Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2018 i Texas Highways Magazine

Rising from the Chihuahuan Desert north of Van Horn, the Guadalupe Mountains crest at the four highest elevations in the state—Guadalupe Peak, Bush Mountain, Shumard Peak, and Bartlett Peak. Though slightly shorter, El Capitan stands out as a distinctive limestone cliff towering some 3,000 feet above the road—making it a popular stop for photographers. The range contains some spectacular geological features, including part of the fossilized Capitan Reef, much of which can be seen within Guadalupe Mountains National Park.…

The Davis Mountains have long attracted people seeking respite from the surrounding deserts of West Texas. Delivered as magma from volcanic activity some 35 million years ago, the mountains harbor patches of “sky island” known for relatively moist forested hillsides, cooler temperatures, and spartan beauty. To explore the Davis range’s cultural past and natural marvels, head to the highest town in Texas—Fort Davis, at 5,050 feet—and hit the trail. Or better yet, hit three trails. Cattle Country The Madera Canyon Trail traverses former ranchland now part of the Nature Conservancy’s 33,000-acre Davis Mountains Preserve. Twenty-four miles northwest of Fort Davis on State Highway 118, the 2.4-mile loop crosses Madera Creek before splitting: The right fork delivers a vista of the Davis Mountains’ profile including Mount Livermore, the highest point in…

When you’re known as “the birthplace of Texas freedom,” you have a lot to live up to. Gonzales doesn’t disappoint, celebrating its past like Austin does its live music scene. This town of 7,628 has the only state-designated Texas History Museum District, plus there’s a Pioneer Village of cabins, blacksmith shops, a barn, a church, and a smokehouse that embodies the 1800s. A few miles outside of town, a monument marks the site of the battlefield where the first shots of the Texas Revolution were fired in 1835. The actual cannon is on display at the Gonzales Memorial Museum; flags depicting it with the defiant “Come and Take It!” slogan, which taunted Mexican troops, are omnipresent reminders that Gonzales might as well be nicknamed the “Live Texas History Capital of…

Not so fast: It’s a little more complicated than scouting a prime spot and declaring, “Water on this side, water on that side, pitch a tent,” says Robert Sweeney, the general counsel of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, who offers his personal opinion as an attorney specializing in real estate, river use, and environmental issues. Lake islands are usually managed by the entity that also manages the lake or reservoir. Some, like the Sabine River Authority, are fine with short-term camping on islands. Others, like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (administrator of Sam Rayburn, Lake O’ the Pines, and Lake Whitney, to name a few) are not. The Corps does allow visitors to access and fish from islands day or night, though. Find out who manages the lake…

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Gerard Thompson wields a large, sharp knife with one hand and carries a wooden stand holding a cured hog’s leg in the other. He moves quickly to greet tables of newcomers and regular guests at Rough Creek Lodge. Thompson, the lodge’s executive chef, shaves off paper-thin slices of prosciutto from the ample pig trotter and hands them out as appetizers. “Hey! How’s it going? I’m just making the rounds with my little piggy here,” he says with a chuckle, gesturing to the leg under his arm and explaining that it’s come from a red wattle hog sourced from a nearby Erath County farm. Soon, he takes over serving duties and delivers a hefty charcuterie board of sausage and other meats cured in-house, along with toasted focaccia and assorted items from…

San Felipe, the hub of Stephen F. Austin’s original colony, may be the most historically significant Texas town you’ve never heard of. But that’s understandable: In 1836, residents burned San Felipe to the ground to keep it from the hands of the advancing Mexican army after the fall of the Alamo. The entire town—homes, taverns, one of the earliest print shops in Texas—was left in ashes, and few of its citizens returned. One important settler did return, however: Celia Allen, a freed slave who worked at her former owners’ bakery. Now, more than 180 years later, Allen’s great, great, great grandson Bobby Byars is the mayor of San Felipe—a position he’s held for 18 years. A lifelong resident, Byars helped lobby the state to construct a new museum at San…

A mile or two into my hike to the top of Mount Livermore in the Davis Mountains, I stepped to the side of the trail as two speedsters overtook me on the uphill slope. “I guess that’s where we’re headed,” I said, nodding to a rocky outcrop on the horizon far above. “Nope,” one of them responded. “Baldy Peak is beyond that—you can’t see it yet.” Ah yes, another false peak. After a week of hiking West Texas trails, my perspective was still acclimating to the vast expanses of mountain wilderness. Even when a goal appeared to be impossibly distant—switchbacks on a far-off hillside like an ant trail; mountain peaks shining like flecks of quartz against marble-blue skies—I’d found a deceptively simple strategy for success: Put one foot in front…

