Texas Bucket List

Texas Bucket List

Simmons Bank

The Texas Bucket List – The Summit at Big Bend in Terlingua

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The vast expanse that is the Big Bend region of Texas is one of a kind. Soaring peaks, stretches of desert and the Rio Grande cutting its way through the region makes for one of the most incredible sites in the entire Lone Star State.  In the middle of all this nothingness is the tiny town of Terlingua.  With a population of 110 folks, it’s fascinating how many people are drawn to this desolation destination.  But when you see a glamping destination like The Summit at Big Bend, you understand the draw.

“This is unlike any other place in Texas,” said Billy Bartko, creator of The Summit.

Billy and his wife, Jess, created The Summit in 2021 and in that short amount of time, they’ve built so many domes for folks to stay in, that their little corner of the desert looks like a space outpost.  These domes have king-sized beds and beautiful views of Big Bend, but if you want to lay your head down on something as hard as a rock, the caves at the Summit have proven to be quite popular.  “The two caves really are built for a romantic reconnecting trip,” said Billy.

Billy and Jess both used to be commercial pilots, but they came to Big Bend to start a new life on the ground.  After one successful venture in glamping, they came to this piece of property looking to buy a jeep, but it turned into so much more. “For me, I was like, ‘Wow, I never knew this part of Texas existed!’ Born and raised Texan. Never knew it,” said Jess.

“So, this place has been special to me since the minute we got here. The previous owner just told us to drive up the hill and drive around the ranch, and it was just nothing but one spectacular view after another,” explained Billy. “Fifteen minutes into it, I very jokingly said, ‘I want to buy the ranch,’ and the next day we offered to buy the ranch, and about three weeks later we had a deal on it, and about two months later, we owned it.”

“I knew when I first met him, he was going to be a lifetime of adventure,” said Jess.

“You’re looking at Old Mexico to the south, directly behind you is the Lajitas Hills. And then off to the west is you’re totally looking into the state park. So, it’s just incredible,” said Billy.

Construction began and when Billy came across the caves, he knew exactly what to do with them.  “The holes in the rock were already here. One of them was basically being used as a storage bunker and the other one is a garage,” he explained.

Complete with a shower, bed, a fridge, a fantastic view and even Wi-Fi, this cave is the kind of place where anyone would be happy to hibernate. “What we really did here was we wanted to bring the outside in,” said Jess.

“It was distorted as least as possible, so that we could really just kind of capture when you walk in, you’re not walking into a room, you’re literally walking into the earth,” explained Billy. “It’s either very comforting to you or it’s not your thing. We respect both, but for us, it’s just a very comforting place to be.”

“So, this is our crystal cave. We named it that. As you can see, the crystal is all through the top here over there,” explained Jess.

These caves date back nearly 100 years when mercury mining was still going strong here.  “The entire 1,000 acres here has multiple old cinnabar mines on it. They were mined early 1900s all the way up through mid-1900s, ’50s and ’60s, somewhere in there they were closed down, but these are actually mining starts where they dug in about 100 feet, didn’t find any cinnabar, so they abandoned the holes,” said Billy.

“So, what they would do is they would come in and they would chisel out just enough to put the stick in there, and then it’d blow it, and then they would just take the pieces right on out of here,” said Jess.

“Hand drilled holes, packed with dynamite, blow off a chunk of rock, hole it all out by hand, mules. Several of the mines still have a narrow-gauge rail car. The tracks are still there, so they would haul it out on rail tracks. Just a crazy lifestyle,” explained Billy.

As you can imagine, building this in a place where the closest major retailers are two and half hours away, isn’t easy. “On one hand, it is the most friendly area to ever build anything in, and on one hand it is the hardest area to ever build anything in,” said Billy. “It’s the hardest place because you can’t get any materials. There’s one plumber in South Brewster County, there’s one electrician in South Brewster County. You may wait a year for the electrician to do anything for you. The plumber’s $300 an hour.”

What makes the stay in these caves so incredible is what makes this entire area so fantastic. The night sky. “The really crazy thing is the amount of stars that you can see at night. A lot of people, that’s really the whole reason why you come out here, right? Is the night sky. It’s the darkest sky in the lower 48,” said Jess.

“We believe in the power of the place and it’s certainly not us. And it’s not anything that we’ve built or anything like that. We have some cool stuff here, don’t get me wrong, but really and truthfully, if you come out here, it’s about the views. It’s about the stars,” said Billy.

“You lay in bed, you wake up in the middle of the night, and that Milky Way is just in your face. It’s pretty incredible,” said Jess.

