Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2017 i Texas Highways Magazine

HOUSED IN A C ENTURY_OLD BUILD_ ing in downtown Tyler, Discovery Science Place stands out among the historic buildings surrounding it. Many of the buildings on Broadway Avenue and surrounding streets have been carefully restored to their early-20th-century glory and are now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In contrast to the restrained architecture surrounding it, the L-shaped former warehouse that houses Tyler’s science museum serves as a colorful billboard promoting the arts and sciences. Several exterior walls of the museum now boast a vibrant mural depicting plants, microscopes, insects, and constellations, conveying a sense of the fun that waits inside. Exploration through touch is an integral part of the Discovery Science Place experience, and it begins as soon as you enter the fenced courtyard leading to the…

YOU N EVER KNOW WHAT YOU’LL F IND AT SOUTH by Southwest, Austin’s annual summit of creative industries and popular culture. President Obama showed up in 2016 to talk technology and tacos. In 2012, Doritos hosted a party with rapper Snoop Dogg performing on a stage built to look like a . ve-story snack vending machine. And in 2007, Twi. er famously took . ight during the conference. The cultural stampede can be a bit overwhelming, especially for those who aren’t je. ing in on business accounts to network at the festival’s technology, . lm, and music conventions. But tucked within the Austin Convention Center, there’s an engaging exhibition that is one of SXSW’s most accessible activities for curious locals and tourists: the Flatstock poster show. Flatstock is one of…

This is my 17th year as a subscriber, and I have read every article in every issue since January 2002. We receive 10 different magazines at our house, and Texas Highways is my favorite. WILLIAM THOMPSON, EVANSVILLE, INDIANA Gaming Family Thanks for tipping us off to the National Video Game Museum in Frisco [November]. Our college-age kids enjoyed seeing the “prehistoric” video games, and my husband and I loved the walk down memory lane. My husband and son particularly enjoyed playing the old arcade games. We would never have known it was there if I hadn’t seen it in Texas Highways! Devon Hull, Lake Jackson Directional Debate, part II I o.ten argue with my husband that Graham is in north-central, not West Texas. According to Texas Counties.net, Graham is in the…

MICHAEL G RAB WADES INTO THE WAIST HIGH water of the Llano River in Central Texas, reaches down to the bo.om, and ?shes out a pla.er-size rock. Like most large stones, it’s not perfectly round, and its edges undulate in an irregular pa.ern. Grab examines the rock, turning it over and over in his practiced hands, noting tiny indentations or notches that could act as a natural tripod for the stack of large and small stones he is building in the shallows. Working while the river’s current .ows around his chest-high waders, Grab positions the rock, removes it, tries again at a di_erent angle, and turns it over before dropping it back into the cool water. He’s looking for a rock with a pointed end that can be placed tip-to-tip…

AUTHOR ROALD DAHL WROTE, “THE GREATEST secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.” And when it comes to divine grub located in an unlikely shop, his words ring true. Twenty miles west of Fort Worth on Interstate 20, David’s Stove Shop is a jackpot for antiques, wood stoves and grills, decor, and just about anything under the sun. And while many visitors come for the oneofakind shopping, the store has seen an explosion of guests in the past few years thanks to the addition of The Shed, tucked away in the west side of the building. After arriving with a friend and not seeing a sign anywhere noting The Shed’s location, we follow our noses. Walking through the Stove Shop past rows and rooms of trinkets, the scent…

Photographs by Joel Salcido Though a North On a clear day north of Saint Jo, the sandbars and shallows of the Red River invite re_lection. Texas native, I somehow never considered the Red River Valley a great getaway option— until recently. Tips from savvy friends piqued my curiosity about the stretch of landscape between Gainesville and Wichita Falls. Once my husband and I packed a bag and hit the highway, we quickly found makings for the perfect road trip, one populated with intriguing discoveries in a pair of tiny towns imbued with sizable doses of Chisholm Trail history. Best of all, we reveled in the quiet of lonely drives on lovely twolane roads that climb and fall with the ridges following the famous river. In spite of its seeming remoteness,…

REAL TEXAS STORIES BORN AND BRED DURING A R ECENT ARCHEOLOGICAL DIG AT San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site, workers trowelled through a small, rectangular slice of land just north of the community of San Felipe in southeastern Texas. Nearly two centuries ago, a bustling frontier se­lement created by the father of Texas, Stephen F. Austin, occupied this patch of prairie. This particular dig—measuring 15 feet long, three feet wide, and about a foot deep—is excavating the site where William B. Travis practiced law in the 1830s, before he was martyred at the Alamo. Today, the only visible remnants of Travis’ law practice are pieces of red brick poking from the dirt and fragments of glass and ceramics. The dig is part of a larger e.ort to document San…

TRAVEL TALK W ITH T RUE T EXANS “When you’re young and invincible, you feel like getting hurt’s just for the other guys.” BULL R IDING HAS B EEN GOOD TO T Y MURRAY. BUT THAT doesn’t mean he wants to hop on the back of a 1,500-pound bucking bovine ever again. “When you’re young and invincible, you feel like ge€ing hurt’s just for the other guys,” says Murray, a Stephenville rancher and ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee. “Now being on this side of it, I look at these young guys riding bulls, and I think, ‘how do they survive?’” Murray grew up in a rodeo family in Arizona before moving to Texas for college. As a pro, the scrappy cowboy competed in bareback, saddle- bronc, and bull riding en…

30º 40' 29. 40" N 97º 32'35. 14" W THE RED RIVER VALLEY offers an array of scenic beauty—most of it natural, with some surprises. At the intersection of FM 3206 and FM 677, a couple of miles southwest of the Saint Jo town square, artistic works by rancher Earl Nunneley greet travelers. This ladybug, created from a Volkswagen Beetle; and cactus, made with repurposed materials; represent a few of the sculptures that form a distinctive roadside gallery on the Running N Ranch. For more information, visit saintjochamber.com/ things-to-do. texashighways.com…

PEOPLE PACK THE WALL_TO_WALL TABLES IN Gruene Hall, and the band has hit full swing when I walk in one summer Sunday morning. Folks clap along to the music as they dig into plates of bacon and eggs, roasted turkey, and mashed potatoes. While I _nd a seat, singer-songwriter Bret Graham launches into Kris Kristo?erson’s 1970s hit, “Why Me, Lord?”— sounding uncannily like Kristo?erson himself, who has in fact played here. Hands clap, little kids and servers dance along, and I hear a few shouts of “hallelujah!” Gruene Hall’s monthly Gospel Brunch with a Texas Twist started 18 years ago with a birthday celebration for Pat Molak, co-owner of the New Braunfels dance hall and The Gristmill River Restaurant next door. “We had a party the night before and did…

GO, SEE, DO_TAKING I N TEXAS If you love the beach but are looking for more communing with nature and less spring break reveling, consider Padre Island National Seashore. Touted as the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world, this serene seascape boasts 70 miles of coastline, dunes, prairies, and wind tidal .lats. From beachcombing to birdwatching (Corpus Christi reigns as the “Birdiest City in America”), to fishing and camping (campgrounds are open year-round on a first-come basis), the island’s undeveloped beaches and natural habitat offer a variety of activities. Park officials note it is not possible to drive directly from the national seashore to South Padre Island. Entry is $10 a day per vehicle. www.nps.gov/pais…