Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2023 i Texas Highways Magazine

Photographer Christ Chavéz had never been to a powwow before attending The Austin Powwow last year to capture the festivities for our November issue. He counts the experience as one of the most memorable assignments in the five years he’s shot photos for us. Beyond the great food and friendly people, the music and dancing made the strongest impression. “After I left, the beating of the drums repeated in my head for the rest of the night,” he says. “It was very calming and beautiful.” This month’s cover photo of one of the dancers, Tyra Tsosie, leads off our Year in Photos—a package of our favorite images that didn’t make it into the magazine this year. Tsosie, 26, started dancing at 8 years old after her grandmother gifted her a…

Austin-based photographer Theresa DiMenno had plans to capture the golden hour in Fort Davis one April afternoon when the cumulus clouds started to look odd. “My first thought was fire, which wouldn’t have surprised me as we’d been under a fire weather watch all day, but I didn’t smell smoke,” DiMenno says. She decided to investigate, driving 6 miles northeast. “The clouds became eerie and the energy unsettling,” DiMenno says. She pulled over to photograph the brewing storm but soon realized it was a dust cloud heading her way. She turned around, stopping to take another photo as golden light raked across the landscape. “There was blue sky and clouds to my right and a massive dust cloud to my left,” she says. “I took a few shots and arrived…

Texas Highways is commemorating “50 Years On the Road.” Throughout 2024, we’re celebrating our milestone anniversary with special issues aimed at inspiring your own Texas travels. Come along as we explore Where to Stay in 2024, 50 True Texan Adventures, Small Towns to Visit Now, and more. We’ll cap the year with 50 Years of Photos, a collector’s edition showcasing the state’s beauty through the most captivating photography from the magazine’s history. Don’t miss a single adventure. Subscribe or renew your subscription today!…

Drive west of the Hill Country on Interstate 10 and the limestone trades its coat of live oak for scrubby juniper and mesquite. As you approach the border of Crockett and Pecos counties, you’ll find more pumpjacks and goats than people. Still, the region’s tiny towns of Ozona, Sheffield, and Iraan are home to a few friendly folks who appreciate the space. Businesses here are often closed on weekends, but with some planning, there is plenty to enjoy. Delicious home-style cooking and quirky roadside attractions merit a quick stop, but it’s worth sticking around a little longer to explore. The many hardscrabble mesas are ripe for discovery and conceal frontier artifacts, but visitors should be wary of mountain lions. Cutting south through the mesas is the wild Pecos River, which…

Tonkawa Creek spills over time-worn rocky bluffs and splashes into a clear blue-green pool at Tonkawa Falls City Park in Crawford, a half-hour west of Waco. Workers employed by the Depression-era Texas Civil Works Administration, the precursor of the Work Projects Administration, gathered stone along the creek to build steps leading down to the water. Today, a concrete bridge stretches over the falls, offering a bird’s-eye view of the tranquil setting below. The creek and park were named for the Tonkawa, nomadic hunters and gatherers who lived in Texas for millennia but were forced out of the state by the federal government. The Tonkawa name also appears around the Austin suburbs of Georgetown and Round Rock on street signs, housing developments, and RV parks, as well as Tonkawa Bluff, a…

Though Pancho Claus has risen in popularity over the past 40 years, Senior Editor Danielle Lopez never encountered the so-called “Tex-Mex Santa” as a child. She finally got to meet him while writing “Pancho Claus Is Coming to Town” (Page 30). “I think the character tells us a lot about Texas culture,” she says. “He makes the kids he helps feel seen—he looks and sounds like their family members.” Lopez was especially impressed by Houston’s acting Pancho Claus, portrayed by Richard Reyes, who she watched hand out toys and perform Christmas classics at a 2022 event hosted by nonprofit Navidad en el Barrio. “Seeing how excited all the kids were to see him reminded me how wonderful the holidays can be,” she says. Sindya Bhanoo Finding balance between work and…

In 2021, the city of Iraan revived its beloved Alley Oop Day at Alley Oop Park and Fantasyland. The unique park was built in honor of Alley Oop, the time-traveling caveman protagonist of the eponymous comic strip. The strip was created in 1932 by local resident V.T. Hamlin. At the height of its popularity, it inspired a chart-topping pop song by The Hollywood Argyles and gave rise to the basketball term. The two-day party runs from May 31 to June 1, 2024, and features a 5K run, games, a golf tournament, a cookoff, live music, and a caveman and cavewoman beauty contest. The city of Iraan owns and operates three RV parks with full hookups, including a small lot next to Alley Oop Park and the Rocky Top RV Park.…