Coming to Big Bend is one of my favorite stops in the Lone Star State and if you happen to be coming this way, caving in and booking a stay at The Summit is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “If you are a true Texan, you were born in Texas, you vacation in Texas and you die in Texas, why in the world would you not want to see all Texas has to offer?” asked Billy.

“You do it so people can come out here and make the memories,” said Jess.

“Take it in, breathe it, live it, relax with it. It’s just so fantastic to be out here.”

The Texas Bucket List – Check It Twice – McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis

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When I first started The Texas Bucket List in 2013, there was one spot on the top of my list that I knew I had to check off. The McDonald Observatory in the Fort Davis mountains. Not only is this destination distant to most folks in our state, it’s also extremely isolated. The drive takes a while but once you make your way to Fort Davis, the closest town to the observatory, you still have to make your way up mountain roads to reach it! But there’s nothing like seeing the domes from a distance as you finally approach the area with one of the darkest skies in the country.

Rachel Fuechsl is the Programs Manager at the McDonald Observatory, and she showed me around the facility that hasn’t seen too many changes over the years, but still has some of the best views in the Lone Star State. The last time I visited, back in 2013, we took in a star party; a chance to learn about the insane number of stars you can see out here.  “It’s a very different experience sitting on a back porch and seeing three stars, versus sitting on a back porch and seeing all these constellations and these patterns and these faint objects, millions of light years away. Seeing things like that, I think it’s a very different experience,” Rachel said.

But that night, we got an added experience as we got to bust out the big guns! “What you’re doing different this time, I understand, is visiting our 82-inch telescope tonight,” Rachel said. “We are looking through our original 82-inch or 2.1-meter Otto Struve telescope. This is an 83-year-old telescope now that has, in my opinion, unparalleled views through an eyepiece.”

It is mind-blowing that the original telescope is as old as it is, and still works and does the job. “It’s still doing valuable science pretty much every night of the year. It’s been upgraded a little bit throughout the years. Instrumentation is the main thing that changes on a telescope like that, but the instruments that we attach to it to do the science have advanced with the times,” Rachel explained.

Getting a chance to peer into the heavens behind this huge telescope is nothing new for regular folks like you and me.  It’s something they’ve been doing at the observatory since the 1940’s. “That has been part of the observatory’s public programming pretty much since the beginning,” Rachel said. “There are stories of folks that, you’ll get folks that came out here in the early days and remember standing in a line that went down Mt. Locke. People would come and they would stand in line; and the line would go all the way up the stairs to the dome. And people would look in the telescope, have their chance to look in it, then off they go.”

Today it’s a little bit more of an intimate affair with 15 folks a night able to come in on certain dates and see some stunning celestial bodies with their own eyes.  “The telescope definitely gives us a view, not only over great distances, but over great periods of time that you can’t get any other way,” Rachel said.

Looking up at the heavens, Rachel said, is humbling, but a great feeling. “I think it’s part of the excitement of astronomy is getting that sense of being a part of something so much bigger than just me and my little life. Really, it’s humbling, but it’s also, I think, inspiring,” Rachel said.

Once the first star shines its light here, it doesn’t take long for the entire sky to come to life, and it leaves you breathless. Then the bay doors to the telescope open and Saul Rivera starts pointing the telescope to some out of this world things to see.

From Jupiter to Mars, star clusters to nebulas, seeing these objects through the lens of this large telescope is truly a humbling experience. “I’ve seen people weep when looking at something through a telescope for the first time. Saturn is one that people often get really choked up about sometimes,” Rachel said.

“Getting someone to look through a telescope; sometimes they haven’t looked through one before; getting these things like Saturn or Jupiter or other similar objects and just hearing their amazement of just like, ‘oh, look, this is something so cool,’ It never gets old,” Saul explained.

“I would say the Orion Nebula is probably my top, top pick. It’s just one of the most beautiful objects in the night sky. I’ve been fascinated by it since I first saw it as a kid,” Rachel said. “There’s this world above us that is masked from us when we’re going about our daily lives. But at a place like McDonald, you can see that, be part of it.”

That’s why coming to the McDonald Observatory is one of my favorite stops on The Texas Bucket List.  Seeing this night sky and all the amazing things that surround our small blue diamond in space makes this stop a true jewel on The Texas Bucket List.  “I think the world would be a better place if more people got in touch with science and with the natural Dark Sky and the natural world around them,” Rachel said. “It’s part of all of our lives; it’s everybody’s sky to see.”

 

The Texas Bucket List – Midpoint Cafe in Adrian

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Adrian – The great wide open of the panhandle plains of Texas, the road seems to go on forever, especially the world-renowned Route 66. From big steaks, painted Cadillacs, to neon covered service stations, there’s all sorts of sights to see on the 179 miles of Route 66 that pass through the Lone Star State.

