Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2016 i Texas Highways Magazine

HOPE’ IS THE THING WITH feathers,” wrote 19th-Century American poet Emily Dickinson in the opening line of her poem of the same name. This phrase came to mind as I boarded a tour bus before dawn last April during Galveston FeatherFest and Nature PhotoFest. With binoculars hanging from our necks and hats on our heads, my fellow birders and I were excited about the potential for great bird viewing, spectacular photo opportunities, and illuminating insights from expert guides. Despite a brisk southeast wind and cloudy skies threatening rain, we were hopeful. And our hopes were not dashed. Measuring 27 miles long and three miles wide, Galveston Island is a birders’ paradise— especially during FeatherFest, which takes place April 14-17 this year. Billions of birds pass through the Upper Texas Coast…

FROM THE LATE ’70S THROUGH the late ’90s, Houston’s Midtown area—a pie-shaped region south of downtown loosely bordered by Interstate 45 and US 59—was largely known as a hub for Houston’s Vietnamese community. For adventurous diners, Midtown back then was the place to go for savory Vietnamese rice plates, steaming bowls of pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup), or an inexpensive and flavorful banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich). Nowadays, though you’ll still find a few pho and banh mi shops along Milam Street, higher rents and increased residential development have changed the landscape of Midtown, which now boasts a strong nightlife as well as some of Houston’s trendiest restaurants. The golden evening sun angles through the northfacing windows when I arrive, casting a glow across a scene that recalls a coastal Portuguese…

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR FUN? I WAS SITTING IN AN ADIRONDACK CHAIR on the back porch of my rental cabin at Blanco Settlement, feet up on the rail, as a thunderous rainstorm pounded the tin roof and swelled the graygreen waters of the Blanco River, less than 60 feet below my vantage. Checkout time had passed, but visibility on US 281 was dangerously compromised, so for the time being, I was stuck. As far as problems go, though, it was a pretty good one to have—especially considering that two weeks later, the rains fell with considerably more force, destroying the camping facilities just a few yards from where I sat and sweeping away the bridge I crossed to get home. The 2015 Memorial Weekend flooding killed more than two…

THIS BRIGHT YELLOW DAISY (inset) oft en grows in thick stands under huisache trees and other chaparral bushes, hence its name. Growing six to 15 inches tall, the large, dome-shaped flowers can form a thick blanket of gold when blooming from March through June. Huisache daisies prefer well-drained sand, loam, and caliche soils, and therefore oft en bloom on dry, open hillsides across much of the western two-thirds of the state and northeastern Mexico. Find huisache daisies at Goliad State Park and Historic Site, especially in the field near Cardinal’s Haven Bird Blind and the Longhorn tent camping area, as well as along the road leading to the Jacales camping area. Look for more blooms alongside US 183, just aft er crossing the San Antonio River, in front of historic…

SURE, IT’S FUN to hand-feed giraffes through the sunroof, but there are other important reasons why Texas drive-through wildlife parks matter. IN THE SPIRIT OF OUTDOOR ADVENTURE, I wanted to kick off summer vacation with an experience that connected our kids to the ruggedly beautiful Texas landscape, so we hit the road on the last day of school, right after the final bell. Our Subaru was packed with road-trip essentials—snacks, sunscreen, and swimsuits— as we headed north from Austin on US 183 for our first visit to Glen Rose. Known as the “Dinosaur Capital of Texas,” Glen Rose has long been considered a great family destination (particularly for those with Brontosaurus-obsessed kids). Millions of years ago, an expansive sea covered the region. When the water receded it left a lush…

Local friends ask me why I make an annual March pilgrimage back to Texas. The last sentence of the “Sweet 16” story provides me with a definitive response: “Because as any road-tripping Texan knows, once is never enough.” MILT SYLWESTER, Kona, Hawaii OUR FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA OF THE MONTH... Texas 16— Goldthwaite Eagles, San Saba Armadillos, Priddy Pirates, Comanche Indians, Strawn Greyhounds, Graham Steers… It’s always time for high school sports in Texas! (Not far off 16, at the crossroads of 36 and 281, my Hamilton Bulldogs!) Dewayne Clover Hamilton Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Chili Tease The cover of the March issue displayed a luscious bowl of red, complete with cheese. The article on state symbols illustrated the same bowl of chili, sans cheese. In any event,…

