Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2018 i Texas Highways Magazine

MY KIDS KNOW I’m happy to travel for a meal, particularly when huevos are involved, but in their minds, this was pushing it. The night before, we’d driven more than three hours across the dark, South Texas landscape to Kingsville. Now, on a Saturday morning, they were back in the car just before dawn. “But look at the light, it’s beautiful!” I told them, pointing to the horizon. “Besides, this is not just any breakfast,” I promised. “It’s a chance to experience Texas history on one of the most famous ranches in the world.” Held annually on the weekend before Thanksgiving, the Ranch Hand Breakfast at King Ranch welcomes the public for a meal worthy of a cattle drive, along with events aimed at connecting visitors with the ranch’s fabled…

THE QUESTION OF whether The Phoenix Restaurant and Bar in Port Aransas would reopen after Hurricane Harvey was not “if” but “when.” In the aftermath of the devastating storm, the eatery’s namesake became more relevant than chef Tiana Worsham and co-owner Vanessa Brundrett could have imagined when they founded it a decade ago. “We both believe strongly in the idea of rising from the ashes,” says Brundrett, a fifth-generation resident of Port Aransas, where Phoenix was among the first restaurants to reopen post-Harvey. “You can evolve and become the person you want to be no matter where you are starting from—even total destruction.” Although the story of Phoenix’s resurgence is remarkable, the food is more so, reinforcing Worsham’s motto: “You are only as good as the last plate you put…

DINING Named for the 5-gallon buckets where the sourdough rises, The Bucket serves hearty breakfasts of eggs, biscuits, and sausage, ham, or bacon, along with a menu of sandwiches, hamburgers, and salads. It’s the kind of place where everyone turns to see who just came in the front door. Down the road, the Stumblin’ Goat Saloon offers bar fare like burgers, chicken wings, and pizzas. Hemphill County is dry, but you can show your ID to get a club membership and order alcohol. The same system is in place at the Cattle Exchange, set in the historic Moody Hotel building on Main Street. The Cattle Exchange serves steaks, barbecue, and sandwiches in a refined Western dining hall with big bay windows. One of the oil paintings on the wall depicts…

TINY HOUSES HAVE BEEN A HOT TREND IN RECENT YEARS, with HGTV programs like Tiny House, Big Living touting the benefits of downsizing. But diminutive dwellings are really nothing new. In fact, the Hill Country town of Fredericksburg is home to dozens of tiny homes dating back more than 100 years. German settlers founded Fredericksburg in 1846 in search of economic opportunity and land for farming staples like corn and raising goats and other livestock. They established homesteads in the rambling countryside and stately churches in Fredericksburg, the seat of Gillespie County. By the late 1800s, more than 1,000 German immigrants populated the area, and their influence can be seen in the many Old World-style buildings still scattered about town. But for far-flung farmers, the trek into town by horse-drawn…

I am so glad we visited all 254 county courthouses in Texas! It’s a great “bucket list” idea. MARY HOVERSON, GEORGETOWN Courthouse Criers After living out of state for 10 years, we finally made it back to Texas in 2000. To repatriate ourselves, we went on a quest to take our picture in front of all 254 courthouses. It took us 15 years, and we were pleasantly surprised that our favorite was among those you featured [September]: Donley County, majestic on the Panhandle Plains. In addition to witnessing the many architectural styles, we were amazed at the pride of the numerous people we met who work in the courthouses and their willingness to show us around and talk a little history. Jack and Susy Kahn, Bryan I’m disappointed that you…

IT WAS THE BOK CHOY THAT CHANGED CHEF Brian Light. Or maybe it was that perfect heirloom tomato, soft and sweet, the way it tasted impossibly good after ripening in the sun. Really, it was everything that grew in the experimental garden that Brian and his wife, Amanda, planted on their Bryan farm in 2011, sowing the seed for a restaurant and catering business built on a foundation of honest, farm-to-table cuisine. Since 2013, the Lights have hosted al fresco Full Moon Dinners nine months of the year under the canopy of trees on their farm. The evenings feature a nine-course tasting menu; during the dessert course, about 50 guests make their way down a path to sit under the stars in the garden. The Lights also maintain a busy…

