Texas Highways Magazine December 2021

One of my favorite gifts I’ve ever received is a hammock my best friend gave me for Christmas a few years ago. It now hangs below the 400-year-old oak tree in my backyard. When anyone comes to visit, provided it’s not chigger season, I always insist they go lie in the hammock. It’s an instant dose of peace and serenity. Often when I sway under the tree’s intricate web of leaves and branches, appreciating its beauty and impressive size, I reflect on how long it has persisted, despite Texas’ punishing weather; and how many people over the centuries may have admired it while contemplating nature’s endurance. This issue is a celebration of things that have endured. Each story pays homage to a place, landmark, shop, or restaurant that is 100 years…

East Texas lends itself to the thriller genre, according to novelist May Cobb. “I grew up there in the ’80s, in the era of the satanic panic,” says the Austin-based writer. “Everyone used to tell the urban myths that it was populated by devil worshippers.” Cobb’s novels, including The Hunting Wives and her upcoming My Summer Darlings, are set in the Piney Woods and grapple with wealth, exclusivity, and solitude. “Growing up, there was a culture of ’80s oil wealth and the things that accompany that,” Cobb says. “A rich, decadent, adults-behaving-badly vibe was very much present there.” Her essay “Out of the Woods” (Page 12), which discusses her son’s autism diagnosis and their journey to find healthcare, is a departure from her usual subject matters. While she doesn’t think…

Christ Chavez A native El Pasoan, Chavez has photographed West Texas and the surrounding area for 23 years. He shot photos of Sacred Heart Church in El Paso’s Second Ward, his childhood neighborhood, for “The Heart of the Segundo Barrio” (Page 19). “It’s still my dad’s parish, so we go on Sundays with him for Mass,” Chavez says. “While photographing the church I noticed the baptismal font, and I wondered if it’s the same font my brother and I had been baptized in.” Chavez’s photos have appeared in The Dallas Morning News, The New York Times, The London Times, Nylon, and L’Obs. Joe Wilson An award-winning illustrator based in England, Wilson specializes in detailed illustrations and print, which he showcases on this month’s cover. Working with a combination of pencil, ink, and digital…

I was a surfer from Southern California during the same era, and I completely understand the emotional connection and identity in it and how it becomes an almost spiritual refuge in times of trouble and joy. John Hartigan, Austin Into the Depths Just visited Palo Duro, and it was beautiful [“Canyon to Canyon,” October]. It would take weeks to explore the entire thing. David Malphurs, Rockwall Authentic Cuisine Carnitas Lonja has the best carnitas on the planet [“Simple, Elevated,” October]! Rebecca Cavazos, San Antonio I am currently in Michigan. You should see the cheese-covered glop they call Mexican food at some places here. @jg48386 Judge Peace My great-grandfather James Peace’s name is on the historical plaque at the jail [“My Hometown: Hemphill,” October]. He was a county tax collector, a county sheriff, and a judge at the time. He was…

“Nothing beats the night sky over Texas,” says adventure photographer Jason Weingart, who took this space-themed shot a couple of years ago in the Chihuahuan Desert near Big Bend National Park. While teaching an astrophotography workshop, Weingart donned an astronaut costume and pointed the lens at himself. He used a timer connected to his camera to control the shutter and provide a "unique perspective of the landscape and the night sky.” Weingart says the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing in 2019 inspired the idea for the scene, which is reminiscent of the famous 1969 photo of Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin with the American flag on the moon.…

When an Army expedition came across Las Moras Spring in 1849, they knew they’d found an ideal spot for a military post. The spring, located about 23 miles northeast of the Rio Grande, had been a strategic water source for the Apaches and Comanches before the U.S. Army built Fort Clark on the site in 1852 to protect the border and the wagon road to El Paso. Fort Clark also drew settlers, and neighboring Brackettville—named for Oscar Brackett, who owned the first general store—thrived as a frontier way station. Factors including the mechanization of the cavalry led the Army to close Fort Clark in 1946, a blow to Brackettville’s economy. Twenty-five years later, in 1971, a developer purchased the 2,700-acre fort and transformed it into a retirement resort. Fort Clark…