Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2017 i Texas Highways Magazine

33º 17' 45.43" N 95º 39' 10.82" W LAKESIDE STATE PARKS make great fall destinations as the temperatures remain warm enough to get out on the water yet cool enough to enjoy hiking, fishing, camping, and making s’mores by the campfire. Cooper Lake State Park has an added benefit of being one of the few places in Texas that sport fall foliage, offering the possibility of spo?ing trees displaying autumn’s vivid red, gold, and orange hues. This shoreline is located in the park’s South Sulphur Unit, which can be reached by Farm-to-Market Road 3505. For more information, visit texasstateparks.org.…

Terlingua is 5 miles west of Study Butte on FM 170. For Ghost Town travel and lodging information, call Big Bend Holiday Hotel at 432-203-6929; bigbendholidayhotel.com. Big Bend Stables is just south of the junction of Texas 118 and FM 170 in Study Butte. Call 800-887-4331; lajitasstables.com. Big Bend Texas Travel Company leads customized tours throughout the region, including trips focused on mining history. Call 432-386-5635; gobigbend.com. The Mariscal Mine is in Big Bend National Park, 20 miles off the main park road on River Road East. River Road is gravel; high-clearance vehicles are required. It’s a short hike from the parking lot to the mine ruins. Call 432-477-2251; nps.gov/bibe. The Whit-Roy Mine and Buena Suerte village are in Big Bend Ranch State Park, an 8-mile hike from East Contrabando…

Free TRAVEL INFO! 1 Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau 2 Amarillo Convention & Visitors Council 3 Andrews Chamber of Commerce 4 Angleton, City of 5 Aransas Pathways 6 Bandera County Convention & Visitors Bureau 7 Bastrop County Tourism 8 Bay Area Houston CVB 9 Big Bend Ranch Rodeo 10 Brady/McCulloch County Visitors Center 11 Brenham-Washington County 12 Brownsville Convention & Visitors Bureau 13 Bryan - College Station Convention & Visitors Bureau 14 Bryan, City of 15 Buda, City of, Department of Tourism 16 Canton, City Of 17 Cedar Park, City of 18 Cleburne Chamber of Commerce 19 Clifton Chamber of Commerce 20 Clute Visitors Bureau 21 Conroe Convention & Visitors Bureau 22 Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau 23 Corsicana Visitors Center 24 Cuero Chamber of Commerce 25 Dallas Arboretum…

TEXAS FAMILY + TEXAS WILD + DETOUR + STAY “In England, donkeys are respectable. In America, only the sidekick rode a donkey.” MARK AND AMY MEYERS, THE FOUNDERS OF Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue near San Angelo, have made it their mission to change perceptions about donkeys one person at a time. “People have this misconception about donkeys, that they’re stupid, dumb, stubborn,” said Mark Meyers, dubbed “The Burro Man” by fellow animal conservationists. “We started this place to rescue donkeys, and there will always be a need for that. But, I also want to change people’s perceptions of these animals.” The Meyerses and their team have a passion for these o€- misunderstood animals, which they see as loyal, intelligent, and beautiful. “In a lot of cultures, donkeys are revered,” he…

The ranch’s riverside setting includes a beautiful picnic site beneath huge, aged pecan and oak trees. THE IDEAL GETAWAY EXPERIENCE DOESN’T ALWAYS involve traveling long distances to an elaborate resort, as I rediscover on a recent trip less than an hour from home. Hearing about a prime “glamping” retreat outside of Weatherford, my husband and I are intrigued to see what sort of escape awaits so close to our usual stomping grounds in Fort Worth. Our destination is Sundancer on the Brazos, a luxury safari tent that promises a simple and comfortable haven surrounded by thickets of hardwoods and rolling ranchland. Now just a year old, it’s the creation of Fort Worth investment advisor Bill Fuller, whose family has been in the ranching business since the late 1930s. On the…

