Bourbon Smash Recipe
Marsha Milam describes her Bourbon Smash (see photo, left) cocktail recipe as “delicious, flexible, and forgiving.” Mix one up at home to celebrate Texas Independence Day on March 2—or head to the distillery for its second anniversary bash—and toast to the spirit of Ben Milam and other brave Texas revolutionaries. Read More »
Watch Out for Tiny ‘Fairy Shrimp’ on Your Next Hike Up Enchanted Rock
Shallow pools that form after rains on the massive granite dome north of Fredericksburg are among the few places where fairy shrimp are found in Texas. Growing about a centimeter long, the translucent freshwater crustaceans exist on the constant edge of survival, laying eggs that endure the dry season only to hatch when the pools refill with rainwater. Read More »
Texas Highways Magazine Celebrates 45 Years of Traveling Texas
If there’s one thing Texans can agree on, it’s their love of wildflowers. A field of native blooms graced the second-ever cover of Texas Highways, and readers’ enthusiasm for the bluebonnet and its springtime companions hasn’t dampened since. Read More »
Small Town Spring Break in Gainesville
Not every spring break needs to be spent on a beach or skiing down a mountain—just relaxing on an easy road trip rewards you for making it through the first third of the year. The Cooke County seat of Gainesville, sitting just a stone’s throw below the Red River and in quick reach of Dallas and Fort Worth, has recently grown into a delightful burg ideal for whiling away a couple of days. Good shopping, a romp on a lavender farm, and a relaxing stay at a pretty new bed-and-breakfast makes it just the place for a small family reunion, girlfriends trip, or romantic escape—with or without the kids. Read More »
Adults Only Spring Break on Distillery Row
“It’s called Dripping Springs for a reason,” says Meryl Sager, the sparkly-eyed bartender at the Desert Door tasting room as she spoons a glob of honeycomb into the Yaupon Palmer, a sotol-based version of an Arnold Palmer made with yaupon tea. “Everything here is dripping.” Sager’s right. When you drive the back roads around Dripping Springs and Driftwood, you are meandering through Central Texas’ distillery motherland. Although not visible from these pretty, tree-lined roads, barnfulls of stills are near at hand, all bubbling away to create small-batch spirits— from gin to sotol to whiskey—ready for you to swill, preferably while sitting outdoors on a breezy day with friends. These springs drip the good stuff. Read More »
Balmorhea State Park Reopens to the Public
Balmorhea State Park has reopened its famed spring-fed swimming pool with time to spare before Spring Break and the arrival of the West Texas summer heat. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department announced Friday that it had completed a project to repair the concrete apron under the diving board, a problem that resulted in the pool’s closure throughout last summer.The project, estimated to cost $2 million, received a boost from Apache Corporation, an oil and gas company, which contributed $1 million to the project in the form of a matching grant. Read More »
The Adventure Seeker’s Spring Break at McKinney Roughs
With 18 miles of hiking trails— 13 of them open to mountain bikes and horses, along with plenty of flora and fauna along the Colorado River— McKinney Roughs Nature Park lives up to the “nature” in its name. Adding the word “adventure” seems more appropriate though, given the current offerings of zip lining, universal terrain vehicle tours, survival skill classes, and more. All of the above makes this Lower Colorado River Authority property an excellent destination for a family spring break adventure. Read More »
Family Friendly Spring Break in San Antonio
A San Antonio spring break may conjure images of theme parks and a barge ride along the Paseo del Río, and certainly, those are a few options for family fun, but the city’s new attractions and hidden treasures offer alternative adventures worth exploring. Some are decidedly urban—museums and chef-driven restaurants—while others bring you right into a natural oasis just south of downtown. But all dot the banks of the San Antonio River, the city’s lifeblood for centuries. Read More »
Photographers Capture Texas’ Spectacular Variety of Wildflowers in Every Region of the State
Awed by the spectacular variety of wildflowers throughout Texas, we sent four photographers on a springtime mission across the state. They combed seven distinct regions of Texas, from the shaded forests of the Piney Woods to the mountains and deserts of the Big Bend, from sandy coastal dunes to rolling hills and the vast plains of the Panhandle. The results are as magnificent and diverse as the lands that nurture our abundant blossoms. Read More »
New Book Chronicles the Life of San Antonio Artist Jesse Treviño
In over 30 years as a journalist, San Marcos writer and Texas Highways contributor Anthony Head has covered everything from high school basketball in Indiana to politics in Chicago to the culinary arts of Los Angeles, where he was an editor with Bon Appétit magazine. Read More »
A Travel-Loving Mom Shares Her Road Trip Wisdom with Her Teenage Daughter
Dear Carlisle, Now that you are 13 and taller than I am, there are a few things I’m compelled to tell you before ... Read More »
Antiques Roadshow Star Bruce Shackelford’s Eye for Objects Has Taken Him from Abilene to Reality TV
Bruce Shackelford is one of those enviable characters who’s developed a notable career by pursuing his own particular interests. Once dubbed a “scholarly cowboy,” the 65-year-old parlayed his fascination with Native American art, Western history, and horsemanship into a job as the Texas history curator at The Witte Museum, San Antonio’s elegant and enlightening repository of Texas history and culture. He’s also one of only a handful of appraisers to have appeared on every season of PBS’ perennial reality show favorite, Antiques Roadshow. For 23 years, viewers have tuned in to watch Shackelford—who mans the Tribal Art table—and other experts as they appraise the significance and value of antiques and collectibles brought in by the public. Read More »
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