Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2023 i Texas Highways Magazine

Over the last decade, Senior Managing Editor Matt Joyce has written dozens of stories about Texas’ majestic landscapes, charismatic people, and multifaceted history. While he’s moving on to a new job at Texas State University, he leaves behind an impressive legacy of creative influence across 125 issues of Texas Highways. Before his departure, I asked him to share some memorable stories and travels. And luckily, he’s promised to write a story here and there as his schedule allows, so this won’t be the last time you see him in these pages. Which of the issues you worked on is your favorite? The February 2016 issue, which was dedicated to the centennial of the National Park Service. Outsiders don’t necessarily think of Texas when it comes to national parks, but the…

In his 1977 outlaw country classic, Waylon Jennings croons, “Out in Luckenbach, Texas, ain’t nobody feelin’ no pain.” I guarantee Waylon and Willie and the boys didn’t ride a bike to their beloved Luckenbach. I did. And my legs were feeling plenty of pain. I was halfway through a weeklong cycling trip in October when I pulled my two-wheeler into Luckenbach, an Instagrammer’s dream destination. As I gulped electrolytes from my water bottle, I noticed a black and white cat posing on the rustic porch of the post office turned general store and chickens congregating under the shade of a sprawling live oak. I’d pedaled 190 miles in the past four days, climbing more than 10,000 feet along the way. My quads were tired. My glutes were beat. My whole…

The sturdy vines of morning glories twist around fence posts and climb telephone poles, earning the flower its genus name: Ipomoea, from Greek words meaning “wormlike.” The plant’s delicate funnel-shaped lavender or paleblue flowers open in the morning and typically close before noon. WHAT’S IN A NAME? Although Indigenous people were the first to observe, use, and name North American plants, many Texas wildflowers are known today by the names given by botanists and explorers during the frontier era. Lindheimer’s morning glory honors one of these plant collectors, German botanist Ferdinand Lindheimer. Several dozen other species and subspecies of plants are named after the man, who is often referred to as the Father of Texas Botany. IN BLOOM Lindheimer’s morning glory blossoms from spring to fall along roadsides and in…

GREEN MILKWEED (Asclepias viridis) ANTELOPE HORNS MILKWEED (Asclepias asperula) ZIZOTES MILKWEED (Asclepias oenotheroides) Milkweeds are known for their role in the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, whose caterpillars feed almost exclusively on the plant’s leaves. After spending the winter in Mexico, the butterflies migrate north through Texas in the spring, laying their eggs on milkweed plants in March and April. The eggs hatch two or three days later, and the tiny caterpillars begin munching on milkweed. For two weeks they feast, growing rapidly and shedding their skin five times. In the fifth shedding, the caterpillars form a chrysalis, where they pupate for two weeks before emerging as an adult butterfly. Milkweed leaves are toxic to other animals, which helps protect monarchs from predators. GROW TIPS Last summer, the International Union for…

When Omar Tijerina told his parents he wanted to open a bagel shop in his hometown of Laredo, they were caught off guard. “Sell tacos,” they said. “Who’s going to want to eat bagels here?” Two years and tens of thousands of bagels later, it turns out Omar was onto something. His business, Gateway Bagel Co., has proven Laredoans have an appetite for more than just tacos. “The bagel is basically the New York taco,” Omar says. “You can put anything you want on it.” Omar runs Gateway Bagel Co. with his wife, Jamie Tijerina, a New York native. They offer authentic New York bagels along with a Tex-Mex-ified menu that has shaken up the breakfast taco monotony for hungry South Texans. From The Texican—a chorizo, egg, and cheese sandwich—to…

Newcomers to Beeville might assume the town was named for the black-and-yellow pollinators that swarm the South Texas brush country each spring when wildflowers are in bloom. In truth, the town was named for Barnard E. Bee Sr., who served as the Republic of Texas’ first secretary of the treasury in 1836. Originally inhabited by native Karankawa people, the region was later divided by the Spanish into land grants, which attracted Irish settlers. The Irish came by ship to the coastal plains of Texas in the 1830s in search of land for raising cattle, cotton, and corn. Agriculture remains an important part of the local economy, along with oil and gas, which was discovered in the area in 1929. Photographer Sylvia Garcia-Smith was born and raised in Beeville, and she…

BLUEBONNET (Lupinus texensis) INDIAN PAINTBRUSH (Castilleja spp.) PRAIRIE VERBENA (Glandularia bipinnatifida) PINK EVENING PRIMROSE (Oenothera speciosa) MEXICAN HAT (Ratibida columnifera) WHITE PRICKLY POPPY (Argemone albiflora) BLUE-EYED GRASS (Sisyrinchium spp.) RAIN LILY (Cooperia pedunculata) INDIAN BLANKET (Gaillardia pulchella) DRUMMOND PHLOX (Phlox drummondii) COMMON SUNFLOWER (Helianthus annuus) WINECUP (Callirhoe involucrata) ERYNGO (Eryngium leavenworthii) BASKETFLOWER (Centaurea americana) PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS (Opuntia engelmannii) GAYFEATHER (Liatris spp.) COREOPSIS (Coreopsis spp.) FALSE FOXGLOVE (Penstemon cobaea) TEXAS THISTLE (Cirsium texanum) TEXAS LANTANA (Lantana urticoides or L. horrida) SPOTTED BEEBALM (Monarda punctata) BEACH MORNING GLORY (Ipomoea imperati) SPIDERWORT (Tradescantia spp.) MOUNTAIN PINK (Centaurium beyrichii) BROWN-EYED SUSAN (Rudbeckia hirta) BLACKFOOT DAISY (Melampodium leucanthum) FLEABANE (Erigeron philadelphicus) BUTTERFLY WEED (Asclepias tuberosa) TEXAS BLUEBELL (Eustoma exaltatum) TEXAS SPIDERLILY (Hymenocallis liriosme)…

