Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2020 i Texas Highways Magazine

OLD PIECES OF WEATHERED WOOD find new life in wall hangings by Kris and Kelley Denby of La Grange. This husband-and-wife team founded Hemlock & Heather in 2012. They offer wall art in the shape of Texas, inset with strips of painted wood. Their handcrafted pieces are made entirely from reclaimed materials, effortlessly blending rustic with modern. The pair’s use of repurposed wood and paint is deeply rooted in their brand’s story. “When we first started, we had very limited funds and had to get creative. We would go around and pick up broken furniture, wooden toys, fencing, siding, and other miscellaneous items and break them down to use in our pieces,” Kelley says. Order Online SHOP.TEXASHIGHWAYS.COM…

“Think of Caddo as a maze of lakes within lakes,” says John Winn, proprietor of Caddo Outback Tours, as the two of us settle into a small Go-Devil boat roped to a dock in Uncertain, on the border of northern Louisiana. For two decades, Winn has given tours of this lake, named for the Caddo tribe who settled in the area in the late 18th century, and he’s had to retrieve a number of people lost in the labyrinth of bayous, ponds, and narrow channels. “Boy, are they glad to see me,” he says, tugging his gray beard. I ask what could get them. “Nothing,” he says. But floating in the unknown spooks a person. Around 60 species of reptiles live in the swamp, and the night grows noisy with…

EVEN THOUGH THE STATE IS still deadlocked in oppressive summer heat, something in the air changes in August. College football fans know exactly what we mean. Around this time of year, they’re perfecting their tailgate menus and purchasing new gear to sport their school’s colors. While cities like Austin, College Station, Lubbock, and Waco boast high-profile programs, nothing beats the enthusiasm and warmth of small towns with under-the-radar football teams like those in Canyon, Denton, San Marcos, and Huntsville. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may keep you from seeing your favorite teams live this year, we hope this guide will serve as inspiration for future trips. WEST TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, CANYON LAST SEASON WAS AN AUSPICIOUS ONE for West Texas A&M University: Home games finally returned to campus, and the Buffaloes…

1 Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau 2 Andrews Chamber of Commerce & Convention & Visitors Bureau 3 Bastrop County Tourism 4 Beaumont Convention & Visitors Bureau 5 Blanco Chamber of Commerce 6 Boerne Convention & Visitors Bureau 7 Brady/McCulloch County Visitors Center 8 Brazosport Convention & Visitors Council 9 Briscoe Western Art Museum 10 Bullock Texas State History Museum 11 Burnet County Tourism 12 Cedar Park Tourism 13 City of Bryan 14 City of Denison - Tourism 15 City of Harlingen CVB 16 City of Kyle 17 City of Llano - Community Development 18 City of Longview - Tourism 19 Cleburne Chamber of Commerce 20 Clute Convention & Visitors Bureau 21 Denton Convention & Visitors Bureau 22 Dumas Moore County Chamber of Commerce 23 Fredericksburg Convention & Visitors Bureau 24…

When she was a student at Wimberley High School, bluegrass prodigy Sarah Jarosz was already mesmerizing audiences across the country with her nimble mandolin playing, honey-rich voice, and down-to-earth demeanor. Today, the 29-year-old carries the landscapes and spirit of the Hill Country with her, touring the world as a solo Americana artist and as a founding member of I’m With Her, a progressive folk trio with Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan. Jarosz’s fifth album, World on the Ground, released this summer, reverberates with characters and imagery spun from Jarosz’s memories of growing up in Wimberley. Although she has lived in New York City since 2013 and counts three Grammy Awards among her achievements, Jarosz says her creativity still draws on the hills, rivers, and songs of Texas. “There’s this wealth…

A few months ago our staff received an email from a reader seeking travel advice, a common occurrence for us. A recently retired teacher, she wanted to start dreaming up future trips to take once the state reopened—to see places she’d never been, learn more about the state’s rich heritage, and support local businesses anxious for customers. But her note came with a deep concern: “I’m really afraid because of the racism I’ve faced [as a Black woman] in this state. Is it possible for you to publish a guide detailing where people like me can travel in Texas and feel safe, valued, and welcomed?” From 1936 to 1964, the National Park Service oversaw the Route 66 Green Book Project, an annual travel guide providing Black travelers with options for…

What a lovely, nostalgic essay on Lake Sam Rayburn! I was never a skier, but Ms. Spencer’s story made me feel as if I was there dipping my toes in the water on a hot summer day. Her story made me sentimental yet wanting more. Also left me with a bit of water in my eyes… Karen Carbiener, Richardson Matagorda Bay Nature Park This is my favorite LCRA campground [“Up Coast and Personal,” July]! It’s clean and has the nature center and a building with showers and laundry. The clean beach is only steps away. Gail Ward, Leander Wes Cooksey Park Over on the right-side edge of the dam was a spot to jump into the lake from up high [“A Dam Fine Respite,” July]. Great spot. First time there…

1937 Year the first mural appeared 106 Total number of Texas murals $700 Typical artist payment for a mural In the 1930s and ’40s, artists enlivened the walls of post offices across the United States with colorful murals depicting community life. These artworks, often mistaken for Works Progress Administration projects, were part of a separate New Deal initiative called the Section of Fine Arts. Unlike the WPA, the Section’s primary purpose wasn’t to put people to work. Rather, its mission was to create high-quality art and lift the spirits of people worn down by the Great Depression. Many of the roughly 1,400 murals nationwide portray resolute pioneers, productive labor, and proud moments in regional history. “The Section wanted people in rural America to know that the federal government did not…