Smack dab in the middle of the Main Street of America is a small café in Adrian called the Midpoint Café. “I think it’s pretty awesome. Be right smack dab in the middle. Destiny either way, right?” says customer Nykole Vance.

Brenda Hammit is the owner of the Midpoint Café, a casual eatery that sits right on the old Route 66. Despite the fact tons of traffic passes by her on the Interstate right behind the building, she still gets plenty of starving sightseers. But it’s not just BLTs and hamburgers that draw people in. They’re also looking for a taste of history. “They’re enamored with 66 period. The people along 66 are awesome man, everywhere,” Brenda said. “In every state everywhere. They’re great people. And I think that the people bring them back as well. I don’t think it’s necessarily all the road – I think it’s the people,” said Hammit.

Brenda started as a cook at the Midpoint Café in 2013 and took ownership of the place in 2018. The diner has been a fixture on the famous road since the late 40s when it was called Zella’s Café. In the 60s, the owners named it Jesse’s, and then in the late 90s, it was discovered that the midpoint of Route 66 happened to be right outside the restaurant, and the rest is history.

“There’s only one midpoint on the trip and this is the perfect place for it,” said customer Mark Stahl from Wisconsin.

“That line is special to them when I didn’t have it up last year because they paved over it. They were just, “When are you putting that line back up? When are you putting that line back up?” joked Brenda.

The nostalgia is also a big part of the roadside experience. “It’s nice to see how things used to be compared to how they are now. And it’s nice to help support some of the smaller businesses and stuff like that which almost got wiped off when they put the interstates through,” said Mark.

Midpoint’s connection to the popular Disney movie, Cars, is what really revs folks up around here. As it turns out, one of the former owners of the Midpoint Café has a close connection to the classic cartoon movie. “Miss Fran is the one that really put it on the map for the Route 66, Fran Houser. And she’s Miss Flo and the Route Cars and she’s the one that really put it on the board,” said Brenda.

Nowadays, people come by to see Brenda, and even if you have no idea who she is, be prepared for a hug. She loves to give them and loves to receive them and is known for being a really sweet lady, just like her pies. “I always come for the pie and then we’ll get lunch. And then we’re like, “Why did we get lunch? We just wanted the pie.” But it’s all so good,” said Dawn, a regular customer.

There’s nothing more synonymous with America than Route 66 and apple pie, so if you want a serving of both, stop by the Midpoint Café to fill your stomach and find a friend.

The Texas Bucket List – Terlingua Chili Cook-off in Terlingua

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Terlingua – Over the years, I’ve been blessed with bountiful bowls of chili at some incredible places like the Phoenix Saloon in New Braunfels, the Texas Chili Parlor in Austin, and of course, Tolbert’s in Grapevine. Tolbert is a name synonymous with Texas chili thanks to Frank X. Tolbert.

Back in 1967, he helped create the most famous chili cookoff in the Lone Star State, the Original Terlingua Championship Chili Cook-off. “The experience in the desert with the chili out here is just special,” said Patrick Ryan, Frank X. Tolbert’s grandson.

“It’s my middle name. It’s Tolbert.” Really? They gave you his middle name. “Yeah.” Interesting. Had to keep that history going. “Yep. My mom insisted upon it.” And with lineage like that, I can understand why!

Patrick’s grandfather wrote for the Dallas morning news for 40 years, so he knew lots of people and even featured them from all over in his column called Tolbert’s Texas. Sounds familiar! Frank and CV Wood and a New York journalist decided they wanted to have a cook-off between Yankees and Texans to see who could make the best chili.  So in 1967, they came up to desert to hold the event.  In the end, they tied, so they had to do it again, year after year. It became a tradition, and now happens the first weekend of November every year, in one of the most desolate destinations in the whole state. “There’s dancing and there’s a little bit of drinking, a lot of chili tasting. We’re in Texas!” said competitor Steve Gaconnier.

“You’re graded on your aroma, taste, consistency, and color,” Christine Knight said. Christine has been coming to the Terlingua Chili Cook-off since 1998, and in 2010, she took the title. In order to get into the cook-off, you have to have won in the past which gives automatic qualification going forward, or you have to compete at cook-offs year-round in order to rack up enough points so you can qualify to cook. While most cooks compete all year to get this level, Steve Gaconnier doesn’t take your typical path to get to this chili cook-off. “I’m too lazy to do that, so they have what’s called Last Chance Chili, which means, yesterday we could cook, and if we get in or win the top 10, we get in the big show today,” Steve said.