SEASON’S PLANTINGS Fall is the best season to plant wildflowers, as they are cool-weather plants that germinate when temperatures drop below 70 degrees. The small plants that develop late in the year, called rosettes, are resistant to freezes. Over the winter months, they put down a taproot and use their tiny leaves to store up energy for the spring show. Most gardeners should plant around September or October, although those in tropical South Texas might wait until November or December. PREPARE THE GROUND Picking the right spot for a wildflower garden will ensure that seeds enjoy favorable conditions. Most wildflower species require at least six hours of sunlight a day, welldrained soil, and a lack of competition from weeds and grasses. George Cates of Junction-based Native American Seed, which specializes…

Southern Magnolia Native to East Texas and a popular ornamental around the state, the tree blooms April to June with white cupshaped flowers. Huisache This thorny tree blooms with flowers that resemble furry orange balls. It’s found primarily in the southern and central regions of the state. Mexican Plum Delicate white and pink flowers dust this fruit tree, found in northeast and northcentral Texas. The plums are popular with humans and wildlife. Mexican Buckeye This petite tree likes the rocky inclines and ridges of central and western Texas and creates a showy pink bloom from spring to early summer. Yaupon Holly Popular in gardens, yaupon holly can be cultivated into a hedge. Along with white flowers that bloom in April and May, the tree bears bright red berries. Thompson’s Yucca…

My mother was 30 years old when she came to the United States from Changchun, China. This was 1992. She spent her first year alone, enrolling in the University of Mississippi in Oxford with a graduate student visa and working a babysitting job on the side that paid $2 an hour. Her plan was to establish a life for our family, then bring me and my father over. During that year, my parents communicated via an unreliable email system, handwritten letters, and the occasional phone call. My mother tells me of nights when she would dream she was with us, only to wake up crying at the reality of her loneliness. A new mother, so separated from her husband and 2-year-old child. The price one pays for the American Dream,…

At least 16 species of sunflowers cheer up Texas roadsides, ditches, and vacant lots throughout the year. Maximilian sunflowers grow mainly in Central Texas, and swamp sunflowers add color to river bottoms farther east. But the common sunflower takes root practically everywhere. Once established, the plants protect their territories by releasing toxins that inhibit the growth of other plants nearby in a phenomenon called allelopathy. Their developing buds tilt to follow the course of the sun each day, yielding one of the flower’s common names: mirasol, or “look at the sun.” Once the flowers begin to open, the heliotropism ceases and they remain facing east. NUTRITIONAL VALUE Archeological evidence suggests humans have been eating sunflowers (the unopened heads taste like artichokes) for thousands of years. Indigenous people cultivated them to…

Yellow pitcher plants have long been a subject of fascination because of a peculiar trait: they are carnivorous. The Big Thicket in southeast Texas is home to four of the five carnivorous plants of North America: sundews, bladderworts, butterworts, and pitcher plants. (Though cultivated throughout the world, Venus’ flytraps are native only to North and South Carolina.) The yellow pitcher plant thrives in the bogs of the Big Thicket and blooms in early spring, producing a pale-yellow flower that hangs upside down. NUTRITIONAL VALUE Like other carnivorous plants, Sarracenia alata grows in nutrient-poor environments and makes up for its nitrogen deficiency by absorbing fluids and soft body parts from insects. Its leaves form a pitcher that collects water and then infuses the liquid with digestive enzymes. Above the pitcher, a…

TALL GOLDENROD (Solidago altissima) SWEET GOLDENROD (Solidago odora) Many Texans curse goldenrod for causing their fall hay fever, but the real culprit is typically giant ragweed, which happens to bloom alongside goldenrod. Goldenrod’s showier flowers stand out more than ragweed’s, so it often gets the blame. But those same bright flowers and their nectar are also goldenrod’s proof of innocence. They attract butterflies, bees, and other insects to the flower’s heavy, sticky pollen, which the insects then carry to other flowers. This means goldenrod doesn’t need to produce large amounts of airborne pollen. Ragweed’s flowers, however, are less attractive to pollinators. It relies on the wind to carry its pollen to other plants and into the noses of unsuspecting bystanders. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Native North Americans found many medicinal uses for goldenrod, and…

RUTHIE’S See website for hours and locations. 972-380-4233; ruthiesfoodtrucks.com Demondric Pratt prepares a secret sauce on a breezy mid-September day inside the cramped kitchen of Ruthie’s. The food truck is just one in a small fleet of aqua-and-pink colored vehicles that travel around Dallas serving gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Like every Friday at lunchtime, Pratt is preparing to serve the kids at Wesley Prep Elementary. “I was very nervous,” he says, recounting his first day working in a kitchen when he was just 16 years old. “I had no idea what I was doing.” Pratt, who grew up in the Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas, is Ruthie’s catering manager and one of eight employees who got their start with the business as teenagers. Since 2019, Ruthie’s has served as a…