Contrary to popular belief, Santa Claus does not spend his winters at the North Pole. It’s bitterly cold up there this time of year, even for a man with such an ample beltline. Besides, all the labor of toy building and wish granting has been outsourced to the elves. So as soon as December arrives, Old Saint Nick takes a sleigh ride way down South to the snowless hamlet of Columbus, home of a Santa-centric museum. The Santa Claus Museum sits in Columbus, a town of 3,900 people 70 miles west of Houston. More than 5,000 Santas across five collections can be found here. It’s also the only Santa museum in the South. The museum was founded in the early 1990s after the death of local Santa enthusiast Mary Elizabeth…

Robert Griffin III is back—not on the field, but as a popular commentator for college football and the NFL. The Heisman-winning former Baylor quarterback, known as RGIII, has also returned to Texas from Florida, having recently relocated to The Woodlands with his wife and four daughters. “It feels right,” Griffin says. “It’s home for us, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds here.” An Army brat who was born in Japan, Griffin adopted Texas and its football fanaticism when his family settled in Copperas Cove, west of Temple, in 1997. “I started to understand that one thing that Texas holds near and dear to its heart is football, and that was kind of the start of my growing to love the game,” he says. Griffin took Copperas…

Greg Marshall’s article “Saint Rex” is a wonder. I felt like crying at the end just like he did. Thank you for the wonderful job your writers and your staff do at this magazine. Kim Johnson, Denver, Colorado Luxury Ride This is a story so worth reading [“Saint Rex,” October]. I even bookmarked it for rereading. Dena Taylor Vintage Robert Duvall also channeled Sammy Baugh in the final scene of Tender Mercies, throwing a football [“MVP,” October]. And he happened to be throwing it to me. Allan Hubbard Pig Rescue The main problem [“Some Pigs,” October] is that most people don’t realize what “mini” means for a pig! @fulshear_farmers_market Farmersville Stories I was so glad to see your article about Farmersville [“Little Town on the Prairie,” October]. I have never…

It’s common to see vacationers in the summer months combing Texas beaches for pretty seashells to take home as souvenirs. But shell searching in winter is much more rewarding. “When we get a norther—a fast-moving cold front coming from the north that brings a quick drop in temperature—the strong winds associated with it can push water and waves farther out from their usual levels,” explains Tina Petway, curator of malacology and marine invertebrates at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. “That causes some shells to become stranded and visible when they’re usually found in 2 to 15 feet of water.” After a norther, beachcombers can find lightning whelks, coquinas, and shark’s eye moon snails scattered across the sand. It’s legal to collect empty shells on Texas beaches, but state laws protect…

From the stylized retro logo to the traditional Czech-style beers, Tanglefoot Czech Lager Brewery is Andy Martinec’s brainchild. Formerly head brewer at Austin’s Black Star Co-op, Martinec has combined his brewing expertise, Czech family heritage, and Texan roots to create a brewery that celebrates Czech lagers and drinking culture with a rustic Central Texas twist. “My biggest goal is to build a beer brand that offers high-quality, approachable beer that resonates with people in my community—those of Czech heritage, residents of Bell County, and Texans in general,” Martinec says. He is a descendent of one of the 250-plus Czech immigrant communities who made Bell County their home. The brewery near downtown Temple is the renovated space from the barbecue restaurant owned by his father and grandfather. In 1969, Martinec’s grandfather…

Thanks to the annual Newsboys’ Christmas Dinner in San Antonio, newsboy Gregorio Cortez was able to delight in a slice of pumpkin pie at the Alamo City’s Gunter Hotel on Dec. 25, 1938. San Antonio’s tradition of hosting a Christmas dinner for newsboys, or those tasked with distributing newspapers, began in 1906 when German-Jewish businessman Nat M. Washer invited a small group of “newsies” to a hamburger feast at the Washer Brothers clothing store. The dinner grew over time into an elaborate affair, hosting as many as 600 boys at places like the Maverick and St. Anthony hotels. The 1925 celebration welcomed 500 newsboys at the Gunter Hotel. “With shouts of glee they seated themselves before tables on which was spread an ideal Christmas dinner, turkey, cranberry sauce ’n everything,”…