhibits a collection of Mexican-American War artifacts, including six-pound cannon balls, one of Zachary Taylor’s 1848 buttons, and an 1840s sword that was dubbed “the old wrist-breaker.” Port

Company J Troops Quarters at Fort Brown, circa 1864

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Isabel is also home to the Port Isabel Lighthouse, a state historic site and the only historic lighthouse on the Texas coast thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s open to the public. Visitors can climb the lighthouse stairway to its 50-foot observation tower, where Confederates once monitored a Union Navy blockade off the coast. Farther inland, the Civil War Trail leads travelers to Lower Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge, home of La Sal del Rey, a 530-acre salt lake surrounded by thousands of acres of Tamaulipan thornscrub and grasslands. During the Civil War, Confederates mined salt from the lake; it proved to be such a valuable resource that Union forces destroyed the salt works in 1863, temporarily halting Confederate salt mining. At Fort Ringgold in Rio Grande City, the trail leads visitors to the Rio Grande Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only surviving military building from the Civil War era, the fortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s old Commandantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quarters, which houses the Robert E. Lee House Museum. The Rio Grande City school district now occupies the fort grounds and opens the restored Commandantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quarters by appointment (Call 956/488-6036). Opened in 2011 in Zapata, the Zapata County Museum of History devotes an entire gallery to the Civil War. Museum Director Hildegardo E. Flores wrote five podcasts for the Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail project. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The text and graphics in the gallery concentrate on local events during that period, including local Union sentiment,â&#x20AC;? says Flores. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We also cover the Cortina insurrection, which curtailed further encroachment and ethnic cleansing tactics practiced on the local Hispanic population by opportunistic interlopers from the north and sanctioned by state government officials. The museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s account strikes a balance by also presenting examples of local participation in the Confederate cause.â&#x20AC;? As Union forces tightened cottonsmuggling routes in the lower Rio Grande Valley in late 1863 and early 1864, teamsters delivered cotton to

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Laredo and Eagle Pass. Confederates led by Colonel Santos Benavides occupied Laredo and successfully fended off a larger Union force—protecting 5,000 bales of cotton in the process—in the Battle of Laredo on March 19, 1864. The Civil War Trail literature points travelers to Laredo’s San Augustín Plaza, including Benavides’ historic home on the west side (not open to the public). The trail also explores the complicated racial aspects of the conflict in South Texas. Some 2,500 Tejanos fought for the Confederacy in the war, and more than 900 joined the federal army. The Union also deployed African-American troops to the Rio Grande. Along the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County, the trail leads to the historic Jackson Ranch and Eli Jackson Cemetery. Nathaniel Jackson, a Unionist from Alabama, established the ranch with his African-American wife after they left their home in Alabama to

escape prevailing attitudes about interracial marriage. Their ranch became a stop on the Underground Railroad that helped fugitive American slaves en route to Mexico. Toward the end of the war, Union Major General Lew Wallace, author of the novel Ben Hur, floated a plan to end the fighting in Texas that was custom-made for the time and place. In March 1865, he met with Confederate Brigadier General James E. Slaughter and Colonel John S. “Rip” Ford, basically suggesting that the Rebels drive the French out of northern Mexico and then create a new American state that combined South Texas with two or three northern Mexican states. Wallace’s scheme didn’t fly, and moreover, Union and Confederate borderland combatants refused to lay down their arms when the South surrendered at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. A month later, the blue and the gray

MAP YOUR VISIT The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail map is available at museums and tourist centers throughout the Valley. The map has information about key sites and figures, as well as a QR code linking to the trail’s mobile website. To access recorded information about sites on the Civil War Trail, call 956/847-3002 and enter the corresponding extensions listed on the trail’s map. fought once again on the Rio Grande. Just east of Brownsville on Texas 4, a roadside overlook gives a view of the site of the Civil War’s final land battle, now preserved as Palmito Ranch Battlefield National Historic Site. The ghosts of war still linger on the plain, where the last blood was spilled in the long and terrible fight between American brothers. +

MARCH 21 – OCTOBER 4, 2O15 George W. Bush Presidential Center Dallas, Texas Batter up! Explore interesting connections between baseball and American presidents at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Baseball: America’s Presidents, America’s Pastime reveals items from President Bush’s private baseball collection, the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and Presidential Libraries across the country, highlighting powerful moments in history as they relate to one of the Nation’s most enduring and beloved pastimes.

For more information about the exhibit, membership, and tickets, please visit www.bushcenter.org/baseball or call 214.346.1650.

texashighways.com | S E P T E M B E R 2015

EVENTS WANT MORE? GO TO THE EVENTS CALENDAR AT www.texashighways.com.

September’s travel spotlights:

PANHANDLE PLAINS PRAIRIES & LAKES

PANHANDLE PLAINS > Abilene

Writers on the Range Designated the “Storybook Capital of Texas” by the Texas Legislature, Abilene is home to a robust literary culture and the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature. September 2126, the West Texas Book Festival fetes local and regional writers with author luncheons and presentations, a publishing workshop, a fundraising gala, and book signings at the Abilene Public Library and Abilene Civic Center. On September 26, the Boots and Books Luncheon honors Bill O’Neal, a Western historian from Carthage, as this year’s recipient of the A.C. Greene Award for lifetime achievement. www.abilenetx.com/apl.

BIG BEND COUNTRY

GULF COAST SOUTH TEXAS PLAINS

BIG BEND COUNTRY ALPINE: R3 Art Show August 13-October 6. www.bigbendartscouncil.org 432/837-7203 ALPINE: Alpine Kite Festival September 26. 432/837-1100 EL PASO: El Paso Chopin Music Festival September 12, 16. www.elpaso-chopin.com 915/584-1595

PINEY WOODS >Lufkin

Forest Festival September 16-20, celebrate the heritage of the Piney Woods forest industry at the Texas State Forest Festival. The event, which draws about 30,000 people each year, includes the Southern Hushpuppy Championship on September 19, featuring 35 contestants vying to cook the most delicious cornbread balls. Another highlight is the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show, which stages multiple presentations per day of feats like axe throwing, log rolling, and tree climbing. A carnival, petting zoo, cheerleading competition, an “East Texas Got Talent” show, and other events round out the festivities. www.texasstateforestfestival.com. PANHANDLE PLAINS >Goodnight

High Plains Stars Cattleman Charles Goodnight entertained many a visitor in the home he built in 1887 on the High Plains east of Amarillo. The Armstrong County Museum in Claude, which operates the house as the Goodnight Historical Center, will revive its legacy of frontier hospitality September 5 with “Goodnight Under the Stars,” a $100-perperson museum fundraiser. The event features a steak dinner, local wine, Western Swing music by Jody Nix, and artists Jack Sorenson and Jeff Gottfried, who will create and sell their work in the historic house. www.armstrongcountymuseum.org.