After lots of ladling, sampling, and deliberating, competitors turn their chili, sit, and stew while a team of judges, including yours truly, sample the final entries allowed at the hallowed final table. As the final votes are tallied, a crowd starts to form, eager to hear who will take the title. Steve placed 12th and Christine placed 4th! The first place winner was Gene Moffett with his 48 Volt Maxdale Special Chili from Temple.

As the final night of the Terlingua Chili Cook-off wraps up, Gary P. Nunn takes the stage to put the perfect night cap on a fun-filled weekend. Gary has played at least 40 of the 50 Terlingua Chili Cook-offs, according to Patrick. His iconic chili song really gets the crowd going along with the fun atmosphere with the nice Terlingua sky and delicious chili.

So if you happen to find yourself free the first weekend of November, make your way to Terlingua to experience the largest chili cook-off in the country.

Why do you think so many people have been coming to this for so long? “It’s the camaraderie. It’s the spirit of the people that come out here and run the cook-off. It’s the local community that accepts us with open arms that come out here and drink beer in their desert for a week. And it’s a lot of things,” said Patrick. Viva Terlingua!

The Texas Bucket List – The Oldest Operating Dairy Queen in Texas

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Henderson – As we travel across the backroads of Texas, there is one thing we can depend on in almost every town in our state, and that’s our friends from Dairy Queen. One DQ in east Texas has a unique distinction making it well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.

Rob Beall is the owner and operator of five Dairy Queen locations in east Texas, including the store in Henderson which has the distinction of being the oldest DQ in the Lone Star State.

“To be a true Texas town, you had to have a church, a bank, and a Dairy Queen,” says Rob.

Since 1950, this Dairy Queen has been sitting at the busiest intersection of this small town serving all kinds of soft serve. It wasn’t the first DQ in Texas, but it is officially the oldest.

“It means a lot to Henderson to have something like this that we can always depend on,” said Henderson Mayor Buzz.

Dairy Queen brought their frozen treats to Texas in 1947, making it a part of the Lone Star State for 75 years. Originally from Illinois, DQs in Texas have something that makes them all unique. Each Dairy Queen is individually owned and operated by Texans. Additionally, they have unique menu items you won’t be able to find anywhere else in the country. Rob mentioned, “you can’t get a Hunger Buster anywhere, a Dude anywhere, can’t get T-Brand Tacos anywhere but Texas.”

They were invented here by JN Grimes and Ray Morrow.

“In the mid-sixties, they came up with the Steak Finger Basket and the Dude, and they became a hit,” said Gene Brumbelow.

Gene owns a few Dairy Queen locations in east Texas, and his father-in-law, JN Grimes, had a hand in creating some of the special foods that can only be found in Texas. Gene continued, “when you go outside of Texas and you go to Louisiana, or you go to Oklahoma, or anywhere, you don’t find the Hunger Buster, Belt Buster. You don’t find the tacos. You don’t find the Dude. So, it’s unique, and it’s purely Texan, really.”

Gene actually owned the oldest Dairy Queen in Texas before Rob, and Gene had the task of bringing the location out of the 50s.

“We protected the original footprint, but made it a little nicer and cuter,” Gene said.

Rob mentioned, “we are proud that this is the oldest Dairy Queen in Texas, we just don’t want it to look like it’s the oldest Dairy Queen in Texas.”

However, there was one special item they could not get rid of.

The original walk-in cooler, known as the icebox, still stands in the building. They decided to keep it as part of the history of the building. Thankfully, they don’t have to use it anymore, but it sure does make for a good conversation piece!

Many people, including Henderson Mayor Buzz, are full of fond memories about this Dairy Queen. Mayor Buzz said, “I remember the ice cream cone. A large, tall ice cream cone-dip cone. Yeah, that was my main event. I’d never had one before.”

Speaking of ice cream, a key staple of a DQ cone is the Q on top. It’s even trademarked!

Rob said it is definitely a skill you have to learn, and it can take some time. There is training to learn how to do the Q, but once you learn it, you know it for life.

“I’ve really impressed some people in Mexican restaurants with the ice cream machines. Some of them will say, ‘you ought to work at Dairy Queen.’ I’ll go, ‘yeah, I guess I should,’” Rob joked.

There are three key parts to create the DQ cone. You start with the base, then the balls, and finally the curl. Rob made it look easy, but mine turned out a little rougher. But no matter how it looks, it still tastes good!

After 75 years of history in Texas and being acknowledged as the oldest DQ in Texas, Rob was presented with a key to the city of Henderson to recognize the contribution these tasty treats have made to the city.

Rob said, “I’m a proud Texan, and I can’t think of anything more Texan that being in the Texas Dairy Queen business.”

If you ever find yourself in Henderson, visiting the oldest DQ in our state is a fun stop on The Texas Bucket List because, well, that’s what I like about Texas.