The Sawtish at Larry’s French Market in Groves looked like a pile of bright red miniature lobsters heaped on a beer tray. I got mine with boiled potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and a crab. The boiled crabs are monsters here—the biggest I’ve seen in a Texas restaurant in years; mine measured more than seven inches across. It’s a messy business, eating crawfish. You twist the head away from the body and then squeeze the succulent tail meat out—or finish extracting it with your front teeth. True aficionados also suck the orange fat and spicy liquid from the head. A plastic lobster bib is never a bad idea, but I made do with a roll of paper towels to mop the orange liquid from my bearded chin. Each morsel is delicious, but it…

PRAIRIE VERBENA (inset) prefer a bit of shade and well-drained sand, loam, clay, caliche, and limestone soils. While it blooms throughout much of the state, the flower finds ideal conditions in the area around Utopia. Its rounded clusters of blooms are bilaterally symmetrical, meaning the two sides of each flower are mirror images. The flowers can sport pink, lavender, or purple hues; prairie verbena’s Spanish name, moradilla, means “litt le purple one.” With blooms in spring, summer, and fall, prairie verbena decorate pastures and the sides of the many winding roads in the Utopia area. Around here, you’ll also find Indian blankets, bluebonnets, daisies, and others. Stay: The Treetop Lodge, just east of Leakey, sleeps 16 people and includes a covered deck high in a cypress tree above the Frio…

THIS PERENNIAL GROWS as tall as three feet and sports whorls of yellowish, purple-spotted, tubular flowers that form a dense, elongated spike. Its fragrant leaves smell like oregano and are known to ease backache, fever, and inflammation when crushed and steeped in cold water. Droughttolerant beebalm (inset) likes sandy, well-drained soil and grows on prairies, plains, meadows, and savannahs across the eastern half of the country. The Trinity Forks Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas reports that beebalm can be found throughout the LBJ Grasslands, which straddles US 287 north of Decatur. Look for the flowers from roads and trails through any open, sunny area. In the Johnson Branch of Ray Roberts Lake State Park, beebalm blooms along many of the roadsides, along trails in the Walnut and…

ALSO KNOWN AS TANSYASTER, this flower (inset) has showy lavender petals around a yellow center topping stems with fern-like leaves. The sixto 12-inch plants grow in well-drained, sandy, or rocky soils from Canada to Mexico, including across the High Plains and Trans-Pecos, and east to streambeds of the Edwards Plateau. Tahoka daisies brighten the floor of Palo Duro Canyon, along with Indian blanket, American basketflower, sunflower, paper-flower, blackfoot daisy, sand sage, yucca, and prickly pear. The trails of Palo Duro Canyon State Park off er prime opportunities to look for blooms. Try the milelong Paseo del Rio trail, which follows a fork of the Red River, or the Pioneer Nature Trail, a half-mile loop. Stay: In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built three rock cabins on the rim of…

REAL TEXAS STORIES BORN AND BRED ARGUABLY THE MOST MONUmental date in the history of recorded music in Texas was November 23, 1936, when Robert Johnson created the template for electric blues, which became rockand-roll, in Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio. The mysterious Mississippi bluesman cut eight tracks for the American Recording Company that day, including “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom” and “Sweet Home Chicago,” both of which became classics. Johnson returned to the Gunter a few days later to lay down “Cross Roads Blues,” which British supergroup Cream would make famous as “Crossroads” 30 years later. Johnson was “the greatest blues singer who ever lived” according to Eric Clapton, and he ranks No. 5 on Rolling Stone’s list of all-time great guitarists. Yet the…

30º 32’ 35.17” N 98º 42’ 15.55” W The Hill Country is known for its wildflower displays, and the roads between Llano and Fredericksburg generally offer picturesque fields and pockets of Indian blanket (pictured), bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, and other popular species. Travel the 38 miles between the two towns along Texas 16 or take detours along Ranch-to-Market roads 2323 or 965 and make it a loop. Be mindful of private property and be careful when stopping. If you can’t make it to the Hill Country this spring, visit www.texashighways.com and search “wildflower drives” for additional suggested routes.…

