Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i Texas Highways Magazine

My daughter spent many summers at Prude Ranch Summer Camp and loved it! Probably more than anything, she enjoyed working with the horses. She never was homesick, never called home, so I knew she was having a good time. LINDA MULLENS, Hedley The Prude Ranch Summer Camp in Fort Davis offers one-and two-week sessions throughout June and July for children ages 7 to 16. Set on a working ranch, the camp focuses on horsemanship, along with activities ranging from archery to swimming. Call 432-426-3201; prude-ranch.com.…

Hendley Market still stands as the oldest commercial building on the Strand, once dubbed the “Wall Street of the South.” AT THE EASTERN END OF THE STRAND, A historic boulevard in Galveston lined with busy restaurants and souvenir shops, an unusual sign in the shape of bespectacled eyes attracts attention. Upon closer inspection, the sign marks the entry to Hendley Market—an eclectic emporium that doubles as a virtual cabinet of curiosities. Inside, the shelves and tables are carefully curated with fair-trade goods from all corners of the globe, with clever toys and gift items mixed in with 19th-century antiques, medical implements from days gone by, and stacks of intriguing books both old and new. Cheryl Jenkines, co-manager of Hendley Market, often serves as a kind of tour guide for shoppers…

AS I PULL ONTO DIKE ROAD FROM TEXAS CITY’S BAY STREET in the pastel dawn, bright pops of neon signage and illuminated billboards lead the way to Boyd’s One Stop and Cajun Grill Express. As most of the awakening city’s residents stumble toward the coffeepot, Boyd’s is already an anthill of activity. Anglers—some towing sleek bay boats, others with roof-racks stacked with kayaks—vie for parking slots. Parents with bright-eyed youngsters and bait buckets stream through the bait shop’s door. Others, like me, line up along the front sidewalk on this Wednesday morning thanks to the text we received yesterday, which promoted live Louisiana “swamp red” crawfish on sale by the 30-pound sack for just 83 cents per pound. Or, after Boyd’s Cajun Grill Express opens at 11 a.m., we can…

For information on volunteering opportunities related to organizations mentioned in the story, explore the following: Texas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster: Visit txvoad.communityos.org/cms/home. The Salvation Army: Visit salvation armytexas.org or contact Clay.Steelman@uss.salvationarmy.org. Samaritan’s Purse: Visit spvolun teernetwork.samaritanspurse.org/hurricane-harvey-rebuild. Convoy of Hope: Visit convoyofhope.org or email volunteer@convoyofhope.org. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Visit tpwd.texas.gov/volunteer. Find Nature Conservancy of Texas preserves and contact information at nature.org/texas. World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms requires a $40 membership fee to search for participating farms; wwoofusa.org. Habitable Spaces lists information about artist residencies and farm work on its website, habitablespaces.org. The Texas Book Festival is Oct. 27-28 in Austin; texasbookfestival.org/volunteer. Viva Big Bend music festival is July 26-29 in Alpine, Marfa, Fort Davis, and Marathon; vivabigbend.com. The Austin City Limits Music Festival take place is Oct.…

Weekend concerts, complete with food trucks, attract both area residents and out-of-towners. SITTING DOWN TO A LATE-AFTERNOON DRINK at The Stella Hotel’s airy lobby bar in Bryan, awash in natural light spilling through floor-to-ceiling windows, my overriding thought is, Ahh. At last. The twin towns of Bryan-College Station, with Texas A&M University and a booming biotech research industry, can finally host visitors in the kind of sophisticated boutique hotels found in big cities. Fortunately, the hotels have made no sacrifices in small-town friendliness, immersing guests in elegance while also making the experience warm and personable—just the way we expect to find things in the heart of Texas. As Texas A&M has blossomed into one of the nation’s largest universities, visitors longing for special lodgings get their reward in triplicate—in Bryan,…

Festive lights strung among the trees over an outdoor seating area provide a perfect setting for happy hour. THE FIRST TIME I VISITED GREEN PASTURES REStaurant, as a new Austin resident in the early 1980s, it felt like going to dinner with relatives—if mine had been well-to-do. That feeling came from the restaurant’s setting in a grand 1890s home on spacious, oak-shaded grounds as well as the warm atmosphere and general good mood of everyone there. A recent visit proved that the welcoming ambiance survives despite decades of change in Austin and new ownership of the restaurant, now called Mattie’s at Green Pastures. After all, the name gives a nod to the home’s previous owners, Henry and Martha “Mattie” Faulk. The freethinking Faulks eschewed racism and narrow-mindedness and entertained an…

Contrary to popular belief, bourbon doesn’t have to come from Kentucky, but it does have to be made in the United States. BLAME IT ON TITO’S. THE CRAFT VODKA FROM Austin, which grew from obscurity 20 years ago into one of Texas’ most popular spirits brands, has inspired a widespread passion for Texas-made firewater. That includes bourbon, which contrary to popular belief, doesn’t have to come from Kentucky—but does have to be made in the United States. Its all-American appeal notwithstanding, not everyone immediately gets what’s so special about bourbon, which often tastes intense but pleasantly so, giving off the notion of oak and the idea of sweetness, like caramel, with lots of implied spice. Bourbon presents a fun journey of discovery, and it turns out that some of the…