The Texas Bucket List – Rick Fairless Strokers in Dallas

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Dallas – When you first meet Rick Fairless, it doesn’t take long to realize he has a unique flair about him. “I got to be doing other things, I got to be moving around. I can’t be sitting still very much, I got to be moving,” said Rick while moving his arms and hands in a gliding motion.

Rick’s free spirit is a tribute to the generation he’s a part of and his motorcycle shop Strokers is a tribute to that time in American history.  Here it’s all about peace, love, and the Cowboys. “I grew up with the peace, and the love, and all that, and that’s the way I think it still should be,” said Rick.

Born in Big D and raised in Irving, Rick’s childhood is reminiscent of a time gone by, when being outside all day was just a way of life for little ones. “You were never in the house as a kid. Unless you’re eating, or sleeping, or grounded, you were outside. It’s just the way it was. You were riding a bicycle, everybody had a bicycle and you rode your bicycle everywhere, and you knew where all the kids were, because their bicycles were piled up in the yard or on the sidewalk. How many kids are you seeing outside riding bicycles in your neighborhood? You don’t,” said Rick.

That feeling of freedom on wheels turned into an affinity for motorcycles. “If I’m having a bad day, sometimes I’ll just tell my wife or one of my daughters, ‘I’m going to go for a ride before I kill somebody. I’m going for a ride.’ I just want to be able to ride my motorcycle,” explained Rick.

For 20 years, Rick worked at a paint company but in 1996, he had enough and decided to rev up his dream of owning a motorcycle shop. “I just knew that there was something else, and I thought, ‘If I can make this my passion, my livelihood, wouldn’t that be cool?,” explained Rick.

Strokers was born but this wasn’t just going to be a place just to talk shop. “Somebody’s only going to come to a bike shop, well, they hadn’t been in a while, well, they’re looking for a bike, well, they need some parts, well, they need an oil change. But if you have a beer joint next door, they’re going to keep coming back every weekend,” said Rick.

With his daughters by his side, Rick’s little family venture has become a huge hit with bikers, business clients, and just about anybody who enjoys unique people and places. “If a dumbass like me can be successful, anybody can, you just got to have a work ethic,” joked Rick.

Rick’s true calling is custom bike design.  That’s his bread and butter and he’s proud to show off his work. “When I did this, I call it the Psychedelic Chopper, that was a game changer, and that’s when people around the country started to notice, ‘Hey, this tie dyed kid in Dallas is doing some pretty cool stuff.’,” explained Rick. “When we build a bike for you, it’s something that we hope that you treasure forever. It’s an artistic piece for you, but it’s something that you can take out and ride,” stated Rick.

His colorful creations and custom bikes bring out all sorts of customers looking for the perfect cruiser. “Me and all my buddies, when we grew up, we all wanted the Harley. You probably wanted the Harley when you were a kid, we all wanted the Harley. You still want one, I can help you with that, Shane. I can fix that for you, brother,” joked Rick.

Any bike enthusiast will tell you convincing the wife is always the toughest part. “Wives are the big deal killers. You got to get the wife on board. So when somebody brings their wife in, we’re like, ‘Oh no, he’s bringing his wife in. Hey baby, how are you doing? You look good on the back of that motorcycle, I ain’t kidding, get on there, you’re going to look good.’ That’s what I keep telling her,” joked Rick.

So, what is Rick’s favorite ride in Texas?

“It depends if it’s a long ride, or not. I love to ride Alpine, you get no prettier than there, or you get no prettier than the Hill Country is awesome out there, or you get no prettier than riding through East Texas. Just depends where you want to go,” explained Rick.

For a lot of folks, Strokers is that stop because reliving what life was like 50 years ago will always be on their bucket list. “It’s a motorcycle shop, it’s a Bar & Grill, it’s a live music venue, it’s a museum. And it’s not just about motorcycles, it’s about growing up in the ’60s and the ’70s,” expressed Rick.

Passing along the feeling of nostalgia is what Rick enjoys the most and selling the occasional bike too. “I’ve got to meet a lot of really nice people, and some of them are Troy Aikman, and some of them are just hardcore riders, and some of them are guys that come in every weekend and look at bikes, that want one, but their wife won’t let them get one, like you Shane,” joked Rick.

The Texas Bucket List – Indian Lodge in Fort Davis

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Fort Davis – Over the years on The Texas Bucket List, our trips to the Davis Mountains have always been a highlight in our adventures. The McDonald Observatory is one of my favorite stops we’ve ever featured on the show but the desolate destination makes this trip a little tougher than most.