FORT DAVIS: Fort Davis CycleFest September 18-20. www.fortdavis.com MARATHON: West Fest Cabrito and Barbecue Cookoff September 18-19. www.marathontexas.com 432/208-0284 MARFA: Marfa Lights Festival September 4-6. www.marfachamber.org MCCAMEY: Wind Energy Capital of Texas Cook-Off and Festival September 25-26. www.windenergycapital oftexascookoff.com 432/652-8202 MIDLAND: SeptemberFest 2015: Destination Space September 11-13. www.MuseumSW.org 432/683-2882

Rothko Retrospective

MONAHANS: Desert Reflections Car Show September 12. www.monahans.org 432/943-2187

Artist Mark Rothko’s name is widely known in Houston because of Rothko Chapel, a meditative sanctuary built by local philanthropists John and Dominique de Menil in 1971 to showcase 14 paintings by the “abstract expressionist.” Now, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is delving deeper into the artist’s work with Mark Rothko: A Retrospective. Running September 20-January 24, the exhibition includes more than 50 paintings by the Russian-born Rothko (1903-1970), tracing his career and stylistic milestones, from figure studies to his signature tiered rectangles. www.mfah.org.

ARANSAS PASS: First Saturday ArtWalk and “Blues and BBQ” September 5. www.rialtotheater.org 361/758-0383

GULF COAST >Houston

PHOTOS: (from top) courtesy Abilene CVB; courtesy Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce; Nita Dyslin/ courtesy Charles Goodnight Historical Center; courtesy The Estate of Mark Rothko.

PINEY WOODS HILL COUNTRY

GULF COAST

BEAUMONT: September 11, 2001: A Timeline Exhibit August 5-September 30. www.firemuseumoftexas.org 409/880-3927 BEAUMONT: Neches River Rally September 12. www.bigthicket.org/nechesriver-rally 409/790-5399 BROWNSVILLE: Oceanarium September 12. www.gpz.org 956/546-7187 CORPUS CHRISTI: Corpus Christi First Weekend September 4-6. www.corpuschristi1st.com 800/766-2322 CORPUS CHRISTI: Short Course: Introduction to the Fascinating World of Birds September 12. www.stxbot. org 361/852-2100 CORPUS CHRISTI: Short Course: Hawks in Flight Identification September 25-26. www.stxbot.org 361/852-2100 CYPRESS: Fenske’s Trade Days and Craft Market September 5-6, 19-20. www. fenskescountrystore.com 713/870-3806 GALVESTON: Galveston Island Shrimp Festival September 25-27. 409/770-0999 GALVESTON: BrewMasters Craft Beer Festival September 4-6. www.brewmasterscraftbeer festival.com

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HOUSTON: The Art of Gaman Through September 20. www.hmh.org 713/527-1640 HOUSTON: Round Trip: Bicycling Asia Minor, 1891 Through September 27. www.AsiaSociety.org HOUSTON: Throughout! Houston’s GLBT History Through September 19. www.heritagesociety.org 713/655-1912 HOUSTON: Habsburg Splendor: Masterpieces from Vienna’s Imperial Collections Through September 13. www.mfah.org HOUSTON: Exhibits at BOX 13 Art Space Through September 5. www.box13artspace.com HOUSTON: Fiestas Patrias with Telemundo Houston September 13. www.visithoustontexas.com LAKE JACKSON: Xtreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza September 12, 19. www.gcbo.org 979/480-0999 LAKE JACKSON: Bird Banding September 19. www.gcbo.org 979/480-0999 LAKE JACKSON: Youth Fishing Day September 19. www.tpwd.texas.gov/ seacenter 979/292-0100

nostalgic

SURPRISINGLY

PASADENA: Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo September 11-19. www.pasadenarodeo.com 281/487-0240 PORT ARANSAS: Conquer the Coast Bicycle Ride September 19. www.conquerthecoast.org 361/881-1800 PORT ARTHUR: Mexican Heritage Fiesta September 11-12. www.visitportarthurtx.com 409/724-6134 PORT ARTHUR: Dick Dowling Days September 12-13. 409/985-7822 PORT LAVACA: Flip Flop Festival September 4-5. www.flipflopfest.com 832/928-8598

A TRIP TO REMEMBER For a relaxing and rewarding experience with your comfort and ease in mind, head to Granbury. You’ll ﬁnd a vintage vibe that’s sure to take you back to an earlier time, couched in all the modern day comforts of a tourism-focused community. With so many fun things to do, there’s never a dull moment on a trip here!

ROCKPORT: HummerBird Celebration September 1720. www.rockport hummingbird.com 361/729-6445

V I S I T G R A N B U R Y. C O M

800-950-2212 78

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SURFSIDE BEACH: Texas Navy Day Celebration September 19. www.brazoriacountyparks. org 979/864-1541 TOMBALL: Bugs, Brew and Barbecue September 26. www.tomballtx.gov 281/351-5484

VICTORIA: Czech Heritage Festival September 27. www.victoriaczechs.org 361/575-0820

HILL COUNTRY AUSTIN: Austin’s Majestic Palace: The Paramount Turns 100 Through November 1. www.austinhistorycenter.org 512/974-7480 AUSTIN: Ladies and Gentlemen ...The Beatles Through January 16. www.lbjlibrary.org AUSTIN: Natalie Frank: The Brothers Grimm Through November 15. www.blantonmuseum.org 512/471-7324 AUSTIN: Frank Reaugh: Landscapes of Texas and the American West August 4-November 29. www.hrc.utexas.edu 512/471-8944 AUSTIN: Tom Lea: Chronicler of 20th Century America August 22-January 3. www.thestoryoftexas.com 512/936-8746 AUSTIN: German-Texan Heritage Society Conference September 4-5. www.germantexans.org 512/467-4569 AUSTIN: Art in The Garden September 5. www.wildflower.org 512/232-0100 AUSTIN: Citywide Garage Sale September 5-6. www.cwgs.com 512/441-2828 AUSTIN: First Free Sunday at the Bullock September 6. www.TheStoryofTexas.com 512/936-8746 AUSTIN: Weird City Hip-Hop Festival September 18-21. www.weirdcityfest.com AUSTIN: Fantastic Fest September 24-October 1. www.fantasticfest.com AUSTIN: Gridiron Glory: The Best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame September 26-January 3. www.thestoryoftexas.com 512/936-8746 AUSTIN: Moonlight Hikes September 27-28. www.wildflower.org/events BANDERA: Market Days September 5. www.banderatexasbusiness. com/market-days 830/796-4447 BANDERA: Frontier Times Museum Cowboy Camp September 13. www.frontiertimesmuseum. org 830/796-3864

