Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i Texas Highways Magazine

DETOUR + STAY + TEXAS WILD + TEXAS TICKET SOMETHING AMAZING, AND IN FACT, QUITE REGAL is hidden in Bellville, a tiny town roughly halfway between Austin and Houston. Though primarily known as the seat of Austin County, this not-so-sleepy small town (pop. 4,000) has recently distinguished itself for more than its governmental function. Longtime resident Michael Newman could have gone down in history as the owner of Bellville’s much-loved Newman’s Bakery, which for 34 years has drawn a loyal patronage for breakfast specials like made-from-scratch donuts, sugar-dusted French toast, and over-easy eggs paired with buttery housemade croissants. But these days, visitors stop by the bakery for more than pastries and breakfast; it’s the first stop on a tour of a whimsical edifice outside of town known as Newman’s Castle,…

SCOTT H. BIRAM IS A ONE-MAN BAND WHO HAS blown five-piece rock groups offthe stage. But the San Marcos native is just as at home picking country blues on his back porch, with his chickens running around the yard, as he is in a nightclub. Artists such as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bill Monroe, and Woody Guthrie led the way for Biram’s supercharged roots music. But wearing a faded Black Flag T-shirt and stomping out rhythms with his left foot on a rectangle of electrified wood, Biram plays with the swagger of a punk rocker After 13 surgeries, Biram was the man tough enough to take whatever life threw his way With the February release of his 10th solo album, The Bad Testament, the 43-year-old Biram is back on the road, including…

We could hear the river before we could see it My 11-year-old daughter, Carlisle, and I have arrived past dark at our cabin in Chalk BluffPark in Uvalde and are seeking a peek of the Nueces River. We step offour front porch under a thick canopy of wind-bent live oaks, their branches so tangled we can’t tell where one tree ends and the other begins. But it’s just a little too dark to see; we can only hear that sweet sound of water gurgling over rocks. Standing barefoot on a carpet of oak leaves, my daughter and I relish the audible proof that yes indeed the Nueces runs a few dozen yards or so from our door, just as the friendly owner had promised at check-in. Then we turn back…

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? STEVE SPENCE, ATASCOSA COUNTY OUR FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA OF THE MONTH Eating in a restaurant is fine, but to me stopping and eating at a roadside park or rest stop really gives you the feel of the open road. MARK MCKEE, HOUSTON We were down in Galveston a few weekends ago, and man what a difference the beach renovation project has made. FREDDIE JOHNSON, WACO Texas Surf Thank you for an excellent article on the Texas Surf Museum [June]. It underscores the “stoke” that Texas surfers share with surfers worldwide. There is a saying that the best surfer out in the water is the one having the most fun, and Texas surfers have fun. When the waves are good, there’s nothing more fun than surfing South…

EAT + COOK + TRAVEL ANYONE WHO’S BEEN TO A SPURS GAME IN San Antonio can attest that the city is filled with red-hot, habanero-grade pride. The iconic Alamo and its sister missions, a lively Riverwalk, and plenty of community-wide celebrations like Fiesta all give the historic Texas city its flavor—and no place captures the city’s character better than Ray’s Drive Inn, the West Side icehouse where the locally famous puffy taco was born. True to its name, the restaurant still offers carhop service to guests parked with headlights aglow, but entering the humble stone building is half the experience. Kitschy, colorful paintings and neon signs warm the main dining room, where candles flicker in a Virgin of Guadalupe altar and a jukebox plays songs by George Strait, Los Tigres…

TRAVEL TALK WITH TRUE TEXANS EVER SINCE THE 1999 DEBUT OF HIS FIRST ALBUM, SINGER/SONGWRITER, country crooner Aaron Watson has been blazing his own trail up the charts with songs that draw from his hometown roots and Texas musical heritage. Watson began writing songs and playing guitar as a teenager in his hometown of Amarillo. Aft er att ending Abilene Christian University, he ventured to Nashville to try his luck with the major record labels. But the labels told him that his sound— modern honky-tonk with splashes of rock, gospel, and Tejano—lacked commercial appeal. Spurred on by this rejection, Watson returned to Texas to make music on his own terms, recording 13 albums that he released independently. These days, Watson lives in Abilene with his wife and three kids when…

30º 55' 21.06" N 98º 26' 52.90" W VENTURING OUT ON the water is the only way to see Fall Creek Falls, which pours into Lake Buchanan near Tow. To capture this image, photographer Erich Schlegel canoed to the falls in the early morning and balanced his tripod on a small ledge. He lit the waterfall with his headlamp and took a 15-second exposure. You can visit the falls, located about 17 miles by water north of Buchanan Dam on the Colorado River, by taking a Vanishing Texas River Cruise, renting a kayak from Canyon of the Eagles park store, or launching a boat from Cedar Point Recreation Area. For more information about Lake Buchanan, visit buchanan-inks.com.…

Ever wanted to throw a birthday party for cowboys? This is your year. But be sure to have a cake big enough for 150 candles. That’s because this is the 150th anniversary, more or less, of the Chisholm Trail. I qualify that because a lot remains uncertain about this iconic trail that bridged Texas pastures with Kansas railroads. Few agree on where it started or stopped, for instance, or where the name came from, or even if the trail was in Texas at all (see the “The Never-Ending Chisholm Debate” on Page 49). But still, this huge Texas exodus of caffle in the 1860s and 1870s changed the Lone Star State for good. And gave birth to the cowboy icon to boot. It’s a birthday that makes for a particularly…

REAL TEXAS STORIES BORN AND BRED AFTER CROSSING ALAZAN CREEK VIA Guadalupe Street on San Antonio’s West Side, you’ll traverse a neighborhood characterized by locally run shops known as tienditas, pretty Catholic churches, 1920s shotgun homes, and the occasional turn-of-the-century Queen Anne ornamentation. With a glance back toward the city center, you’ll see shade-lined streets framing surprising views of city icons—Tower of the Americas, Marriott Rivercenter, Tower Life Building—all appearing close enough to poke with a stick. But what really distinguishes the neighborhood is its mural collection, featuring 53 murals to date, splashed across its shop facades, community centers, and brick walls. More than mere artworks, the murals serve to illustrate cultural selfhood, celebrating the neighborhood’s Chicano character and laying claim to a distinctly Mexican-American identity; flags planted, bright and…

GO, SEE, DO—TAKING IN TEXAS Cutting through the heart of the Panhandle, Palo Duro Canyon—the second-largest canyon in the country, behind that grand one in Arizona—holds a rich history in its deep walls. And every summer for more than five decades, it has set the stage for TEXAS, an outdoor musical drama that tells the stories of the Native Americans and 19th-century pioneers who struggled to claim it. Over the years, the musical has seen more than 4,000 cast and crewmembers; many in this year’s iteration have been performing the same characters for decades. It’s theater for the people— especially the outdoor-loving Texans who prefer to keep their hiking boots on when settling in for a musical. But more than anything, it plays out the drama of Texas history in…