Texas Highways Magazine August 2016

As I write this on a warm summer evening, I’m listening to the pleasant buzz of cicadas as the sun burnishes the sky in pink and gold. I’m here at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort near Bast rop as a student at the Texas Travel Industry Association’s annual Travel and Tourism College, a three-year program focused on various aspects of the industry. Travel is big business in Texas; TTIA estimates that the industry generates a direct economic impact of almost $70 billion annually. But why do we travel? If you ask a dozen people, you’ll likely hear a dozen answers—but most of them share themes of adventure or discovery. We seek excitement and novelty, or we seek connection—either with loved ones, a place, or perhaps some part of ourselves we’d…

I always plan trips around the articles in Texas Highways. There are so many places to visit. Love it! Bryan White, Cleburne OUR FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA OF THE MONTH... On my tour of the Tall Ship ELISSA, I took lots of photos hoping to see any sign of spirits on board but, alas, I found none. Theresa Wallace I loved going to minor league baseball games in Midland [May]! When one of the good guys hit a home run, the crowd would pass around a baseball cap and put money in it to give to the homerun hitter! Camille Hopkins Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram EDITOR’S NOTE: The enticing beach that graced the cover of our June issue is Rockport Beach. Our cover caption in the issue misidentified the beach. We regret the error. Timeless Images We were…

Big Bend Country An oasis in West Texas, Independence Creek Preserve protects the springfed creek and about 20,000 acres between Dryden and Sheffield. On specific days, the preserve opens to visitors for access to the pristine waters of Independence Creek (pictured) and hiking through the hillside juniper woodlands and Chihuahuan Desert scrub landscape. Travelers along Interstate 10 turn south onto Texas 349 and drive about 22 miles south of Sheffield to reach the preserve entrance. For more information, including a schedule of public days, visitwww.nature.organd search Independence Creek Preserve.…

IN PLANNING MY MAIDEN VOYAGE TO THE Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco, I have the good sense to enlist my friend Sherry to ride shotgun for the 90-minute trip from our homes in Fort Worth. A professional designer with exquisite taste, Sherry provides both insight and guidance as we explore one of the biggest retailing success stories in the state of Texas. I’m curious about the excitement over this store, which was launched in 2015 by Waco residents Chip and Joanna Gaines, whose HGTV Fixer Upper show has mushroomed into a sensationally popular franchise. Known for remaking drab houses into showplaces heavy with modern farmhouse sensibilities and touches of country chic, the adorable couple with expert remodeling and decorating skills took their fame to another realm upon opening this…

THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS CALLED Felix Harris “the Voodoo Man” because his front yard was full of eerie poles he brought to life using broken and discarded objects. He created more than 120 of the totems, from 5- to 18-feet tall. Sometimes the wind would make parts spin and hum, and the kids would run away screaming. Nobody on Ledet Road, especially not Harris, had any idea that these quirky creations would one day help give Beaumont a reputation as the folk art capital of Texas. Nobody had any idea that these quirky creations would one day help give Beaumont a reputation as the folk art capital of Texas. After Harris passed away at age 80 in 1985, his great-nephew Elray Wolfe donated the work to the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, which…

WHEN I WAS A KID GROWing up in the Midwest, my family vacations were mainly of the s’mores-andsleeping-bags variety. My family loved hitting the road for camping trips with our pop-up trailer, and one of the places that still holds a spot dear to my heart is a Jellystone campground along the Michigan-Indiana border. Part of a national chain themed on the Yogi Bear cartoon of the 1960s, Jellystone campgrounds are self-contained family getaways. My mom used to joke that everything was included with your reservation—even your own “personal squirrel in a bag.” As a young adult, I preferred the fresh air and rustic charm of tent camping. But once my husband and I had two little boys and a dog in tow, the everything-but-the-squirrel luxury camping experience started appealing to me. Jellystone…