When most people travel, they might come home with photos and a souvenir T-shirt, or maybe some housewares or local art. Saundra Winokur brought back an entire olive orchard. Visits to Italy in 1994 and Spain in ’99 inspired Winokur to recreate that Mediterranean setting in her home state, just south of San Antonio. After living in Manhattan for 14 years, taking art classes and illustrating children’s books, she had returned to Texas to help take care of family. “I’m a sixth-generation Texan, and most of my folks ranched, so certainly I wanted to have cattle, but I also wanted to do something else,” she says. “It seemed to me that olives could be a good crop for Texas. That was based on spending time in a number of places…

Caprock Canyons State Park, at 850 Caprock Canyons State Park Road in Quitaque, is home to the Official State of Texas Bison Herd. In September, the park hosts its annual Bison Fest in downtown Quitaque, featuring live country music and an arts and crafts fair. Proceeds benefit the bison herd. 806-455-1492; tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caprockcanyons. Fort Griffin State Historic Site, at 1701 US 283 in Albany, is home to part of the Official State of Texas Longhorn Herd. March through October, the site offers a Horns and Tales Longhorn Program at 2 p.m. Saturdays. The site also offers the program by appointment throughout the year. 325-762-3592; visitfortgriffin.com.…

There’s something special about small towns and the folks who live there. You can do things in the country that aren’t possible in the big city, like build castles, throw fireballs, and hang out in jail (on purpose). All of these things and more lured me to Bellville for a day trip unlike any other. 1 Newman’s Castle The owner of Newman’s Bakery downtown, Mike Newman is a baker by day and a king by night in a castle he’s been building for 20 years—complete with moat, drawbridge, and giant trebuchet. Visitors can explore the dungeon and chapel, and they can fight imaginary dragons from the top of the bell tower. There is no better de-stresser than flinging stones from a medieval catapult. 504 E. Main St. 979-865-9804; newmanscastle.com 2…

My personal slice of Texas paradise lies 14 miles southwest of Austin, tucked into the idyllic canyon that cradles an immaculate stretch of Barton Creek. The Paisano Ranch is a 245-acre retreat owned by the University of Texas at Austin, and it has been awarding fellowships to a few select writers every year since 1967. My lucky number came up in 2010 when I spent three blissful summer months nestled in this sanctuary. I’m returning because, well, who wouldn’t want to return to paradise? Given the chance, I’m certain that Eve would have been rethinking the whole apple thing if it meant more time in Eden. But I have another reason for wanting to go back, besides my deep desire to plunge once again into a swimming hole so soul-rejuvenating…

Mountain peaks and dizzying heights go hand in hand. I had a hard time shaking this worry from my mind as I planned a trip to summit some of West Texas’ tallest mountains. I knew these hikes wouldn’t involve any technical climbing with ropes and equipment, but nevertheless, I’ve been a chicken about heights for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I crawled across an elevated deck inside Battleship Texas, petrified by the downward view through levels of grated floors. As a teen at summer camp on Inks Lake, I tried to hide in the back of the line as my cabin mates took turns rappelling down a 40-foot wall. More recently, at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, my children giggled with curiosity…

Sandy Oaks Olive Orchard hosts regular workshops to educate visitors about the versatility of the olive tree and to encourage using more natural ingredients and products. To RSVP for an upcoming class or get more information, call 210-621-0044. Two Holiday Cakes Workshop Nov. 10 In this course, attendees learn how to decorate a Yule Log and how to bake a King Solomon’s Cake, two traditional holiday treats. $15 Jelly and Jam Workshop December Guest instructor Connie Sheppard teaches guests how to make unusual jams and jellies for holiday gifting. Date TBD. Free From the Kitchen to the Spa Jan. 12 This class showcases the many useful products that can be crafted from olive oil. Guests make and take home a vinaigrette, a metal polish, and a bath oil. $20…

On a warm summer morning, former First Lady Laura Bush walked among the butterflies in the garden behind her dogtrot-style vacation house on Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford. The likes of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and U2 singer Bono have ventured on these grounds before, but on this July day viceroys and queens were the VIPs. They flitted about as Bush interpreted the landscape. There’s antelope horns milkweed, she said. There’s gaillardia. There’s basket-flower, and there’s a gourd. “This one’s called purple mist, or blue mist,” she said. “If you want butterflies, then plant this.” Ten years removed from the White House, Bush is not entirely out of politics. In June, she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in which she decried the separation of children from…