Now if you really want to soak in the sites here, you’ll have to find a place to stay and if you plan well enough in advance, the Indian Lodge situated in Keesey Canyon is a pretty cool place to do just that. “This entire area, not just the lodge, not just the park, but Fort Davis, Alpine, Marfa, these are destination places for people to come visit,” stated Jeff Williams, the Park Superintendent at the Indian Lodge State Park.

Situated in the Davis Mountains State Park, the Indian Lodge is the only full-service hotel run by Texas Parks and Wildlife and it is very popular. “With any state park in Texas, you can make reservations up to five months in advance, and currently we are booked five months in advance,” said Jeff.

Built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the resort originally had 19 rooms but now there are 39 places for Texans to get a good night’s rest. “The architecture of the lodge is called Pueblo Revival, and it was built as a tourist motor court. This was an effort to get car touring in this part of Texas,” said Jeff. “What it is now is a historic site, and we work our best to preserve it. But when they built it, you have to put yourself in mind of the teepee, the teepee hotels, or Route 66, because that’s the vibe they were going for here is that off-the-beaten-path unusual tourist draw thing for the culture that went crazy for traveling around the United States right before and after World War II,” explained Jeff.

While taking us on a tour of his office, which used to be the dinner room of the lodge, Jeff gave us an architectural breakdown of the lodge. The building is made from adobe bricks, the majority of the materials used were harvested from throughout Texas to create a beautifully detailed lodge. “Because of the fact that it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, I think it’s important that everybody, at least, know a little something about that history, and that generation that went to work to provide for their families. It’s important that we honor that history, and preserve it, and pass that history along,” explained Jeff.

The surreal beauty of the white adobe walls sitting in the middle of a west Texas canyon is stunning and if you head up Skyline Drive next to the lodge, you can marvel at one of the most beautiful sunsets in the whole state. “I’ve become a collector of sunsets since I’ve moved out here. I have some pretty awesome sunset pictures,” said Jeff.

But when the stars come out at night, they truly are big and bright. “You don’t have to go to the observatory to observe the night skies, most of the time they are beautiful just with the naked eye from right here in the park,” said Jeff.

Popular with people who want to get away or have an amazing family adventure, chances are you’ll want to visit Indian Lodge more than once. “We came one year, and my folks turned right around and came the next year. They didn’t bring my brother and me with them that second time,” joked Jeff.

So if you’re looking for fun with family or just a romantic and relaxing trip to west Texas, pass on the teepee and lay your head at the Indian Lodge in the Davis Mountains, a magnificent stop on The Texas Bucket List. “You don’t get to see this kind of terrain, and these mountain features. You don’t get to see them everywhere in Texas. And if you have the opportunity, you ought to come see this beautiful part of the state,” expressed Jeff.

The Texas Bucket List – The Roadside America Museum in Hillsboro

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Hillsboro— Smack dab between the Metroplex and Waco, you’ll find Hillsboro, which also happens to be the home of some very nice billboards for our favorite rest stop in West. Before we buy a bunch of kolaches at Slovacek’s we got our fill of Americana at one awesome stop. “Welcome to Roadside America… in Hillsboro, Texas. I’ve got some pretty interesting things, I would say,” said Carroll Estes. Carroll is the curator at the Roadside America Museum.

Originally from Dallas, Carroll bought the old Ford Dealership in Downtown Hillsboro and converted it to a showplace for all his possessions.“It’s mainly a hobby turned into what people started calling a museum. So, I started calling it a museum too,” he explained. A lover of all things 50’s, Carroll has been collecting a curious assortment of anything that makes him feel like he’s a kid again. “I wish I had a time machine. I’d go back to 1959 and stay there forever… Reason I picked 1959 I wouldn’t want to miss the fins on ’59 Cadillac,” said Carroll. “Such a simpler time. Before the computer age and all that stuff took over. And the cars, the cars of the 50s, come on, that’s all I need to say.

Vintage records, vintage remedies, and vintage road signs are just a few of the retro things Carroll collects. He searches the state looking for this stuff, but also finds some of it on the internet. “I do find things on there now from time to time… I guess… there’s some advantages [with computers]. The spell check is good,” he commented. Fortunately, U-S-A is easy to spell and this place sure showcases that it’s proud to be American.

“I know some collectors they collect great stuff, but they just build rows of shelves and stick things up on shelves… But you could give some personality,” he said. Carrol’s collection includes massive cartoon characters that are colossal in size. Pepe Le Pew, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Sylvester the Cat! “My goal is to get the entire Looney Tunes cast someday…Foggy, you got to have Foggy [Foghorn Leghorn]. I’m looking for a Foggy,” he said. “The eight foot Big Boy over here, which was my first fiberglass statue…I just found out a couple of years ago that he came from one of the first two Big Boy restaurants,” said Carrol.