OKAY, I ADMIT IT. I STILL LIKE TO play Cowboys and Indians. I’m fascinated by vintage images of frontier days and the Old West. The modern world with all its geegaws and gadgets is stimulating and fun, but my imagination really sings when it wanders into the territory that cowboy balladeer Don Edwards has described as “west of yesterday.” I was blown away, then, when I discovered the resurgence in popularity of an antique photographic medium called the tintype. Modern-day tintypes are images that look like they’ve captured a moment from pioneer days. Even the name sounds old-timey. I first became aware of the process a decade or so ago thanks to the stunning, handmade images of Texas cowboys taken by photographer Robb Kendrick. And when I learned that a…

FOUNDED IN THE 1850S, THE town of Dripping Springs—just west of the booming city of Austin— hosts so many weddings that the Texas Legislature last year designated it as the “official Wedding Capital of Texas.” But many people these days know the Dripping Springs area for its surprising concentration of distilleries, breweries, and other drinks-related businesses that allow visitors to taste beer, cider, and spirits right from the source. Once there, visitors find sprawling oak trees, postcard-worthy views, and a welcoming vibe that encourages lingering. Visitors find sprawling oak trees, postcardworthy views, and a welcoming vibe that encourages lingering. This was clear during a recent trip to Treaty Oak Distilling Company, which recently moved from a small warehouse in North Austin to nearly 30 picturesque acres at the edge of…

LARRY’S FRENCH MARKET & CAJUN RESTAURANT, GROVES Larry’s French Market is where the Texas crawfish business got its start; owner Larry Judice is the third generation of the Judice family to sell crawfish in Southeast Texas. Come by on a weekend night and enjoy live music and dancing. See www.larrysfrenchmarket.com. JUJU’S CAJUN CRAWFISH SHAK, FANNETT The tiny red shack with the corrugated metal roof is known for large crawfish. Juju, whose real name is Lacy Hanks Carter, grew up in Beaumont, and her grandmother gave her the catchy nickname. She got her seafood-boil seasoning recipe from her father, who boiled crawfish for large crowds when Juju was a kid. Call 409/794-2020. RAGIN’ CAJUN SOUTH LOUISIANA KITCHEN, HOUSTON Driving west on Richmond Avenue in Houston, look for the giant red crawfish…

FLOWERING DOGWOOD TREES reach heights of 20 feet, with a spreading crown and showy white and pink blooms. In addition to spring flowers, dogwoods sport red summer fruit and bright scarlet autumn foliage. Dogwoods grow in thickets, stream banks, and dry uplands along the entire East Coast, westward to the Mississippi River and in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and East Texas. The city of Palestine celebrates its abundant dogwoods with the annual Dogwood Trails Celebration in late March and early April. Another good place to see the beautiful white blooms is around Huntsville. Drive Park Road 40 in Huntsville State Park or walk its 1.78-mile Dogwood Trail. The park has 21 miles of trails, including a trailhead to access the 128-mile Lone Star Trail. Look for American beautyberry and Turk’s cap…

Among the qualities of Texas that we treasure most are its vastness and natural diversity—and the beautiful variety of wildflowers that flourish in the state’s farflung regions. But it can be difficult to embark on the type of road trip required to see each of the state’s distinct environments in person. Don’t be discouraged! Texas Highways is once again compiling stunning images of these scatt ered beauties for our annual wildflower photo exhibit at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. April 30-May 30, the Wildflower Center’s McDermott Learning Center will showcase flowery images from across the state, including from several photographers featured in this issue. The Texas Highways photo exhibit is part of the Wildflower Center’s annual Wildflower Days (March 14-May 31). The lineup of springtime activities and exhibits includes…

April’s travel spotlights: HILL COUNTRY >Austin Wish You Were Here Postcards are gloriously enticing—intended to generate fond memories with beauty, grandeur, and humor. The Texas State Library and Archives in Austin explores the topic in Wish You Were Here: Postcards from the Texas State Archives. Open April 4-September 16, the exhibit features about 55 postcards (40 on display at a time) from 20th- Century Texas. The cards bear historical drawings and photos of attractions like the Hotel Galvez and Galveston Seawall and the Beaumont oilfields at night, as well as accompanying photos and documents, including a 1927 menu from the still-popular Camino Real Hotel in El Paso. www.tsl.texas.gov. PANHANDLE PLAINS >Turkey Take me Back to Turkey Western Swing musicians and fans will flock to Turkey on the last weekend of…