Texas Highways Magazine May 2023

Though our family has traveled to far-flung parks like Big Bend National Park out west and Caddo Lake State Park in East Texas, it wasn’t until last month that we finally visited McKinney Falls State Park in South Austin, about 25 minutes from our home. It can be easy to take local destinations for granted, thinking you’ll get around to visiting at some point. Thanks to the planning process for this issue celebrating the Texas State Parks system’s 100th anniversary, I was inspired to explore more nearby state parks. Their yearlong campaign is centered around connecting Texans with their regional state parks. “We want to give people a reason to visit state parks and underscore the importance of protecting our most iconic landscapes in Texas,” says Russell Roe, editor-in-chief of…

Houston-based artist Andy Dearwater illu​strated the 2023 Texas State Parks centennial calendar for the Texas Highways Mercantile. Dearwater enjoys visiting state parks near Houston and Austin and has a penchant for nature illustrations, but he knew there would be a lot to learn about parks farther away. “I just educated myself,” he says. “I’ve been in Texas for 40 years, but I’m still learning about the parks.” Dearwater used digital tools to produce 12 images that show the breadth of the parks system, with each new month featuring a stunning illustration of a state park. The result is an 11-by-17-inch spiralbound calendar that features parks from Caddo Lake to Monahans Sandhills, and lots of places in between. If you’re a fan of the Texas landscape, make sure to pick one…

All-in-One I really enjoy this magazine! Part literary, part travel, part food, and many other parts all rolled into one magazine that captures the spirit of Texas. Barbara Betin Macha Food Feud Comparing bagels to Tex-Mex tacos is nothing short of sacrilege [“Everything Bagels,” March]. Sorry, Yankees. Kevin Stiver Tree Hugger Growing up in Fort Worth, we had a big redbud tree in our front yard [“Blossoms in the Sky,” March]. My dad was not thrilled that I loved climbing it. It is no longer there, but my happy memories are. @vanessa_kay_bownds We want to hear from you! Send photos, feedback, and recommendations to letters@texashighways.com; P.O. Box 11009, Austin, TX, 78714-1009. Follow @TexasHighways on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.…

While working on the 2018 revised edition of his book Official Guide to Texas State Parks and Historic Sites, photographer and writer Laurence Parent drove from Winnsboro to Lake Bob Sandlin State Park near Pittsburg hoping to catch fog on the lake. “I always enjoy shooting when something special is happening with the light or weather—the mist in this case,” Parent says. He selected the expansive view of the park’s swimming area to capture the rising sun shining through the April morning haze. “While the lake and weather were too cool still for water sports, the swim platform is waiting patiently for warmer weather and the return of swimmers,” Parent says.…

Athens, named after Athens, Greece, was founded in 1850 in East Texas. It became the seat of Henderson County that same year and, nearly a decade later, served as a Civil War headquarters for Confederate military and supply training. Today, the town is known for boating and fishing at nearby Lake Athens, about 5 miles east of town. In 1996, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department opened the $18 million Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, which features a largemouth bass hatchery, a dive tank aquarium, and other indoor and outdoor aquatic experiences. The center will offer free fishing on June 3 at its Fish Tag Friendzy to launch National Fishing and Boating Week. Athens also touts itself as the original home of the hamburger, a point of pride which was celebrated with…

I keep my bees in the city. The hives are in a nature preserve in South Austin, just east of Interstate 35, where the neighborhood is gentrifying like so many other Austin neighborhoods. New modern houses, half-built, tower over the single-story homes from an earlier generation. The apiary is next to one of these construction sites, down a narrow and pitted dirt road. For months I’ve watched the house being built—granite slabs stacked and leveled for the patio, iron girders outlining the empty shapes of windows. The xeriscape garden is mostly dust. Across the street, the vacant lot is full of firewheel and waist-high prickly poppies. The bees aren’t easy to find without knowing their exact location. I follow the dirt path down a long hill, past a screen of trees,…