Where to Find Your White Christmas, Lone Star-Style
Some called it a miracle: For a couple of hours across a wide swath of Texas last December, people could legitimately sing along to “Let It Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” Read More »
Boat and Fish the Friendliest Lake on the Texas-Mexico Border
The Texas badlands east of the Pecos River and along the state’s border with Mexico bristle in thorn-covered plateaus and jagged limestone canyons. But after spring rains, the country often reveals a softer side, blushing with Texas sage blooms. The sage grows on both sides of the Rio Grande, clinging to crevices, thriving among the flats, and populating the rocky shores of Amistad Reservoir, home to Amistad National Recreation Area and ground zero for the most important shared resource in badlands territory—water. Read More »
Austin Hotelier Liz Lambert Talks Texas—from Midland to Marfa to South Congress
Penny the Chihuahua greets visitors with an inspection sniff outside the elevator leading to Bunkhouse, the ... Read More »
Downtown Christmas Lights in the Capital City in 1947
Austin had a population of about 115,000 when photographer Neal Douglass took this picture of Congress Avenue looking north to the Texas State Capitol on New Year’s Day 1947. The streetscape has changed over the past 71 years, and Austin has grown 10-fold to about 1 million people. But the electric Paramount Theatre sign, which was replaced in 2015, and the State Capitol building, which was completed in 1888, still anchor the storied strip. Read More »
Things Lose Their Luster Fairly Quickly, While Memories of Experiences Brighten With Time
On my son’s third birthday last year, he received a gift we’ll probably never top: snow in Austin. The 4-inch snowfall provided enough white powder for all the winter fun he’d only seen in cartoons or picture books until then. For two magical hours, he ran around our yard making snowballs and snow angels and catching snowflakes on his tongue. Nearly a year later, he still brings it up on a regular basis—the night so cemented in his mind, I’m betting it’ll be one of his first recallable memories. The toys and clothes he got for gifts that year, not so much. Read More »
Why Every Woman Should Take a Solo Road Trip
One sunny morning in July, on an otherwise unremarkable Wednesday, I slide into the driver’s seat of my car and ... Read More »
Photo: A Male Cardinal Adds a Splash of Color to a Cold Day
Scarlet possumhaw berries and the bright plumage of the male northern cardinal add a splash of warmth to an otherwise cold winter day. While possumhaw is found in Central and East Texas—sprouting berries in fall and winter—northern cardinals can be spotted year-round through most of Texas. Like this iconic winter bird, other songbirds, gamebirds, opossums, and raccoons all dine on the possumhaw’s conspicuous berries. Read More »
My Hometown: Southwestern History Runs Deep in the Border Town of San Elizario
Explore the adobe streets of this colonial Spanish presidio town with artist and history buff Al Borrego. As he guides walking tours of San Elizario, Al Borrego paints a vivid picture of the town’s 400 years of borderland adventure and enterprise. On Main Street, Borrego describes the day in 1598 when explorer Juan de Oñate marched through with an expedition of 500 colonists. Outside the immaculate San Elizario presidio chapel, Borrego explains how the community was actually south of the Rio Grande until an 1829 flood realigned the river. Read More »
Festival of Texas Fiddling to Highlight Diverse Fiddle Styles in Blanco
Need a spark to shake off the post-Thanksgiving, start-of-the-holiday-marathon malaise? Fiddle music could be just the ticket. This Saturday, Dec. 1, The Festival of Texas Fiddling will bring together fiddlers from across the state for a day of performances, dancing, and workshops at the historic Twin Sisters Dancehall in Blanco. Read More »
Explore a Winter Wonderland at Circuit of the Americas
Winter Wonderland at COTA Select dates, Nov. 23-Dec. 30 Circuit of The Americas 9201 Circuit of The ... Read More »
Serious Surfers Brave the Winter Chill to Ride Texas’ Waves
People who visit the coast during the summer may think there’s no surf in Texas, but that’s because they haven’t seen the waves of winter. In late January through mid-February, storm-driven northerlies blow across the Gulf of Mexico, roiling the placid surf into choppy waves that can build to heights of 5 feet and taller. Offshore winds then polish these waves to produce smooth, jade-colored swells that build then break, curling in a clean line, row after row. For those willing to brave the chill, there are plenty of destinations along the 367 miles of the Texas coast to give off-season surfing a try. “Most people are fair-weather surfers,” says James Fulbright, proprietor of Strictly Hardcore Surf Specialties in Galveston. “There are 70 percent fewer surfers in the water in winter.” Read More »
Holiday-Themed Pop-Up Concept Coming to Texas Bars
While most of us might be too old to sit on Santa’s lap, that doesn’t mean we’ve outgrown holiday merriment. For a warm glow within and without, make plans to stop by Miracle, a pop-up concept coming to five Texas bars this season. Miracle transforms watering holes in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Galveston into full-blown holiday wonderlands with nostalgic, kitschy décor and themed specialty cocktails Nov. 23 through Dec. 29. The concept debuted in New York City in 2014 and now has 80 locations internationally. Read More »
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