Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2024 i Texas Highways Magazine

READER FEEDBACK Valley Recs I just read [Rubén Degollado’s] piece on botanas [“Party Platter,” September]. It gave me the itch to return to the Valley. I had my first botana at La Casa del Taco recently on a trip to get measured for custom boots. Had an excellent breakfast at Moonlight Cafe. DERRICK G. JETER, VIA X Good Reads I never would have thought it when I first subscribed, but my favorite part of Texas Highways has become the Open Road feature. Where do you find these wonderful writers? Fowzia Karimi’s article [“A Cosmic Alignment,” July/August] is a superb example of the thought-provoking, compelling, often gorgeous prose that one finds more often in literary magazines. Please keep these works coming! WILLIAM CARLSON, AUSTIN Touchdown As a Permian graduate and third…

HAUNTED HARBOR Hop aboard Galveston Historical Foundation’s Seagull II ship to hear the coastal town’s haunted history on select October weekends. galvestonhistory.org STOCKYARDS Visit historic buildings in Fort Worth’s Stockyards district for haunting tales throughout the year. cowtownwinery.com SAN ANTONIO For a tour of ghostly oddities in the Alamo City, try Sisters Grimm bus or walking ghost tours offered year-round. sistersgrimmghosttour.com EL PASO Explore the city’s historic structures like the Gateway Hotel and hear tales of the spirit realm on ghost tours that take place every Friday. elpasoghosttours.com GRANBURY Ghosts and legends come to life at these kid-friendly tours, held twice a night on Fridays and Saturdays year-round. granburytours.com…

“NEVER AGAIN.” At the onset of the COVID pandemic, that’s how one Tripadvisor user described the declining dining experience at Grand Central Café—the former restaurant inside the home of the cannibal family in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Incredibly, the set of the 1974 cult classic was converted into a fine dining establishment in 1998. The place had a nice run on the grounds of the Antlers Inn in Kingsland, where the Victorian cottage from the movie was relocated from Round Rock, but death becomes us all. Enter Austin restaurateur Simon Madera, whose track record includes revitalizing the popular Central Texas chain Taco Flats. He purchased Grand Central in November 2022. “I’m no horror movie buff,” Madera admits. “We leaned into the marketability, and I love doing nostalgic projects.” In the…

FOR YEARS I operated under the assumption that Bryan was just an extension of College Station, more or less dependent on its neighbor to the south—and Texas A&M University—for its identity. I had figured that of the two cities, College Station was the one with something to offer in the way of delicious dishes, trendy drinks, and exciting entertainment. After all, it’s a college town. But I’m happy, and humbled, to report that I was absolutely, unequivocally wrong. Yes, Bryan is proudly part of Greater Aggieland, but no, it doesn’t exist in the shadow of the university. The town, founded in 1871, five years before A&M was established, has a distinctive personality and history. The 90,000-person city is home to more than its fair share of fantastic restaurants, bars, entertainment,…

ONE DAY IN 1968, Jan Knox hooked herself to a rope alongside her husband, Orion Knox, and descended into a dark hole in the ground on the Wuest family ranch in Comal County. A hand-cranked winch operated by the cave owners lowered her down 160 feet through a shaft just 22 inches wide, the rock strata passing close before her face. As her boots hit the slick bottom, the darkness dissipated in the warm glow of her carbide headlamp. In front of her stood cathedral-like pillars and arches of flowstone, colored crystal and delicate formations, and the faint echoing drip of water. It was the first time a human had witnessed the magnificent formation, and the couple was there to map it. Today, this cave is part of the Hidden…

EIGHTY YEARS BEFORE the State Fair of Texas offered such deviant delicacies as the Funnel Cake Bacon Queso Burger and the Cotton Candy Taco, there was the humble corny dog. Born of batter and sizzling oil in the shadow of Big Tex in October 1942, this amalgam of cornbread and weenie signaled the start of a deep-fried dynasty. The concoction was created by the Fletcher brothers, Neil Sr. and Carl, vaudeville players who spent 12 years perfecting a secret recipe until their corny dogs became quintessential fare for fairgoers. Texas Highways photo editor Bill Reaves captured this image in 1987, when the brothers’ business had expanded to include 52 locations in Texas and neighboring states. It shows regular patron Fred Schultz slathering mustard on a corny dog at Fletcher’s Drive…

Library Goals Hidden away in a gated, 35-acre estate in Houston, the Lanier Theological Library offers the public an escape from city life. Built to resemble the grounds at Oxford University in England, it contains over 105,000 volumes and resources. It also boasts notable and museum-worthy artifacts and exhibits, such as the largest C.S. Lewis collection in the United States, with first-edition books and handwritten letters, and two King James Bibles from the 1600s. Dancing Queen No Texan should get left behind on the dance floor. We asked Austin-based dance instructor Beth Coffey for step-by-step instructions on how to master the Texas two-step. The dance evolved from the collegiate foxtrot and became popular in the early 20th century. “Texas dances go back to all of those family traditions and different…

The trees of northeast Texas begin their annual transformation this month, shedding chlorophyll until they arrive at shades of burgundy, rust, and marigold. Sweetgum, red oak, and maple—deciduous trees that are usually upstaged by the region’s dense pine forests—create a patchwork of color stitched between the stalwart evergreens. At Daingerfield State Park, an hour northeast of Tyler, you can see the show from a hilltop or forest meadow. Little Pine Lake is the best place for loitering in the leaf litter, hiking on shaded paths, or canoeing over glassy water that carries the trees’ gold and red reflections. See it all from the summit of Mountain View Trail (1.2 miles), the highest point in the park. To the west, Lake Bob Sandlin State Park’s sweetgum and hickories vie for the…