BANDERA: Rumble on the River September 18-20. www.banderacowboycapital. com 936/776-1699 BANDERA: Celebrate Bandera September 4-6. www.celebratebandera.com 830/796-4447 BERTRAM: Oatmeal Festival September 4-5. www.oatmealfestival.org 512/277-3595 BOERNE: 110th Annual Kendall County Fair September 3-6. www.kcfa.org 830/249-2839 BURNET: Kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Day Out September 12. www.cityofburnet.com 512/756-2963 BURNET: Day Out with Thomas September 18-20. www.austinsteamtrain.org 512/477-8468

FREDERICKSBURG: Fredericksburg Trade Days September 18-20. www.fbgtradedays.com 210/846-4094

GRUENE: Old Gruene Market Days September 1920. www.gruenemarketdays. com 830/832-1721

HARPER: 51st Annual Harper Frontier Days Celebration September 4-6. www.harpercommunitypark. org 830/864-5048

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HONDO: South Texas Maize September 12November 15. www.southtexasmaize.com 830/741-3698 JOHNSON CITY: We Got Yer Goat Cook-Off September 11-12. www.wegotyergoat.com 512/784-0246

BURNET: Plein Air Artfest September 19-20. www.mapyourwaytoburnet. wix.com 512/756-4297

JOHNSON CITY: Stone Valley Music Festival September 19. www.realcountrybooking.com 830/330-0380

FREDERICKSBURG: First Friday Art Walk Fredericksburg September 4. www.ffawf.com 830/997-6523 FREDERICKSBURG: Pacific Combat Living History Program September 5-6. www.pacificwarmuseum.org 830/997-8600, ext 205 FREDERICKSBURG: USO Style Hangar Dance September 5. www.hangarhotel.com 830/997-9990 FREDERICKSBURG: Frontier Days at Fort Martin Scott September 11-13. www.ftmartinscott.org 830/997-7521 FREDERICKSBURG: Fredericksburg Professional Bull Riders September 12. www.gillespiefair.com 830/997-2359

exas ushroom estival

FREDERICKSBURG: 2015 Annual Nimitz Foundation Symposium September 19. www.pacificwarmuseum.org 830/997-8600, ext 205

BURNET: Bluegrass Festival and Fiddlers Contest September 19. www.cityofburnet.com 512/715-3200

CEDAR PARK: BODY WORLDS and The Cycle of Life Through September 20. www.txmost.org DRIPPING SPRINGS: Dripping with Taste September 12. www.drippingwithtaste.com 512/858-4740 DRIPPING SPRINGS: Pioneer Days September 26. www.drpoundhistorical farmstead.org 512/858-2030

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JUNCTION: Arts-andCrafts Fair September 7. www.junctiontexas.com 325/446-3190

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KERRVILLE: Kerr Arts and Cultural Center Exhibits August 27-September 20. www.kacckerrville.com KERRVILLE: Photo Quest 2015 August 27-October 1. www.kacckerrville.com 830/895-2911

Ginormous Wildflower Farm

KERRVILLE: Hill Country Swap Meet September 5. www.kerrmarketdays.org 830/459-6198 KERRVILLE: The Party Western Art Sale and Exhibition September 19. www.museumofwesternart. com 830/896-2553 KERRVILLE: Texas Heritage Music Day September 25. www.texasheritagemusic.org 830/792-1945 KERRVILLE: Downtown Kerrville Sock-Hop September 26. www.downtownkerrville.com 830/343-7259 KERRVILLE: Wet Paint Show and Sale September 30-October 24. www.kacckerrville.com KERRVILLE: Kerrville Fall Music Festival September 4-6. www.kerrvillefolkfestival.com 830/257-3600

Gifts

Gardens

Nursery i Pottery i Wine www.wildseedfarms.com

Biergarten

S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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KYLE: Kyle Market Days September 12. www.kylepard.com 512/262-3939 LAKEHILLS: Medina Lake Cajun Festival September 26. www.cajunfestivalmedinalake.com LAMPASAS: Riata Roundup September 12. www.lampasaschamber.org 512/556-5172

Reward Yourself In Texas. Earn 1,000 Best Western RewardsÂŽ Points for Each Night, Up to 4 Nights 0 $ # () () '# , ' (ÂŽ, our FREE rewards program. 0 N ow through December 31, 2015, members earn 1,000 bonus points for every qualiďŹ ed night you stay at a participating Best WesternÂŽ hotel in Texas, for up to 4 nights! 0 $ #)( # ' " $' ' '$$" # )( partner rewards, merchandise, dining, retail and gift cards.

Register for this offer at bestwesterntexas.com/highways15 or call 1.800.433.7234 and mention promo code TXHWY15. Visit bestwesterntexas.com/highways15 for complete terms and conditions. All Best Western RewardsÂŽ program rules apply. See bestwesternrewards.com for additional program terms. For a list of most current properties, local attractions, and events visit bestwesternTexas.com. Amenities vary by location. Best Western and the Best Western marks are service marks or registered service marks of Best Western International, Inc. ÂŠ2015 Best Western International, Inc. All rights reserved. Each Best WesternÂŽ branded hotel is independently owned and operated.

HainngHOunutstville! Huntsville Antique Show Sept. 17-18 Fair on the Square Oct. 3 Master Gardners ButterďŹ&#x201A;y Festival Oct. 17 Great Muddy Escape Oct. 23-24 SHSU Homecoming Oct. 24

Huntsville is Home of Sam Houston

MASON: Old Yeller Days September 26. 325/347-5758 NEW BRAUNFELS: Vintage Guitar and Instrument Show September 19-20. 210/655-0195 NEW BRAUNFELS: Comal County Fair and Rodeo September 23-27. www.comalcountyfair.org 830/625-2385 ROCKSPRINGS: Camp Eagle Classic Mountain Bike Festival September 5-7. www.tmbra.org STONEWALL: Grape Stomp at Becker Vineyards September 5-6. www.beckervineyards.com 830/644-2681 TAYLOR: 9/11 Parade and Program September 11. www.ci.taylor.tx.us

UTOPIA: UTOPIAfest September 4-6. www.utopiafest.com UVALDE: Texas Labor Day Weekend Celebration September 4-6. www.palominofest.com 830/591-9040

Fairs, Football & Fun!