Grape soda known as Grapette also means a great deal to this gatherer of all things 50s.“I got what I think may be the largest Grapette soda collection in existence,” he claimed. “I got started on the Grapette because that was my favorite drink as a kid, for one thing. I was 12 before I knew my tongue wasn’t supposed to be purple.” Carroll’s colossal collections of grape soda and Looney Tunes are impressive, but there is even more out back.

“I’ve got an old general store out back…it’s a display. It’s not for selling. It’s for showing… Built it out of 100% old rustic materials. It’s pretty cool. Stocked up with any kind of old store stock like stepping back into the forties…It covers a few decades, but it goes from all the way to turn of the century up probably,” he said.

It’s been said that as you get older, three things happen. First your memory goes and the other two, well I can’t remember the other two, but not Carroll. He is too busy remembering the 50’s because that brings him back to a joyful time in his life, a joy he wants to share with Texas.

“If you grew up in this area, it will take you back to a time that just makes you feel good… It was just a time in history I think everyone should either relive or at least learn about,” he concluded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Texas Bucket List – The Blueberry Place in Nacogdoches

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Nacogdoches – Amongst the towering trees of east Texas sits a field full of frolicking furry creatures.  Where butterflies gently flap their wings waiting for just the right summer breeze to lift them off for a flight and folks get their fill of fine fruit.  “It’s just beautiful. It’s a beautiful peaceful place,” said Sherrie Randall.  Sherrie owns the Blueberry Place, a farm hidden in the woods near Nacogdoches and we when pulled in to pull some blueberries off the bushes, we didn’t realize how beautiful this place is. “Mm-hmm, they’re very healthy, healthy bushes,” she said.

Before Sherrie was the boss lady at the Blueberry place, she had an aerospace career in Colorado that kept her eyes to the sky. “We work behind the doors… Secret stuff, yes…[Not allowed to talk about it] But it was fun stuff,” she said. Sherrie retired from the industry with her husband in 2001 and they wanted the perfect place to put up their feet. “East Texas is gorgeous and it’s a lot like Denver with the trees…Just flat,” she laughed.  When they found this field full of fruit, they fell in love but continuing to cultivate the crop for the crowds wasn’t something they expected to do. “We weren’t going to keep it, we thought, ‘Well we don’t have to do that, because we weren’t looking to do that,’” she said. Apparently, the town felt a little differently about the fate of The Blueberry Place.

“Closed on this place on a Friday night and Saturday morning there’s all these people out here picking blueberries and it was the Kiwanis club picking blueberries for the pancakes for the festival. It’s like the town’s patch…So we ended up having a blueberry farm,” explained Sherrie.  Overnight, Sherrie and her husband unexpectedly became blueberry farmers. “After we bought this, I answered the phone and this lady said, ‘Are you still open?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ She goes, ‘Oh we heard it was bought by old people.’ And I said, ‘I am the old people, I just have a young voice,’” she laughed.

As summer kicks off in the Lone Star State, people come from far and wide for the few short weeks to take a stroll and get their fill of fruit. “June [is the key time to come]. A lot of times by July 4th we are closed,” explained Sherrie. “[Only about] a month, month and a half… Then I get my privacy back.” While Sherrie jokes about her visitors, if you happen to run across the retired blueberry farmer during your stay, she’ll talk to you till she’s blue in the face because somehow, these blueberries bring people together. “You make a lot of friends, it’s like old home week when people come back… Especially when you get older, we made it another year. So it’s really cool,” she explained.

“It means a lot…for a small town, to have something like this to do,” said local, Britney Castle.  “I can’t really think of not having a blueberry patch down the road,” added customer, Nick Jacobs. “Mid-season are the clumping berries, so you can walk up and just find a big clump and you’ll get several berries at once,” said Sherrie. The bushes at The Blueberry Place aren’t treated with pesticides, so they are safe to eat while you pick.  “They taste like candy, coming off the bush they’re sweet,” said Nick. “There’s a lot of people that don’t realize, they have never seen a blueberry bush and they’re so different. They’re sweeter, especially here,” said Sherrie.

A pound of blueberries will set you back a buck fifty here but remember, you’re doing all the work. “We made everything so it’s self-serve. They drive in and they get their harness, their bucket, their bag, and they go out and do their thing, they pay and they don’t ever have to see us,” explained Sherrie. As you might imagine, this is very popular with the kids, and parents, well they love it too. “We live in town, so it’s nice to come out here and let him [her son] just be in nature really,” explained Britney. “Oh it means that I can wear them [the kids] out and they’ll go to bed early, it’s awesome. And they’re eating fruit, so it’s a twofer on that one,” confirmed Nick.