ELM CREEK MANOR 2287 FM 2739, Muenster. 940-902-3501; elmcreekmanor.com At Elm Creek Manor, an inn just outside the North Texas town of Muenster, guests have the opportunity to work for their supper. Sometimes that means joining co-owner Brad Scarbrough on his midmorning rounds to collect eggs from the henhouse, gather produce like figs and tomatoes, or milk goats named Cafe and Cinnabar. Even the various animals on the property contribute in their own ways: May and Calypso, the miniature Mediterranean donkeys, ward off coyotes; and Brennan, a Yorkshire herd dog, shoos the chickens out of the vegetable patch. “Everyone has a job here,” Brad says with a smile. But the reward is worth the work, as guests discover when they sit down for a supper prepared by Marcia Scarbrough, co-owner,…

When leading tours of Blue Ostrich, a winery and vineyard near Saint Jo, winemaker Patrick Whitehead likes to share the story of Thomas Volney Munson, a horticulturist from nearby Denison. Though many wine connoisseurs have never heard of Munson, wine historians consider his 19th-century research to be among the biggest influences on the beverage as we know it. “I like to imagine that Munson rode right through the valley on horseback,” Whitehead says, looking over his leafy vineyards and a sweeping view of the Red River Valley. “I don’t know if he really did, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. So many of our guests come from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and they’re always educated people, but they’ve never heard the story. And it happened right here…

Weatherford’s First Monday Trade Days began in 1900 when merchant A.H. Gernsbacher first advertised “Stray Day” bargains. Vendors gathered monthly at the courthouse square to sell produce, hay, and livestock (stray or otherwise). In 1939, the market caught the attention of photographer Russell Lee, who took this picture of a woman selling chickens as he traveled the country to document the Great Depression for the Farm Security Administration. Stray Day eventually became known as First Monday Trade Days or, more commonly, First Monday. In the 1970s, the market moved from the courthouse square to the old Santa Fe Railroad yard. These days, as many as 8,000 people attend the weekend market, where vendors sell everything from rabbits to artisanal soap to the occasional yak. Know of any fascinating vintage Texas…

Dallas was starting to feel claustrophobic to Texas Highways writer-at-large Sarah Hepola, who traveled to Uncertain, population 59, for “We All Live in Uncertain” (Page 23). “There’s been a dread hanging over all interactions,” says Hepola, who has lived in big cities all her life. “I am such a road tripper, and I hadn’t gone anywhere in months because of the pandemic.” In Uncertain, which she describes as “dripping with mystery,” she felt relatively safe from COVID-19. “With the overlay of a global pandemic, I wondered if I would feel more ominous or more protected,” she says, “but I felt more protected.” Going to Uncertain during such, well, uncertain times, Hepola found the camaraderie she’d been craving. “This is a time when we’re scared of each other,” she says. “We’re…

During a 2018 trip to Brenham, photographer Tom McCarthy Jr. wanted to capture the “antiquing vibe” of the town. He found what he sought with the color, shapes, and textures along an exterior wall of Today and Yesterday Antiques. “Brenham has those classic aspects, like the historic buildings and traditional town square layout around the art deco Washington County Courthouse,” he says, “but there are also pops of color from the antiques stores and many art murals.” McCarthy, who is based in Austin, says his travels around the state are always revealing. “With each town I visit, I feel like I have a better understanding of the people and places in Texas.”…

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Robert Zalkin dares to dream small. Beginning in mid-2019, the native of the small town of Liberty, New York, began buying 15 buildings in Bartlett, a once-thriving cotton center 50 miles north of Austin on State Highway 95. He was drawn to Texas because of the welcoming people and economic feasibility of such a project. He intends to enliven the small town by preserving and repurposing its downtown, which he’ll document on Instagram at @downtownbartlett. “I drove through quite a few Texas towns,” Zalkin said, “but when I stepped out onto the red brick streets of Bartlett, it was magical. I felt the old ghosts and knew immediately this was the one.” Bartlett is named for John T. Bartlett, who along with J. E. Pietzsch donated the land for a…

E. Dan Kleeper BRACKETTVILLE Brackettville cowboy Pedro Serrano rides up Ranch Road 674 on his horse, Reyna. Brackettville has something for everyone: the 600-acre Alamo 4 solar farm, Kickapoo Cavern State Park, and Fort Clark Historic District. “Brackettville was my home for much of the 1990s,” Klepper says. “It prepared me for small-town living, so when I decided to make Marathon my permanent home, I knew what to expect from a rural, remote kind of lifestyle.” Matthew Johnson, MARFA “The thing I’ve always found most interesting about Marfa is the mystery of the place,” Johnson says. “After many trips there, I still only feel like I know what’s going on half the time. Is this an open business, a façade painted on a long-abandoned wall, or some sort of art…

If you need a sweet-smelling escape, there is a place out east where flowers bloom and pines tell some of the oldest stories in Texas. Though every rose has its thorn, a day trip to the Rose City does not. With a world-class zoo, a candy factory, and lots of delicious eats, Tyler guarantees a vibrant and colorful day. Tyler Rose Garden A tripper must stop and smell these roses. What started as a living catalog for Tyler’s blooming rose industry in the 1950s is now a pink, red, and yellow masterpiece with thousands of petaled varieties. After you mosey through the garden, step into the Tyler Rose Museum on the garden grounds to see an exhibit on the Tyler Rose Festival, featuring dresses worn by past festival queens. One…