Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2016 i Texas Highways Magazine

In 1916, World War I raged on, John D. Rockefeller reportedly became the first billionaire, newsman Walter Cronkite was born, and Charlie Chaplin signed a contract with Mutual Film Corporation. And in August of that year, the Woodrow Wilson Administration established the National Park Service to protect America’s 35 national parks and monuments to date, and others yet to come. Texas’ first national park—Big Bend—came into being some 30 years later. Fast forward to 2016, and the NPS now oversees 14 sites and two trails in the state, including national parks, historic sites, recreation areas, a wild and scenic river, and a national seashore. This month, we salute the NPS centennial and that bounty of national treasures, from the Big Bend and the Big Thicket, to Alibates flint quarries and…

“BUT WON’T IT BE COLD?” MY IN-LAWS ASKED, WHEN I first proposed the idea of a February getaway to Garner State Park. They were visiting from Wisconsin, where the idea of camping in winter is about as foreign as snow in South Texas. But not to worry, I assured them: Even if the weather didn’t cooperate, we could always stay huddled together by the limestone fireplace in one of the park’s cozy wooden cabins, which were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. As it turned out, though, we didn’t need to worry about the cold, or just about anything else, either. The cold front that had been predicted for the weekend never quite blew in, and when we pulled into the cabin parking lot just in time…

To order a print of this photograph, call 866/962-1191, or visit www.texashighwaysprints.com. WHEN SOME LONG-OVERDUE RAIN LAST July relieved drought conditions in the Austin area, my thoughts turned to Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, a 227-acre expanse of woodlands west of downtown. I visit the park frequently to photograph wildflowers and other nature subjects, and I was curious if the preserve’s waterfall had begun to flow again. A short trail—less than a mile-and-a-half, round-trip—leads down past limestone outcroppings and stands of Ashe juniper to the place where Bee Creek, which flows from west to east across the property, descends over a wide incline of rock into a pool below. To my relief, I found the creek again rushing down that slope and into a natural pool ringed with newly green ferns…

To order a print of this photograph, call 866/962-1191, or visit www.texashighwaysprints.com. The National Park Service operates more than 400 sites around the country as part of its mission to preserve natural and cultural resources for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. Established in 1916, the NPS celebrates its 100th birthday this year, and everyone is invited to the party. Big Bend became the first national park in Texas in 1935 and remained our only site until 1961, when Fort Davis joined the ranks, followed by Padre Island in 1962. Today, the state contains 16 national park service sites—a designation that includes parks, seashores, preserves, recreation areas, historical parks, memorials, monuments, and trails. In Texas, these run the gamut from windswept beaches to mountain peaks, dense…

In the 1800s, European settlers flocked to Texas, with many Germans and Czechs putting down roots in the vast expanse between Houston and San Antonio. They brought their families, their traditions, and their food, setting modern trippers up for a Texas-size European vacation. 7:30 A.M. I started my day by indulging in the Czech breakfast of champions: kolaches. While Texans ascribe the name to both the fruit and meat variety of this bready pastry, I’m drawn to the buttery goodness of traditional fruit kolaches, which I found at the Original Kountry Bakery. The first two melted in my mouth so quickly that I had to grab a few more to go. 8:30 A.M. As I cruised the countryside, I followed the steeple on the horizon to St. Mary Catholic Church…

Gulf Coast From Corpus Christi, take Texas 358, cross the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway onto Padre Island and Park Road 22 to reach the 70 miles of undeveloped beaches and natural habitat that comprise Padre Island National Seashore. This photo was taken near the Malaquite Visitor Center at the southern end of Park Road 22. Visitors can see a program at the visitor center, beachcomb, bike (bring your own), swim, fish, camp, and, from mid-June through August, observe the release of sea turtle hatchlings. For more information on Padre Island National Seashore, visit www.nps.gov/pais. To order a print of this photograph, call 866/962-1191, or visit www.texashighwaysprints.com.…

THESE DAYS, MARFA GETS ALL THE attention as an arts destination in West Texas. While the reputation is well-deserved, with the Chinati Foundation and globally recognized galleries calling Marfa home, there is also a thriving arts community in nearby Alpine. Art is everywhere in this town—the banks, cafés, motels, and on the street with murals depicting slices of Texas culture nearly everywhere you turn. Alpine is home to more than 15 art galleries, and I discovered two on Holland Avenue—Gallery on the Square and next door, CatchLight Art Gallery—that showcase diverse, attainable artworks in an accessible setting. These galleries keep consistent hours and offer a broad spectrum of art from realism to abstract at prices that fit most budgets. Both galleries operate as co-ops, meaning that the artists whose works…

THE BLACKBOARDS COVERING the walls of Abi-Haus, Abilene’s buzziest eating-drinking hotspot, serve as more than artful design elements, though they accomplish that function well. Some, as you might expect, inform patrons about daily Abi-Haus specials. But mostly, the curlicuefestooned words, hand-drawn in a Western-Victorian style, comfort and inspire. Sitting down at one of the dining tables, I’m so taken with the messages that it’s difficult to concentrate on the menu. Each of these blackboards, either suspended high above tables or tucked into nooks and crannies of the busy bistro, speaks of family, friendship, love, and fearlessness. The largest of these signs hangs beside a community table, reading, “Abilene … I can fly,” surrounded by a fanciful heart. “We are all so proud to be a part of the exciting renaissance…

The STORY of OUR NATIONAL PARKS A SCENIC JOURNEY ACROSS TIME AND SPACE The Lone Star State was a little late to the national parks game, but as is our way, Texas jumped into the scene with a splash. The opening of Big Bend National Park in 1944 introduced the nation to a mythic new landscape—a remote Chihuahuan Desert expanse that wows not with snowy peaks and waterfalls but with coarse terrain, tenacious plants and animals, and a wild river flowing with borderland intrigue. “It was a vision of such magnitude as to stir the sluggish soul of a Gila monster,” recalled Texas Ranger Everett E. Townsend in an oft-quoted description of the view he encountered from Burro Mesa in the 1890s. “It was so awe-inspiring that it did deeply…

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF TRAVELING THAT GREAT BIG PARK DOWN IN THE yawning western expanse of our state is a gift for which every Texan should drop in to say thank you at least once in a lifetime. Always, a Big Bend road tour is best enjoyed by the patient, the subtle, the opportunistic. In the summer, to travel in the Texas outback is to test your mettle, but the rest of the year, when the rains come and the cacti bloom, the region can be surprisingly lush, even mellow. Driving along the bone-jarring backroads of the national park, I feel as if I have earned the delights at trail’s end. In a couple of hours you can drive to the mouth of Santa Elena Canyon and, at the end…