While it may take a while to fill your bucket, picking and partaking in blueberry binging at The Blueberry Place is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “If you can come out here and enjoy God’s creation, this is one of the best places to come do that,” concluded Nick.

The Texas Bucket List – The Chairy Orchard in Denton

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Thanks to a collection of colleges and an eclectic feel, Denton, Texas has been called a mini Austin of sorts and the stop we found fits right in.   Along the banks of Copper Creek on the city’s northeast side is a chairy orchard but we’re not talking delicious fruit, this chairy orchard pulls the seat out from under ya.  Turns out it’s field full of chairs!

“A lot of them think it’s cherries. They’ll say, ‘Where are the cherry trees?'”, joked Anne Pearson.

Pearson and her friend Judy Smith got my hopes up about my favorite fruit, fortunately I was able to find a seat to hear them tell me about the quirky collection that initially got folks thinking they were off their rocker.

Friends since 1973, the two met in the meadow that happens to be in the middle of their two homes.

“So you guys always had this space between you?”, I asked. “Yes. Yeah. Always”, they said. “Our kids built forts in that tree and we had soccer games happen out here, I mean our kids are older than you. My son is going to be 58. What can I say? You’re almost the age of our grandchildren”, the two explained.

I was on the edge of my seat to hear what the family thought of their little business!

“At first my kids were like, “Oh, mother, you have always embarrassed me, But this is it. … but now,  their like, “Oh, I’ll help you do this and help you do that”, Judy explained. “They’ve seen it be a success?” I asked. “Yeah. “And I think they’re proud of us now”..

“What has your relationship been like over those years?” I asked. “We’ve never had an issue. We’ve traveled together”, Anne reminisced.

The two hang out everyday, despite the fact that Ann still works.

The way I see it, you two decided to put two chairs out here, you were drinking some wine and you said, “Let’s just leave the chairs out there.” Is that what happened? “No”, Anne corrected. “Judy had chairs hanging in the tree and then we were at work one day and said, ‘Well, why don’t we put some on the ground?’ We call that the Chairy Tree”.

“Our goal was a hundred chairs and I bet it didn’t take us three months. Not even. We got a hundred chairs and went, huh, we’ll get more”, Judy bragged.

That’s when it grew, and grew and grew.

Where do all these chairs come from? “Garage sales. Thrift stores. Dumpsters. Dumpsters. Curbs.  Yeah. And people donate. Sometimes- Sometimes. … not very often. People come and think they can take a chair. But no, it’s not like that”, Judy said.

Red chairs, blue chairs, black chairs, old chairs, new chairs.  One has a little star, man what a lot of chairs there are.

“People have said, there’s an aura here. Now some people don’t get it, but some people really feel like it”, Judy explained. “Every one of these chairs was chosen by somebody, by a family. It has a history. They were in a kitchen, they were in somebody’s dining room, they were in their bedroom. They all had a previous life. And now we’ve brought them here”.

The imagination and humor these two can put together makes meeting them a worth while stop on The Texas Bucket List, heck they even have titles!

“We’re the Chairy Fairies, but also lately we’ve been calling ourselves the Chairwomen too”, Judy said excitedly. “You all are the boss”, I joked. “We are! We’re really tough!” they joked back.

Don’t let them fool you.  Seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter while people play musical chairs around the chairy orchard is what they consider the best seat in the house.

Is that the best part for you guys? Just seeing people come here and smile. “It is! Oh yes! Because, we don’t know they’re coming. It’s all a surprise.  We come out, we, it’s really fun to talk to them because- To see why they came. They don’t understand why, why is this here? They say Dallas would never allow this Fort Worth, Austin would never. We checked before. Would never allow this”, they explained.

“Why do you think it speaks to people? Why do you think people find it so amusing?”, I asked. “Because it’s just silly. It’s so unusual. There is- It has no reason.” Anne laughed.

But there is a reason, their friendship is the reason.  Taking the time to sit down and enjoy one another helps bring a light hearted look not only into their lives but others as well.

Well, what would you guys do without each other? “I think my life would not be nearly as fun. We have a lot of fun. Sometimes people have asked, if, “Say, haven’t you ever had a fight?” And I said, “No, not really.”  And I can tell you one thing that why it works, Ann will probably agree. If Ann doesn’t want to do something that I do, we don’t do it. We both have to agree”, Judy said.

After being friends for 45 years, these guys have figured it out.

“I think my life would be half empty if it weren’t for her. Because we do so much together. We do. You know, she- It’s just the best. It’s just wonderful to have a good friend. Yeah. A lot of people don’t. You don’t need 10 good friends. No. You need one or two good friends. We just have a good time”, they said.