For more Huntsville information:

800.289.0389

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MARBLE FALLS: Main Street Market Day September 19. 830/693-2243

TAYLOR: Skyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Limitâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Fly a Kite Day September 12. www.ci.taylor.tx.us 512/365-7669

For overnight accommodations, events and activities visit huntsvilletexas.com 80

LAMPASAS: Lampasas County Wine Tour September 26. www.lampasaschamber.org 512/556-5172

UVALDE: Four Square Friday September 11. www.visituvalde.com 830/278-4115 WIMBERLEY: Wimberley Lions Market Day September 5. www.ShopMarketDays.com 512/847-2201 WIMBERLEY: Second Saturday Gallery Trail September 12. www.wimberleyarts.org 512/847-2201

PANHANDLE PLAINS ABILENE: David Shannon Goes to the Museum Through September 25. www.nccil.org 325/673-4586 ABILENE: West Texas Fair and Rodeo September 1019. 325/677-4376 ABILENE: Big Country Balloon Fest September 25-26. www.bigcountry balloonfest.com 325/795-0995 ABILENE: Annual Abilene Beer Summit September 26. www.abilenebeersummit. com 325/437-1852 ABILENE: ArtWalk September 10. 325/677-8389 ALBANY: Cell Series: Little Joe Hammerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; A Voice from Within Through September 6. www.theoldjailartcenter.org 325/762-2269 ALBANY: The Real Show June 6-September 6. www.theoldjailartcenter.org 325/762-2269 ALBANY: Texas Moderns: Bror Utter September 19-February 7. www.theoldjailartcenter.org 325/762-2269 ALBANY: Cell Series: Linda Ridgway September 19-February 7. www.theoldjailartcenter.org 325/762-2269 AMARILLO: Run! Jump! Fly! Adventure in Action Through September 13. www.dhdc.org AMARILLO: Tri-State Fair and Rodeo September 1826. 806/376-7767 BUFFALO GAP: Chili Super Bowl September 4-6. 325/675-8412 CANADIAN: Canadian River Beach Club Calf Fry and Barbecue Cook-Off September 26. www.facebook.com/ canadianriverbeachclub 806/323-9413 CANYON: Hunting the Perfect Accessory Through January 9, 2016. www.panhandleplains.org 806/651-2244 CANYON: Wildlife and Hunting Photographs from the PanhandlePlains Region Through February 6, 2016. www.panhandleplains.org CHILDRESS: Old Settlers Rodeo and Reunion September 18-19. 940/937-2567

CROSBYTON: Junk in the Truck Vintage Market September 19. www.facebook.com/junkin thetruckvintagemarket 806/620-2957 DALHART: Wacky Outfit Open Golf Tournament September 12. www.dalhart.org 806/249-5646 EDEN: Fall Fest September 26. www.edentexas.com 325/869-2211 FRIONA: Maize Days Celebration September 19. www.frionachamber.com 806/250-3491 LUBBOCK: National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration September 11-13. www.cowboy.org 806/798-7825 LUBBOCK: Art League of West Texas Foundation 2015 Fall Membership Show September 15October 31. alwtf.org 806/794-4655 POST: Post Trade Day September 5. www.postcitytexas.com 806/495-3461 POSTOAK: Busy Bee Quilt Show September 25-26. www.postoakquilters.com 940/567-2771 QUANAH: Car, Truck and Classic Tractor Shows September 12. www.quanahtx.net 940/839-6941 QUANAH: Quanah Fall Festival September 12. www.quanahtx.net 940/663-2222 QUANAH: Star Walk September 26. Copper Breaks State Park. www. tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/ copper-breaks 940/839-4331 RALLS: 20th Annual Cotton Boll Festival September 12. www.rallschamberof commerce.com 806/253-2342 RANGER: Roaring Ranger Parade and Festival September 19. 254/647-3340 SAN ANGELO: Fort Concho Speakers Series September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30. 325/657-4441 SAN ANGELO: Family Day: Fiesta! September 12. www.samfa.org 325/653-3333 SAN ANGELO: Cowboy Gathering September 17.

www.sanangelocowboy gathering.com 325/763-9923 SAN ANGELO: Downtown Art Walk September 17. www.samfa.org 325/653-3333 SAN ANGELO: Stripes Riverfest September 17-19. www.cosatx.us 325/655-4136 SAN ANGELO: Human Energy: Art About Work September 18-November 8. www.samfa.org 325/653-3333 SAN ANGELO: Cactus Market Days September 19. www.visitsanangelo.org 325/949-6200 SAN ANGELO: Lilyfest September 19. www. internationalwaterlily collection.com 325/657-4450 SAN ANGELO: Archaeology Fair and National Museum Day September 26. 325/234-0316 VERNON: Labor Day Parade and Rodeo September 4-6. 903/537-4365 WICHITA FALLS: Texas Oklahoma Fair September 15-19. www.founderlionsclub.org 940/692-3766 WICHITA FALLS: FallsFest September 25-26. www.jlwf.org 940/692-9797 WINTERS: Dove Fest September 5. www.winters-texas.us 325/754-2036

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PINEY WOODS COLDSPRING: SJC Fair, Rodeo and Parade September 18-26. www.sjcfairandrodeo.com 936/524-7862 COLDSPRING: Heritage Days September 19. www.oldtowncoldspring. tripod.com 936/522-8493 DAYTON: Liberty Opry Show and Dance September 26. www.libertyopry.com 936/336-5830 GLADEWATER: Artsand-Crafts Festival September 19-20. www.gladewaterartsand crafts.com 903/845-5501 GRAPELAND: Labor Day Weekend Bluegrass Music Festival September 3-6. www.TXBluegrassMusic.com 936/697-5949 S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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JEFFERSON: Jefferson Flea Market September 4-6, 18-20. www.jeffersonfleamarket.net 903/431-0043 JEFFERSON: Fire Brigade Benefit Classic Car Show September 12. www. VisitJeffersonTexas.com 903/665-3733 LIBERTY: Liberty Opry September 12, 19. www.libertyopry.com 936/336-5830 LIVINGSTON: Trade Days September 18-20. www.cityoflivingston-tx. com/tradedays 877/824-6653

ADDISON: Addison Oktoberfest September 1720. www.addisontexas.net 972/450-2851 ALVARADO: Pioneer and Old Settlers Reunion of Johnson County September 9-12. www. alvaradopubliclibrary.org/ johnson_county_pioneers. htm 817/538-2337 ARLINGTON: Rolling Stone, the Early Years: A Backstage Pass with Baron Wolman September 5-October 18. www.arlingtonmuseum.org 817/275-4600 ARLINGTON: Roller Coaster Race 10K/5K September 20. www.rollercoasterrace.com 434/951-8572

MAGNOLIA: Stroll Through the Renaissance September 26. www.CityofMagnolia.com 281/356-2266