IN HIS BRAM STOKER Awar-dnominated debut The Spite House, Johnny Compton deftly reimagined the haunted house novel, turning the usual preconceived notions on their head. His sophomore effort, Devils Kill Devils, again subverts reader expectations, deviating far from standard vampire tropes. Sarita, the novel’s protagonist, has been guarded by what she believes to be an angel since childhood. Named Angelo by her family, the hulking figure repeatedly appeared over the years to save her in life-threatening moments. But in a harrowing first chapter, Angelo savagely upends his ward’s life, sending Sarita searching for answers. The notion of a possibly evil protector came to Compton during a previous project. “I was writing a different story in which a character commented about having a ‘guardian devil’ instead of a guardian angel,” he…

TEX-MEX BURGER Typically found at mom and pop Tex-Mex joints, these burgers often use two different seasoning blends, such as Montreal steak seasoning or lemon pepper. Expect interesting add-on options like tamales and cheese enchiladas as well as buns toasted on both sides like a torta. BBQ Burger A signature offering of resourceful pitmasters, these burgers were initially made from brisket trim—though some chefs have now branched out with different cuts. The patties are typically smoked for up to two hours before getting a final sear on the flattop. In just a few short years, these burgers have become as much of a menu mainstay as pinto beans and potato salad. Texas Old-Fashioned Whether thick or thin, these burgers are always cooked on a well-seasoned flattop at institutions dating back…

SOME PEOPLE are too frightened to go in, I am told. Others who have gone in to stay the night in a tent or cabin have found themselves suddenly, for no clear reason, completely overcome with fear. One lone camper said he heard a heavy, two-footed creature walking around his tent in the night and in the morning found his cooler raided. Some swear they have seen the monster on one of the lake’s numerous small islands. Others say the creature is in the water and is 20 feet long. A lost manatee, people have conjectured. Whatever the truth is, Caddo Lake is a place of stories and rumors, of half-truths, of whispered sayings, of unlikely happenings between, generally, visiting city people and nature. Ghosts, folklore, myths, history, and imagination…

GROWING UP IN THE SUBURBS of Houston, features editor Chris Hughes found an ideal classroom for his eventual career in food journalism in the city’s diverse dining scene. He was introduced early on to dishes like banh mi and Vietnamese spring rolls by his classmates, and in high school, he’d sneak out and eat tortas and tacos at a nearby taquería. On weekends, he and his friends often drove to the original Ragin’ Cajun or the Montrose area to soak up Houston culture. After attending the University of Texas, Hughes did a brief stint at Random House in New York before hightailing it back to Texas after realizing the city wasn’t for him. He eventually broke into food journalism, writing and working for publications including the Boston Globe, Coastal Living,…

FROM THE RUGGED mountains of West Texas to the mystical canyons of the Panhandle, Texas is home to some of the most spectacular hiking in the Southwest. The best part: You don’t have to rough it in a tent. There are many fine cabins, hotels, and inns to return to after a long day on the trail. At 120 miles long and 20 miles wide, Palo Duro Canyon is visible from space, but the vast plains around Amarillo conceal it so well that the dramatic red rock formation almost sneaks up on visitors. The canyon cuts a gorgeous swath through the Panhandle, and the 28,000-acre Palo Duro Canyon State Park protects the northwest corner of the canyon. That’s where hikers can find the headwaters of the Prairie Dog Town fork…

ASAKID, author and TV producer Attica Locke spent so much time on the road between her hometown of Houston and the East Texas communities where her relatives lived that she later started writing novels centered around US 59. The first in the award-winning Highway 59 series, Bluebird, Bluebird (2017), introduced readers to her complex, multilayered protagonist, Darren Matthews, a Black Texas Ranger who’s investigating a murder on the bayou. It’s currently in development with Universal for television, while the third and final installment in the series, Guide Me Home, was published in September. It finds Matthews coming out of retirement to investigate the disappearance of a college student. US 59, of course, plays a major role. “There was a period of time during my childhood where every other weekend I…

IMAGINE RIDING A horse through an arena. The sun hits your back as you guide the thousand-pound animal in a synchronized pattern with seven other riders. Gallop in a perfect circle. Stop. Spin in place. Then, weave through a line of sprinting horses at just the right speed, careful not to ram into one. Now, imagine doing all of this sidesaddle. In a 15-pound dress. Such is the challenge for the athletes who compete in escaramuza charra, the only women’s equestrian event in charrería, the national sport of Mexico akin to rodeo. During the event, eight women perform a routine of highly skilled maneuvers on horseback with military-like precision. They wear matching sombreros and layered dresses that have wide, ruffled skirts often embroidered with flowers. It’s a sight to behold—but…

BIG BEND COUNTRY ALPINE Big Bend Bluegrass Festival Oct. 4-5 Along with a lineup that includes Special Consensus, the Edgar Loudermilk Band, the Finley River Boys, and Hillbilly Fever Bluegrass Band, there are food vendors, workshops, and jam sessions. Alpine Civic Center, 801 W. Holland Ave. 432-238-6850; bigbendbluegrass.com IMPERIAL Horsehead Crossing Living History Event Oct. 25-26 Taking place at the historic site that inspired Lonesome Dove, this event features chuckwagon grub, cooking demonstrations, gunfights, trail rides, and live cannon fire. Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River, State Highway 11 at Horsehead Road. 432-302-1106; pecoscountyhistoricalcommission.org MARATHON Marathon 2 Marathon Oct. 26 The biggest event this small town hosts, M2M is a Boston Marathon qualifier and a net downhill race. There’s also a half marathon, 10K, and 5K. All races have starts…