REAL TEXAS STORIES BORN AND BRED Some historians believe Comanches would shape trees to signal directions, leaving scars where they were altered and tied down. NO HISTORICAL MARKER INDICATES THAT this particular pecan tree near the grounds of the Texas National Guard Armory in northwest Dallas is special—just the fact that its trunk grows along the ground for about 25 feet before turning upward. Sometimes natural forces, such as ice storms, can bend trees into strange shapes like this. But for this pecan, its shape is no accident. Steve Houser, a local arborist and founding member of the Texas Historic Tree Coalition, traces his fingers over scars on the tree’s trunk, signs indicating humans may have lashed down the trunk with yucca rope some 150 years ago, when it was…

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? OUR FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA OF THE MONTH I was born and raised in the small Texas town of Haskell. Would not change it for the world. Love my hometown. RITA MOORE NOLAN, TULSA, OKLAHOMA Monahans Sandhills is not far from where I grew up. I can’t tell you how many pairs of shoes I lost there as a kid. I miss West Texas. JAMES WHITE, MINNESOTA Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Backyard Blessings I know many people here in Central Texas who travel abroad on vacation and have never been to most of the places in the State of Wonder story [September] even though they are practically in their own backyard. My suggestion to my Texas friends is to put these places on your…

COOK + DRINK + TRAVEL With its tropical atrium, handpainted walls, and abundance of prominent Mexican art, the restaurant doubles as an exotic refuge. EVEN BEFORE YOU STEP THROUGH THE restaurant’s massive, hand-carved wooden doors, you’ve been transported to a place that usually requires a passport. A light breeze rustles palms and other exotic tropical foliage while young chefs clip fragrant sprigs of cilantro, mint, and epazote from the culinary garden. Inside, gleaming Saltillo tiles, the exhilarating aroma of freshly squeezed limes, and squawked greetings from Paco, the resident parrot, ensure you’ve reached full-on vacation mode. Welcome to Fonda San Miguel in Austin. If you’ve been lucky enough to dine here, you probably have cherished memories of the experience. In addition to tequila libations, smoky duck enchiladas, and crepas de…

THE BIG BEND’S desert mountains are like magnets for modern nomads seeking isolation and adventure. But the region’s wide-open wilderness hasn’t always been valued as a haven for escape and personal renewal. The promise of mineral riches beneath the rocky remoteness pulled prospectors of the past. These opportunists weren’t looking to get away from it all—they wanted to fill their pockets. From about 1900 to 1950, the Big Bend region was one of America’s top producers of mercury, also known as quicksilver, an element extracted from cinnabar ore that was once a key ingredient in detonators. About a dozen mines operated in the Terlingua Quicksilver District, which covered parts of Presidio and Brewster counties. Mining companies dug shaft s hundreds of feet deep and lugged out cinnabar by hand, cart, and…

Despite my job as a Texas photographer and writer, I hadn’t visited many of East Texas’ state parks in years. Last year, when University of Texas Press asked me to revise my 2008 guidebook, Official Guide to Texas State Parks and Historic Sites, I seized my opportunity and hit the road. The experience was a bit like renewing old friendships; I not only saw things I remembered from previous visits, but I also found new surprises. Here are some highlights from my East Texas favorites. Caddo Lake STATE PARK For good reason, scenic Caddo Lake is one of the state’s most popular parks. The shallow waters of the only significant natural lake in Texas foster the growth of a primeval thicket of bald cypress trees. Narrow channels wind through groves…

ONLY 12 PEOPLE HAVE WALKED ON THE MOON, AND NEW Braunfels resident Charlie Duke is one of them. Duke became the 10th astronaut to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. It was a life-changing experience for Duke, who was the first person to collect moon rocks from the lunar highlands. And the 82-year-old still shares his observations frequently as a guest speaker at events across the globe. Raised in South Carolina, Duke joined NASA in 1966 after studying at the Naval Academy, enlisting as a pilot in the Air Force, and earning a master’s degree in astronautics and aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Duke’s career coincided with NASA’s Apollo program, the gargantuan effort to send a man to the moon as…