If These Trees Could Talk
No historical marker indicates that this particular pecan tree near the grounds of the Texas National Guard ... Read More »
Chasing Quicksilver History in Beautiful Big Bend
The Big Bend’s desert mountains are like magnets for modern nomads seeking isolation and adventure. But the ... Read More »
The National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration in Lubbock
As a Tennessee native who married a Texan, I’ve long been fascinated with the difference between the two ... Read More »
Never-Ending Chisholm Debate
Chisholm Trail buffs frequently clash over the trail’s history, beginning with a basic question of whether it ever ... Read More »
Heart of Texas History
Some of the most enjoyable visits I’ve made to Texas small towns have included a little time spent in jail. Not ... Read More »
Holocaust Remembrance
One of the deepest scars in the history of humankind is the Holocaust. Friday, January 27 is International ... Read More »
San Antonio’s Grande Dames
Three grand San Antonio hotels, the St. Anthony, Gunter, and Crockett, opened in 1909. The timing is hardly a coincidence. Founded at the crossroads of early travel routes, San Antonio saw significant growth after Texas became part of the Union and again with the arrival of the railroad in 1877. According to the Texas Almanac, San Antonio was the state’s most populous city in 1909. And, says architect Irby Hightower, principal of Alamo Architects Inc., these hotels filled a growing need for lodging and places to conduct business. Even during tough economic times in the 1920s and 1930s, San Antonio prospered thanks to oil and ranching money. Through the years, these hotels made enough money to remain open but not so much to tempt their owners to tear them down and build something bigger. All three have continuously operated as hotels, and thanks to recent renovations, they retain their original grandeur. Read More »
Main Street Remake
With its spreading oak trees and architecture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the scene is what you might expect to see in a cinematic depiction of Texas small-town life before interstate highways, strip malls, and big cities wrested rural downtowns of their vitality. But this is no time warp. Thanks to public and private restoration efforts, a strong local economy, and a convenient location between Houston and Austin, La Grange’s downtown square thrives with a charm that feels both vital and vintage. Read More »
Pioneers of Posh
It’s safe to say that an elegant, 19th-Century mansion was not what I was expecting to see as I drove down a ... Read More »
Hail to the Boys of the CCC
When I was a child, Texas’ state parks were beloved vacation destinations. I became intimately familiar with ... Read More »
Liberty Delivered
Remember the Alamo? It was there that William B. Travis penned his famous letter, signed “Victory or Death,” on ... Read More »
Frontier Spirits
Some say my lodging for this evening—the commander’s quarters at historic Fort Concho—is home to a ghost. About 13 ... Read More »
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