The Devils River State Natural Area Del Norte Unit is at the end of Dolan Creek Road in Val Verde County. From Del Rio, drive 45 miles north on US 277 and then 22 miles west on gravel Dolan Creek Road. No fee for day use. Fifteen river miles south, the Dan A. Hughes Unit, which the state acquired in 2011, is not yet open to the public except for guided tours, public hunts, and through the river access permit program. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department requires a Devils River Access Permit to put-in or take-out at the Devils River State Natural Area, or to camp at the state sites along the river. The department issues a maximum of 24 Devils River Access Permits per day—12 for overnight trips…

Steak Support For my 80th birthday I decided to cook a Murphy’s Tuscan Rib-Eye using the recipe contained in the article about Murphy’s Steakhouse in Winchester [February]. At one point, I phoned the restaurant for some advice. When I asked the receptionist my questions, she said, “Wait, I will get the cook.” Chris Criner came to the phone a few minutes later and answered all my questions. Before finishing the conversation, she invited me to call back and tell her how it came out. The steak recipe was exceptional, but all I could think about during the cooking and eating of the steak was the friendliness of Chris and the time she spent with me. She could have told the receptionist she was too busy getting ready for the day’s…

The Caddo called the lake Tso’to, which translates as “water thrown up into the drift along the shore by the wind.” TWO HOURS INTO MY CANOEING adventure on Caddo Lake, I saw an osprey swoop down into the water and emerge with a fish clutched in its beak. I was debating whether the raptor would stick around long enough for me to pull out my binoculars when an enterprising bald eagle suddenly appeared and struck the osprey in mid-air. The osprey tumbled but managed to keep the fish, and then flew higher. My group watched in wonder as the two magnificent birds circled one another over the lake’s cypress forest for several minutes. Located on the border of northeast Texas and Louisiana, Caddo Lake’s 26,000-acre network of bayous, sloughs, and…

“We don’t care, you can lick anything you want,” says docent Tomasa King. “We are fine with it.” STANDING OUTSIDE THE SALT PALACE MUSEUM IN Grand Saline, my wife leaned in close and stuck out her tongue. Then she licked the building. “What’s it taste like?” asked Tomasa King, a museum docent. “Wow,” my wife replied. “That’s salty!” True to its name, the façade of the Salt Palace is made of translucent blocks of sodium chloride, the mineral compound we use for everything from seasoning french fries to de-icing roads on wintry days. “Salt kills all germs, and you can’t grow germs on salt,” King says. “So you can lick the building. You can lick the big ton of salt out front. We don’t care, you can lick anything you…

WALTZ ACROSS TEXAS and you’ll find coastal marshes where alligators lurk, spring-fed pools in the middle of the desert, and green-blue creeks sandwiched between cypress-lined banks. We’re a great big diverse state, but most of us live in bustling cities, drive crowded freeways, and spend our days inside air-conditioned buildings. We need nature but local, state, and federal governments can’t manage and protect all of our sacred places. Luckily, organizations like The Nature Conservancy help fill in the gaps. In Texas, The Nature Conservancy manages 38 preserves, and many of them open periodically for exploration by the public. “Because we’re such an urbanized state, these places are important ecologically, spiritually, and culturally,” says Laura Huffman, Texas state director for The Nature Conservancy. One of the largest conservation organizations in the…

Research shows that giving time to others can make you feel as if you actually have more time for yourself. Volunteering also reduces stress, improves health, and fosters personal satisfaction. Such benefits match up with many of the reasons that people travel. What if you could combine the two—volunteering and traveling? It turns out Texas is full of “voluntourism” opportunities: getaways that offer the satisfying benefits of a vacation with the added virtue of helping out your fellow Texans—not to mention the occasional free entry pass and access to unusual places. Here we’ve picked four ideas if you’re considering a foray into voluntourism. Go, and do good. HEALING FROM HARVEY PEOPLE WHO HELP COMMUNITIES affected by natural disasters attest that this kind of volunteering offers special returns. It can take…

ANYBODY WHO’S PICKED UP A VIOLIN can feel its delicacy. A full-size instrument weighs less than a pound, with a slender body fashioned of elegant hand-pared wood. Four metallic strings run tightly down a neck that’s skinnier than a matchbox. The sound reverberates from two narrow holes in the body, each shaped like a feather. But Texans have a way of aggrandizing things, and the violin is no exception. In the hands of a Texas fiddler, the graceful instrument roars to life with driving melody, swagger, and swing. (The difference between a violin and a fiddle? Violins have strings while fiddles have strangs; violins sing and fiddles dance.) Here we’re talking about “Texas-style” fiddling, and on the fourth full weekend of April every year, you’ll find many of the state’s…

IS TURK PIPKIN A HUMANITARIAN CREATOR OR A CREATIVE humanitarian? Both, it’s fair to say. The Austin showman and writer has made a career of mixing his artistic impulses with philanthropic causes in ways that entertain and build support for altruistic projects around the globe. A West Texas native, Pipkin grew up in San Angelo and on his family’s ranch at the headwaters of the South Llano River. His tendencies as a class clown led to a career as a juggling comedian, Hollywood screenwriter and actor, and film director. He’s shared stages with Robin Williams and Harry Anderson; held recurring roles on HBO's The Sopranos and The Leftovers; and even written a New York Times best-selling book with a famous country musician/golfing buddy—The Tao of Willie: A Guide to Happiness…