ARLINGTON: MDA Muscular Dystrophy Walk September 26. 972/726-4377

RUSK: Pints in the Pines September 26. www.texasstaterr.com 903/683-3451

TYLER: Texas Sporthorse Cup September 2-6. www.texasrosehorsepark. com 903/882-8696 TYLER: Texas Rose Classic Hunter/Jumper Horse Show September 9-13. www.texasrosehorsepark. com 903/882-8696 TYLER: The Price is Right Live September 12. www.cowancenter.org 903/566-7424 TYLER: Texas Dressage Fall Classic I and II September 18-20. www.texasrosehorsepark. com 903/882-8696 TYLER: Downtown Tyler Film Festival September 23-26. www.tylerfilmfest.com 903/593-6905 TYLER: American Eventing Championships September 24-27. www.texasrosehorsepark. com 903/882-8696 TYLER: East Texas State Fair September 25October 4. www.etstatefair.com 903/592-1661 texashighways.com | S E P T E M B E R 2015

PRAIRIES AND LAKES

LONGVIEW: Gregg County Fair September 4-12. www.greggcountyfair.com/ Fair 903/237-1230

TYLER: Art of the Brick Through September 13. www.tylermuseum.org 903/595-1001

WOODVILLE: Ghosts of Texas Past September 26. www.heritage-village.org 409/283-2272

ATHENS: Bird and Nature Walk September 12. www.athenstx.org 903/676-2277 ATHENS: Bluegill Family Fishing Tournament and Outdoor Expo September 26. www.athenstx.org 903/676-2277 ATHENS: Uncle Fletch Hamburger Festival September 26. www.athenstx.org 888/294-2847 BASTROP: Lost Pines Regional Arts Conference September 18-20. www.lostpinesregional artsconference.com 512/308-2018 BEDFORD: Bedford Blues and Barbecue Festival September 4-6. www.bedfordbluesfest.com 817/952-2128 BELLVILLE: Market Day September 5. www.bellville.com 979/865-3407 BELLVILLE: Austin County Fair Shrimp Boil September 26. www.austincountyfair.com 979/865-5995 BELTON: Central Texas State Fair September 4-6. www.centraltexasstatefair. com 254/933-5353 BELTON: Sami Show Marketplace September 1213. www.samishow.com 512/441-7133

BONHAM: Farming Heritage Day September 26. www.visitsamrayburnhouse. com 903/583-5558

Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pastime Through October 4. www.bushcenter.org/ special-exhibits

BRENHAM: Washington County Fair September 1219. www.washingtoncofair. com 979/836-4112

DALLAS: Giants of the Jurassic Through September 7. www.DallasZoo.com 469/554-7500

BRYAN: Texas Reds Steak and Grape Festival September 26-27. www.texasredsfestival.com 979/822-4920 BUFFALO: Buffalo Stampede September 19. www.buffalochamberof commerce.org 903/322-5810 BURTON: La Bahia Antiques Show and Sale September 25-October 3. www.labahiaantiques.com 979/289-2684 CALDWELL: Free Wine Tasting at Royalty Pecan Farms September 5. www.royaltypecans.com 979/272-3904 CALDWELL: Kolache Festival September 12. www.BurlesonCountyTx.com 979/567-0000 CAT SPRING: Cat Spring Antique and Garden Show September 12-13. www.ruraltexasantiques shows.com 979/865-5618 CLARKSVILLE: Red River County Stew Cook-off September 19. 903/427-3868 CLARKSVILLE: Red River County Fair September 2326. 903/427-3868 CLEBURNE/ GRANDVIEW: Antique Alley Texas and 30 Miles of Shopping September 18-20. www.AntiqueAlleyTexas. com 817/240-4948 CLIFTON: Bosque Art Classic September 12-26. www.BosqueArtsCenter.org 254/675-3724 COMANCHE: BMNCTR State Championship Barbecue Cook-Off September 26. www.comanchechamber.org 325/356-3233 COMANCHE: The Comanche County Powwow Festival September 26-27. www.comanchechamber.org 325/356-3233 CORSICANA: Corsicana Airsho September 26. www.coyotesquadron.org 903/467-7170 DALLAS: Modern Opulence in Vienna: The Wittgenstein Vitrine Through October 18. www.dma.org DALLAS: Baseball: Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Presidents,

DALLAS: Inca: Conquests of the Andes/Los Incas y las Conquistas de los Andes Through November 15. www.dma.org

Sept. 26 & 27

DALLAS: Jean Shin: Inclusions Through October 18. www.crowcollection.org DALLAS: Amazing Animals: Built to Survive Through September 7. www.perotmuseum.org DALLAS: Second Annual Dallas DanceFest September 4-6. www.dallasdancefest.org 214/219-2290 DALLAS: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Til Midnight at the Nasher September 18. www.nashersculpturecenter. org/tilmidnight

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DALLAS: Giuseppe Penone: Being the River, Repeating the Forest September 19January 10. www. NasherSculptureCenter.org DALLAS: Living History with Jerry Kasten September 19. www.jfk.org/go/events 214/747-6660

On view September 25 - November 29, 2015 Opening Reception: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Friday, September 25, 2015

DALLAS: Tour des Fleurs September 19. www.tourdesfleurs.com DALLAS: John Wayne Film Festival September 24-27. LOOK Cinemas Prestonwood. DALLAS: State Fair of Texas September 25October 18. www.BigTex. com 214/565-9931 DALLAS: State Fair Classic 2015 September 26. www.fairpark.org DECATUR: Cruise Nights on Courthouse Square September 5. www.decaturmainstreet.com 940/393-0340

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DECATUR: Southwest Swap Meet September 1012. www.southwestswap meet.com 940/271-1005 ELGIN: Sip, Shop and Stroll September 10. www.elgintx. com 512/281-5724 FAIRFIELD: Show of Wheels September 12. www. fairfieldtexaschamber.com 903/389-5792 FARMERSVILLE: Farmers and Fleas Market September 5. www.farmersvilletx.com 972/784-6846 S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

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FORT WORTH: Design Zone May 23-September 7. www.fortworthmuseum.org/ design-zone 817/255-9300 FORT WORTH: Remington and Russell, Retold Through January 10. www.sidrichardsonmuseum. org 817/332-6554 FORT WORTH: Texas Folk Art Through June 5, 2016. www.cartermuseum.org 817/738-1933 FORT WORTH: Botticelli to Braque: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland Through September 20. www.kimbellart.org 817/332-8451 FORT WORTH: Indigenous Beauty: Masterworks of American Indian Art from the Diker Collection Through September 13. www.cartermuseum.org 817/738-1933 FORT WORTH: Laura Wilson: That Day August 15-February 14. www.cartermuseum.org 817/738-1933 FORT WORTH: Port-ACool U.S. National Dirt Track Championship September 11-12. www.texasmotorspeedway. com 817/215-8500 FORT WORTH: Climb for a Calling September 13. Burnett Plaza. www.climbforacalling.org 469/930-6694 FORT WORTH: Oktoberfest September 24-26. www.oktoberfestfw.com 817/698-0700 FORT WORTH: Red Bull Air Race September 26-27. www.redbullairrace.com 817/215-8500 GARLAND: Garland Labor Day Parade and Celebration September 7. www.garlandlaborday event.com GARLAND: The Urban Flea September 12. www.resurrecteddesigns.com 469/298-0042 GLEN ROSE: The Promise September 4-November 7. www.ThePromiseGlenRose. com 254/897-3926 GLEN ROSE: Photography Tour September 12, 26. www.fossilrim.org 254/897-2960 GRANBURY: First Saturday Bird Walk September 5. www.actonnaturecenter.org 817/326-6005 GRANBURY: Labor Day Weekend Celebration Biker Bash September 5-7.