Top Mom & Pops TEXAS IN VAST, and the decisions are wide open when hunger strikes on those long hauls across the state. Sure, you could pull up to the nearest drive-thru window (again), but there’s nothing boldest or grandest about a bag of fast food—especially when exceptional mom-and-pop restaurants are dishing up affordable comfort a little farther down the line. Whether you’re hankering for a taste of home or the meal less traveled, sometimes you just need to get out of the car and into a diner booth. Northwest Texas HAMILTON DUTCHMAN’S HIDDEN VALLEY Once you make your way past the old-fashioned dime-store candy shop up front, you’ll find a deli wonderland in the back where sandwiches are made on homemade bread with meats and cheeses that are sometimes…

For travel information, stop by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, 119 N. Second St., or call 806-323-6234; canadiantx.com. Canadian’s Fall Foliage Festival (Oct. 20-21) celebrates the season with activities including an arts and crafts fair and guided nature tours. The River Valley Pioneer Museum is at 118 N. Second St. Call 806-323-6548; rivervalleymuseum.org. The Canadian River Walking Bridge is located about 1 mile north of downtown off US 60/83. Lake Marvin and the Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area are about 11 miles northeast of Canadian on FM 2266. For Gene Howe, call 806-323-8642; facebook.com/genehowewma. For Lake Marvin, call 580-497-2143; fs.usda.gov. To learn more about lesser prairie chicken tours, call Dick Wilberforce at 806-323-9868. The Citadelle Art Foundation, which displays rotating exhibits along with the Abrahams’ collection, is at…

Fantastic Fall 30° 51’ 08.95” N 94° 10’ 24.52” W THE FISHING PIER at Martin Dies Jr. State Park’s Hen House Ridge Unit offers a front-row seat to a spectacular autumn show as colors transform the bald cypress trees that dot B.A. Steinhagen Lake. Maples, sweet gum, and black walnut join in the vibrant display. Rent a canoe or kayak to skim along nearly 14 miles of marked paddling trails at the state park off US 190 between Jasper and Woodville. For information, visit tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/martin-dies-jr.…

NOT FAR FROM THE BANKS OF THE CANADIAN RIVER, tucked among the River Valley Pioneer Museum’s artifacts of Panhandle ranching and railroad history, black-and-white portraits gaze from the gallery wall as if they’ve been waiting patiently for a century to look you in the eye. The display depicts scores of ordinary people—country families in their Sunday finest, uniformed World War I soldiers, teenage sisters in lacy party gowns, roustabouts in ill-fitting overalls, mothers coddling babies … Captured in the early 1900s by shopkeeper Julius C. Born, the glass-plate negatives crackle with life and curiosity. With expressions ranging from sincerity to mischief and deliberation to daring, Canadian’s ancestors seem to quietly suggest they’ve found something special in this Panhandle outpost. It’s a feeling that persists today in Canadian, where the Canadian…

For a free one-year subscription to the quarterly Texas Highways Events Calendar—packed with even more fun things to do across the Lone Star State—go to texashighways.com/eventsubscription; write to Texas Highways Events Calendar, P.O. Box 149249, Austin, TX 78714-9249; or call 800-452-9292 from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, between 8 a.m.-6 p.m. 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 free brochures (including the official Texas State Travel Guide, Texas Official Travel Map, and quarterly Texas Highways Events Calendar). To submit event information, visit texashighways.com/submitevent. LISTING DEADLINES SPRING (events in March, April, and May): Dec. 1 SUMMER (events in June, July, and Aug.): March 1 FALL (events in…

WHAT: CHALK THE BLOCK WHERE: DOWNTOWN ARTS DISTRICT, EL PASO WHEN: OCT. 12-14 Imagine the streets of El Paso overtaken by a firestorm of creativity, culminating in hundreds of yards of colorful temporary artwork. That’s Chalk the Block. This free annual event has come a long way since its debut in 2008, when about 5,000 attendees came to watch 12 chalk artists display their skills. Last year, more than 42,000 people came out to witness the temporary art installations of local, national, and international artists, including chalk artists, dancers, performers, and interactive exhibits like Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree. Part of the allure is that no two years are the same—because when Monday rolls around, the pavement is cleared, and the streets look as if nothing happened at all. chalktheblock.com…