www.granburysquare.com 817/573-5299 GRANBURY: Carnival Americana September 24. www.granburysquare.com 817/573-5299 GRANBURY: Last Saturday Gallery Night on the Square September 26. www.facebook.com/ galleriesofgranbury 817/579-7733 GRAND PRAIRIE: Fiestas Patrias September 12. www.tradersvillage.com 972/647-2331

IRVING: Laughs by the Lake September 4. www.cityofirving.org 972/721-2600

MESQUITE: First Friday Gospel Show September 4. www.ransomedonline.com 214/537-2097

IRVING: Irving Main Street Event September 18-19. www.cityofirving.org 972/721-2600

MESQUITE: Devils Bowl Speedway Auto Races September 5-6. www.devilsbowl.com 972/222-2421

KEENE: Johnson County Soapbox Classic September 6. 817/307-3362 KENNEY: Hodges Farm Antique Show September 29-October 3. www.hodgesfarmtexas.com 979/865-9077

MESQUITE: Texas Area Artists Art Exhibition September 7-28. www.mesquiteartscenter.org 972/216-6444 MESQUITE: The Cynthia Ann and Quanah Parker Trail Exhibit September 11October 23. www.historicmesquite.org 972/216-6468

GRAND PRAIRIE: 53rd Annual American Indian Powwow September 18-20. www.tradersvillage.com 972/647-8205

LA GRANGE: Patriot Day Ceremony September 12. www.visitlagrangetx.com 979/968-3017

GRAND PRAIRIE: Flight of the Monarch September 19. www.GrandFunGP.com 972/237-8107

LA GRANGE: Texas Heroes Day September 19. Monument Hill State Park. 979/968-5658

GRAND PRAIRIE: Taste of Grand Prairie September 24. www.TasteOfGrandPrairie. com 972/264-1558

LADONIA: Boyd Music Festival September 12. www.boydmusicfestival.com 214/226-2046

MESQUITE: 20th Annual Taste and Trade September 29. www.mesquitechamber.com 972/285-0211

GRAND PRAIRIE: 40th Auto Swap Meet September 25-26. www.tradersvillage.com/ grand-prairie 972/647-2331

LEWISVILLE: Western Days Festival September 25-26. www.LewisvilleWestern Days.com 972/219-3401

MOODY: Moody Cotton Harvest Festival September 26. www.moody cottonharvestfestival.org 254/366-3855

LINDSAY: Antique Tractor and Farm Machinery Show September 6. 940/736-4541

NEW BERLIN: Sausage Festival September 6. New Berlin Community Center. 830/420-3185

LULING: Reflections of Texas Art Show September 13-22. www.oilmuseum.org 830/875-5220

PARKER: Vintage Market Days September 11-12. www.dallas-mckinney. vintagemarketdays.com 918/688-0142

GRAPEVINE: Grapevine Market September 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26. www. GrapevineTexasUSA.com 817/410-3185 GRAPEVINE: First Fridays at the Farm September 4. www.NashFarm.org 817/410-3185 GRAPEVINE: Grapevine Vintage Railroad Train Rides September 5-November 22. www.gvrr.com 817/410-3185 GRAPEVINE: GrapeFest September 17-20. www.GrapevineTexasUSA. com 817/410-3185 GRAPEVINE: Frugal Farm Wife Series September 18. www.NashFarm.org 817/410-3185

MARTINDALE: Texas Mamma Jamma Ride September 26. www.mammajammaride.org 512/765-5526 MCKINNEY: Old Red Lumberyard and Treasure Spotters September 11-12. www.visitmckinney.com 214/544-1407 MCKINNEY: Second Saturday Bird Walk September 12. www.HeardMuseum.org 972/562-5566

HALLETTSVILLE: Kolache Fest September 26. www.hallettsville.com 361/798-2662 HARKER HEIGHTS: Central Texas Wine, Food and Brew Festival September 12. www.hhfoodandwine.com 254/699-4999

MCKINNEY: Dinosaurs Live! Life-Size Animatronic Dinosaurs September 19February 21. www.heardmuseum.org 972/562-5566

HILLSBORO: Cotton Pickin’ Fair and Texas State Barbecue Championship September 25-26. www.hillsborochamber.org

MCKINNEY: Third Monday Trade Days September 11-13. www.tmtd.com 972/562-5466

HONEY GROVE: Davy Crockett Day September 26. www.honeygrovechamber. com 903/378-7211

texashighways.com | S E P T E M B E R 2015

MCKINNEY: Oktoberfest September 25-27. www.downtownmckinney. com 972/547-2660

MCKINNEY: Second Saturday on the Downtown Square September 12. www. downtownmckinney.com 972/547-2660

MESQUITE: Mesquite Artisans’ and Farmer’s Market September 12. www.realtexasflavor.com 866/242-8078

PLANO: Ethiopian Days September 5-6. www.maaecdallas.org 214/321-9992 PLANO: Plano Balloon Festival September 18-20. www.planoballoonfest.org 972/867-7566 PLANO: Fall Plano Train Show September 26-27. www.dfwtrainshows.com 972/941-5840 POTTSBORO: Frontier Day September 26. www.pottsborochamber.com 903/786-6371 ROCKDALE: Rise Up Music Festival September 5-6. www.rockdalechamber.com 512/446-2030 ROUND TOP: Round Top Fall Antique Show September 19-October 4. www.roundtop.org 979/249-4042 ROUND TOP: Schutzenfest September 19. www.roundtoprifle.com 281/788-3278 [continued on page 86 »

TEXAS

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H I G H W A Y S

T h e T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E o f T E X A S

Reader Service Guide to Advertisers For information from our advertisers, use the forms in this issue, or go to www.texashighways.com. (Reader service numbers are in bold.)

1. Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 31 2. Amarillo Convention & Visitors Council pg. 20 3. Andrews Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 81 4. City of Angleton pg. 81 5. Art Museum of Southeast Texas pg. 83 6. City of Athens pg. 73 7. Bandera County Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 17 8. Best Western Texas pg. 80 9. Boerne Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 35 10. Brownsville Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 78 11. Clifton Chamber of Commerce pg. 30 12. Conroe Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 31 13. Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 4 14. Cuero Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture Back Cover 15. Dallas Arboretum pg. 41 16. City of Deer Park pg. 83 17. Denison Chamber of Commerce pg. 74 18. George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum pg. 76 19. Glen Rose Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 72 20. City of Gonzales pg. 24 21. Graham Chamber of Commerce & Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 75 22. City of Granbury Department of Tourism pg. 78 23. Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 72 24. Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 73 25. Huntsville Antique Show pg. 82 26. City of Huntsville pg. 80 27. Irving Arts Center pg. 17 28. Karankawa Village pg. 82 29. Kerrville Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 23 30. Longview Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 23 31. Lufkin Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 19 32. Matagorda County Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 36 33. McKinney Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 79 34. Mineral Wells Chamber of Commerce pg. 86 35. Mount Pleasant/Titus County Chamber of Commerce pg. 34 36. Museum and Visitor Center of the Bastrop County Historical Society pg. 82 37. National Museum of the Pacific War pg. 39 38. Palestine Economic Development Department pg. 27 39. Pecos Tourism pg. 28 40. Plano Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 75 41. Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce pg. 35 42. Portland, Texas pg. 74 43. San Antonio Zoo pg. 32 44. Sherman Department of Tourism pg. 83 45. Stark Cultural Venues pg. 14 46. State Fair of Texas pg. 22 47. Texas GLO Adopt-A-Beach Program pg. 10 48. Texas Mushroom Festival pg. 79 49. Texas Reds Festival pg. 83 50. Victoria Convention & Visitors Bureau pg. 13 51. Village of Surfside Beach pg. 81 52. Visit Lubbock pg. 2 53. Wildseed Farms Market Center pg. 79

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« continued from page 84] ROUND TOP: Fall Original Round Top Antique Fair September 30-October 3. www.roundtoptexas antiques.com SALADO: Salado Chocolate and Wine Weekend September 18-20. www.salado.com 254/947-8634 SANGER: Sanger Sellabration September 12. www.sangertexas.org 940/458-7702 SEGUIN: Fiestas Patrias, Diez y Seis September 4-6. Central Park. 830/372-3151 SEGUIN: Alamo Exhibition Bird Show September 12-13. www.aebc.org 210/463-7283

SPRINGTOWN: Wild West Festival September 19. www.wildwestfestival.org 817/220-7828 STEPHENVILLE: Cowboy Capital of the World PRCA Rodeo/Rodeo Heritage Week Festivities September 19-27. www. cowboycapitalprcarodeo.com 254/965-5313

WACO: Waco Cultural Arts Fest September 25-27. www.wacoartsfest.org 254/723-6830 WACO: Waco Wild West 100 September 26. www.wacowildwest100.com 254/750-8697

SULPHUR SPRINGS: Lone Star Heritage Quilt Guild Quilt Show September 18-19. www. sulphurspringstxquilts.com 903/235-5700

WASHINGTON: Enduring Spirit: African Americans in 19th-Century Texas Through February 15, 2016. www.starmuseum.org 936/878-2461

TERRELL: Flights of Our Fathers Fly In September 19. www.bftsmuseum.org 972/551-1122

WASHINGTON: Living History Saturdays at Independence Hall September 19. www.wheretexasbecame texas.org 936/878-2214

THE COLONY: Sunset Concert Series September 11. www.visitthecolonytx.com 972/625-1106

SEGUIN: Heart of Texas Roadshow September 19. Texas Theater. 830/379-6382

WACO: Shipwreck! Pirates and Treasure Through September 16. www.maybornmuseum.com 254/710-1110

SERBIN: Wendish Fest September 27. www.texaswendish.org 979/366-2441

WACO: Stars Over Texas Jamboree September 3. Lee Lockwood Library and Museum. 254/755-7257

SMITHVILLE: Trades Day September 19. www.smithvilletx.org

WACO: Homestead Heritage Labor Day Festival September 4. www.

homesteadheritage.com 254/754-9600

texashighways.com | S E P T E M B E R 2015

WAXAHACHIE: Waxahachie Oktoberfest September 19. www.stjosephoktoberfest. com 972/937-0956 WAXAHACHIE: Crossroads of Texas Film Festival September 23-26. www.crossroadsoftxff.com 469/309-4012 WEATHERFORD: Ranch Rodeo September 11-12. www.parkercounty sheriffsposse.com 817/594-5424

WEATHERFORD: Art in Action September 19. www. weatherford-chamber.com 817/596-3801

SAN ANTONIO: Lesley Dill: Performance as Art Through September 6. www.mcnayart.org

WEST: West Fest September 4-6. www.westfest.com 254/826-5058

SAN ANTONIO: Recycled, Repurposed, Reborn: Collage and Assemblage Through September 6. www.mcnayart.org

SAN ANTONIO: Visits to the Past Alamo Plaza Heritage Interpretation September 12. www.salha.org SAN ANTONIO: International Accoridon Festival September 12. www.internationalaccordion festival.org

SAN ANTONIO: Richard Duardo: Maestro of Pop Through September 6. www.mcnayart.org

SAN ANTONIO: Miro: The Experience of Seeing September 30-January 10. www.mcnayart.org 210/824-5368

SOUTH TEXAS PLAINS EAGLE PASS: Dieciseis de Septiembre Celebration September 16. Plaza San Juan. 830/773-9255 SAN ANTONIO: Rainforest Adventure Maze March 7September 20. www.sabot.org 210/207-3255 SAN ANTONIO: It Takes a Village Through September 12. www.lindapacefoundation.org 210/227-8400 SAN ANTONIO: Discover the Ice Age Through September 7. www.wittemuseum.org SAN ANTONIO: Merida’s Mexico Through September 6. www.mcnayart.org SAN ANTONIO: Texas Czechs: Rooted in Traditions Through September 4. www.TexanCultures.com 210/458-2300

WANT MORE? GO TO THE EVENTS CALENDAR AT www.texashighways.com. FOR A FREE PRINTED COPY of an even more detailed, quarterly schedule of events, write to Texas Highways Events Calendar subscriptions, Box 149249, Austin 787149249. Or, call 800/452-9292 from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, between 8-6 Central. FOR TEXAS TRAVEL QUESTIONS, call 800/452-

9292 to reach a TxDOT Travel Information Center, where a professional travel counselor will provide routing assistance, advise you of road conditions, and send brochures (including the official Texas State Travel Guide, Texas Official Travel Map, and quarterly Texas Highways Events Calendar). TO SUBMIT EVENT INFORMATION: www.texas highways.com and go to Events, Event Submission form; email: texasevents@txdot.gov; or mail: Texas Highways Events Calendar, Box 141009, Austin 78714-1009. Listing deadlines: Spring (Mar., Apr., May) Dec. 1; Summer (Jun., Jul., Aug.) Mar. 1; Fall (Sep., Oct., Nov.) Jun. 1; Winter (Dec., Jan., Feb.) Sep. 1.

theDaytripper

™

W ITH CHET GARNER

has been making its world-famous “ChickO-Stick” candy in Lufkin for more than 75 years. And contrary to what some may believe, no chickens are harmed in the making of these sticks. I visited the on-site candy shop and left CHET GARNER with a multi-pound bag for is the host of many day trips to come. ® The Daytripper

2:30

travel show on PBS; www.the daytripper.com.

p.m. Continuing my adventure, I headed to Ellen Trout Zoo and found animals from well beyond the Piney Woods, including lions, tigers, and flamingos (oh my!). This city-owned zoo was more than impressive—and my inner child couldn’t help but ride the train round and round more times than I’d like to publicly admit.

4:30

Lots to “Luf” in Lufkin Texas may be known as the land of wide-open skies and endless horizons, but not to those who travel east. Here, towering trees overtake sprawling prairies, and visitors spend much more time looking up rather than out. I set my own gaze upon the East Texas town of Lufkin and set out for a day trip behind the “Pine Curtain.”

8:30 a.m. I rolled into Historic

Downtown and was struck by the colorful murals giving new artistic life to old brick facades. Each mural covered a different era of Lufkin’s history, ranging from the railroad to the coming of the telephone. I snapped a picture of the latter with my smart phone, shared it to the web, and thought, “my, how things have changed.”

9:00 a.m. I discovered that more

than just the building exteriors are getting an update in downtown, as I strolled into Standpipe Coffee House and found a hip little joe joint occupying an old mercantile building. Upon recommendation, I ordered “The Standpipe” latte—a blend of espresso, chocolate, caramel, and hazelnut—with enough caffeine (and sugar) to last all day.

10:00

a.m. While many Texas towns were built on cattle or cotton, it was lumber that built Lufkin, both literally and PH O T O :

commercially. To learn about this stillthriving industry, I tripped to the Texas Forestry Museum, which features items such as a spinning sawmill motor and a 100-foot-tall lookout tower. The exhibits covered everything from steam engines to the toilet seat, and made me appreciate the delicate balance between conservation and commerce in our native forests.

12:00

p.m. Folks need trees for lots of things, including smoking the amazing beef, pork, and chicken at Lufkin Bar-B-Que, my lunch destination. I settled into a plate of succulent pork ribs and brisket, but not before eating an entire basket of their famous deep-fried yeast rolls. After indulging in this crispy, doughy goodness, I may never be able to go back to white bread again.

1:30 p.m. For dessert, I headed to the Atkinson Candy Company, which

p.m. Ready to spend some time in the woods, I drove to the Lost Arrow Biking and Hiking Trail. For hours I pedaled my way through roughly six miles of single-track mountain-bike trails. I was so focused on the dirt, I barely noticed the trees at all, that is until I wiped out and landed squarely on my back. As I looked up at the canopy above, I decided I should fall more often.

7:00

p.m. I stopped at Ray’s DriveIn for dinner. This Lufkin institution has been around more than 50 years, serving cheeseburgers as delicious and greasy as the law allows. Everything is done the old-fashioned way, even the smiling car-hop service. As I tried to keep my “Ray’s Special” double cheeseburger from dripping all over my car seats, I had time to process my day. While the trees may hide the horizon, those who step behind the “Pine Curtain” will find more than enough to make up for it. And however you spend your time in Lufkin—looking down at exhibits, up at the trees, or sideways along the trails—you’ll find adventure in every direction. So whether you follow my footsteps or forge your own path, I hope to see you on the road. +

Contact the Lufkin Convention & Visitors Bureau, 936/633-0349; www.visitlufkin.com. S E P T E M B E R 2015 |

texashighways.com

Travel Matters T H E L I G H TER SI D E O F T RAVEL I NG

Lessons Learned ON THE ROA D TO NE W U NDER STA NDINGS

text by Barbara Rodriguez illustration by Michael Witte

T’S A CLICHÉ BY NOW : YOU DON’T REALLY know someone until you’ve traveled with them. In my experience, every journey has taught me things about my traveling companions that I didn’t know— and wasn’t likely to find out any other way. The basic principle that travel is a road to new understandings holds true for all sorts of companions on any variety of journeys. Join someone you know—maybe even really well—out of the context that usually brings you together and all sorts of revelations are likely. How else but on a work trip to another city would you learn that one of your quieter colleagues knows how to order sushi like a master chef? Or that a middle-aged mom has a karaoke repertoire that slays? Those sorts of discoveries are to be expected, perhaps, when you set out on the road with someone you only know from work. But traveling can open windows into the hearts and souls of our nearest and dearest, too. Fishing was my dad’s great joy, and on every family camping trip we towed a boat. My younger brother and I were keen for the one-on-one time these outings on the water allowed, even if it meant eating powdered donuts with fishy fingers. Then one day, dad fell out of the boat. 88

texashighways.com | S E P T E M B E R 2015

I see it unspool in slow motion. He is sitting on the side of the boat untangling my line. He has on his classic short-brimmed bucket hat and aviator sunglasses. He is focused on the whorls of filament and then he starts to fall backwards, wheels his arms for a moment, and is gone. I am stunned by the galooshh. My brother Jimmy looks at me like I’m at fault. The whole episode probably took less than a minute, but in memory, time stands still. Daddy has fallen out of the boat. When he reappears, spouting like a dolphin, he is missing his hat and his glasses. I hold my breath. My father looks me in the eye. I wonder, was it my fault? Then he laughs. Guffaws. He is laughing so hard that he can barely climb up the little ladder attached next to the boat’s engine. I had never before seen my dad laugh at himself. In that moment, I realized my dad was vulnerable to life’s surprises. That day, the sun climbing high, the powdered donuts waiting, I saw my dad do something that would have left me Then he starts mortified. He came up laughing. I to fall backwards, never forgot. + wheels his arms for

a moment, and is gone. I am stunned by the galooshh.

Find Babs Rodriguez’s full adventure at texashighways.com/matters.

RearVIEW O N E L A ST T HO U GHT

“Nobody on the road, nobody on the beach. I feel it in the air, the summer’s out of reach.” —Don Henley, “The Boys of Summer”

SUMMER’S END brings splendid isolation to beaches like Corpus Christi’s North Beach.

PHOTO: