Texas Bucket List

Texas Bucket List

Simmons Bank

The Texas Bucket List – K9 Cinemas in Plano

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Plano⁠ — Every Friday and Saturday evening, Eric Langford and his dog Bear prepare for a party that they hope will go to the dogs. This pup and his owner happen to be in the movie theater business and they work like a dog⁠ until the movie starts.

You’ll find their theater called K9 Cinemas in a peculiar shopping center in Plano.

“Between a theater and Korean BBQ, and there’s a karate place, this is not easy to find,” said Eric.

Somehow it gets sniffed out by people who want to bring their best friend on a movie date.

“Honestly the best part about coming here is probably how happy my dog is,” said Hadar Bernstin.

“You get to meet new people and new dogs, so that’s a great opportunity,” commented Brandon Martin, “plus you get to watch a good movie.”

“We’re the only indoor place in all of DFW for dogs,” Eric explained.

Now he does the majority of the work when it comes to this movie theater dedicated to man’s best friend, but make no mistake, Bear is the star.

“Welcome everybody this is Bear, and I’m Eric, and this is the world’s first dog friendly movie theater. He’s the founder, I’m just the stage hand,” he said.

Eric used to be in pharmaceutical sales but he decided to trade it all in for K9 Cinemas.

“I’ve done the whole money deal, where…that’s all I cared about, but I never felt fulfilled, never felt happy,” he explained, “when I started this and decided I finally want to do something that just makes me happy… I don’t care if anybody shows up, I’ve got a place for me and Bear to watch movies at.”

When it comes to mixed company in the canine world, you can never know what to expect, so a strict leash policy is in effect. If nature should call, there’s no need to worry because intermission happens halfway through the movie.

“Luckily, to my surprise, I thought a lot of male dogs would want to be marking everything,” Eric said, “but it never happens.”

Besides the feature film, what really gets tail wagging is Eric’s policy on parched customers. At K9 Cinemas, the drinks are free and that includes beer, wine and whiskey.  Now you see why intermission is so important.

“I was hoping that people would see that we have free wine and whiskey and want to come and watch a movie and hang out with other dogs, even if they don’t have a dog,” Eric explained.

All Bear asks is you act responsibly because you don’t want to end up needing a little hair of the dog.

What makes this doggy diversion so darn delightful is the smiles⁠—both on the owners and the pooch patrons.

“Going out to dinner with a dog isn’t the same as going and seeing a movie and having place indoors especially in the Texas heat when it’s over 100 degrees outside,” said Hadar, “it’s amazing and I’m so glad it came to Plano.”

“I’d say if you like going to a park during the day, you need to go to a movie at night with a dog,” said Brandon.

“Whether it takes off, and we make a ton of money and it becomes a hit, great,” said Eric, “if it just stays a small little hole in the wall deal, and we can pay our bills and come to a place everyday where we’ve got dogs, and booze, and movies, I’ll be happy.”

“Such a friendly environment, there’s so many cute dogs and it’s just a lot of fun,” commented Hadar.

“Get out here, have some free booze, enjoy some fun loving puppies,” said Eric, “watch a movie and experience something you can’t experience anywhere in the world, except right here in Plano.”

The Texas Bucket List – Monahans Sandhills State Park in Monahans

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Monahans  -West Texas has always been known for being a bit dry, but there’s one sandy spot that seriously seems out of place, even for these parts, the Monahans Sandhills State Park. Park Superintendent Michael Smith understands what it takes to work here.

“My house is covered in sand,” Michael said. “So it’s always sand in everything. Sweep the bed out in the evenings so you can go to bed, ’cause it’s full of sand. To be honest when I drew Monahan Sandhills State Park, I had never seen past the office up there. I was pleasantly surprised, it is a beautiful and unique park. It’s the only place in Texas where this particular type of ecosystem is preserved. And so I’ve been pleasantly surprised ever since.”

This place is literally like a Texas-sized sandbox that provides all sorts of recreation, but playing in it is most popular.

“This is where most families come to play, to dune, what they call duneing, or sliding down the dunes on anything they think might slide,” Michael said. “Children of all ages. There actually used to be a gentleman that lived in Odessa, that came out here regularly, way up into his 70’s, was coming out here and surfing the sand dunes pretty regularly.”

Watching these 60-70 lbs. kids have a hard time going down the hill makes one think what it would be like for grown men to go down.

“I’ve gone down on discs and on boards,” Michael said.“Have not tried the toboggans yet. A long disc.”.

A park since 1957, the sand dunes have been sitting here for very long time.

“So the theory goes that this sand was underneath the last ice age, located in the northern New Mexico, Colorado area, and it was ground under the weight of the ice until it’s much smaller and much closer to perfectly round than most sand is,” Michael said. “And so when the ice melted away, the wind and water was able to blow it this direction, wash it and blow it this direction, until it blew it down into the Permian Basin. So now we’re in a big bowl, and the wind and water can’t have the same effect on it that it had before up on the top. And so it stays down in here, now it blows around a little bit, but doesn’t blow out, and so it moves enough that the vegetation has a very difficult time encroaching on the sand, because it’s moving.”

This sand isn’t your average sand.

“This is the only place in all of Texas where this resource is protected,” Michael said. “So you can go to the beach, you can have your water, but this sand is very unique, it’s different material. It’s quartz, about 97% quartz. It’s almost perfectly round, it’s smaller, and is the only place in all of Texas where this resource is protected. So if you wanna see this type of resource, this is the place to do it. Up is hard, so because of its physical characteristics, the same thing that prevents plants from growing on it, makes it move around quite a bit easier than most other sand. It blows in the wind more, makes it harder to walk on. So I tell people, ‘Down is the easy part. Then you gotta go back up.’”

When you get it in your hands, it just doesn’t feel like going down to the beach.

“That is true,” Michael said. “When visitors are talking to us, one of the most common comments is how good it feels on their feet. Most visitors choose to go barefoot. It’s like getting a pedicure from God. It’s amazing to walk, it feels good on your feet. I’ve never made a reference like that before, that was a first.”

If you want to get the special foot treatment and maybe attempt to sled, summer is usually not the best time.

“When it’s very, very hot, it doesn’t slide as well,” Michael said. “So not only is it just a really, really hot place to be the sun reflects off the sand as well as the direct sunlight, it’s very, very hot in the middle of the summer. Best time to come is gonna be spring or fall. Easter is actually our single busiest day of the year.”

The Monahans Sandhills State park is a great place to see and experience a very unique part of Texas, making it a great stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“…you’re guaranteed to get sand in your stuff,” Michael said.

The Texas Bucket List – West of the Pecos Rodeo in Pecos

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Pecos – The sounds. The intensity. The smell. There’s nothing like a rodeo. And if you add the title of the World’s First, then you must be checking of The Texas Bucket List in Pecos.

“It’s just something we like to do, we enjoy it,” Tiffani Rodriguez.

Brenda McKinney is a 4th generation Texan that helps out with the tough task of putting together the West of the Pecos Rodeo, a tradition that can trace its roots all the way back to 1883.  

“The tradition is so rich, and the history goes so far back,” Brenda said. “And rodeo is a sport that’s helping preserve that rich cowboy history.”

This rodeo has been roundup for so long that it takes the championship buckle.

“It all started back in 1883, some local hands that all gathered at a saloon and were talking about who the best roper was, who the best horse rider was, so they decided to set a date and have a competition to see who would earn the rights to those bragging rights,” Brenda said. “They set a date of July 4th, 1883, and had a little competition, and the rest is pretty much history. That’s where it all started. There’s a rodeo in Arizona, and they call themselves the oldest rodeo. They too I believe started around 1883. But I believe it was a little after our rodeo.”

While a rodeo in Prescott held in 1888 is recognized for its prize structure and charging admission, Pecos was still earlier.

“There’s only one place that’s home of the world’s first, that’s Pecos, Texas,” Brenda said.

On the last weekend of June, thousands pour into Buck Jackson Arena to see some of the best bronc riders, ropers and steer wrestlers around despite it being a bit warm.

“And a lot of people said, ‘Why haven’t you moved to rodeo when it’s cooler,’” Brenda said. “Well, that’s a part of the rodeo in Pecos. Everybody expects it to be hot. It’s always this time of the year, people know what it’s like in Pecos, but that doesn’t stop them from coming to the West of the Pecos Rodeo.”

Today, it’s the best of the best that come to Pecos to put on a show that you can get a great seat for.

“They love the huge outdoor arena,” Brenda said. “They love that they can be so close to the ground, to the dirt, to the action. When you sit in some of the box seats that we have, there’s times that you’re gonna have dirt thrown right in your face.”

This one weekend means the world to this town.  A chance to represent who they are and the traditions that have been carried on in this part of the state for a very long time. For rodeo clowns and spectators alike, the West of the Pecos rodeo is a must-see stop on the Texas Bucket List.

“It’s a part of the tradition of the rich ranching history to be able to claim to be home of the world’s first rodeo and have such an event like we have every year,” Brenda said. “It’s something that kinda puts Pecos on the maps, and it’s a piece of history that nobody can take away from us.”

The Texas Bucket List – The Uvalde Opera House in Uvalde

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Uvalde – In the middle of Uvalde sits a lot of history and one big building on this block has a backstory that’s greater than a baritone’s range. Down in Uvalde you’ll find an ol’ opera house built back in the 1890’s, but to this day folks are bring down the house with some sweet music. You just never know what kind of talent you’ll find in it.

“Uvalde has a lot of local talent, a lot of good local talent,” Nancy Bennett said.

Nancy Bennett and Toni Hull have been performing here at the Uvalde Opera House longer than The Phantom of the Opera has been performing on Broadway.

“Yeah, we go way, way back, further than I like to remember right now,” Toni said.

These two local ladies are part of the long story of this long-standing opera house.

“They’re a big part of what we do,” Rosie Whisenant said. “They’re a part of Toni and a part of nearly every show that I do. I’m constantly calling her and I’m like, ‘Can you please come and play the piano?’ She never says no.”

Rosie is the opera house manager, and she runs the show here.

“It sounds fancier than it is,” Rosie said. “There’s a little more janitorial work involved than I like, but it’s all good.”

She was born in Texas but lived in England for over 20 years until the chance to work at her old home town theater opened up.

“I thought I might stay in England for a while but this job came up and it was too good to miss,” Rosie said. “I came back and I’m really glad that I did. I love Texas.”

Rosie didn’t offer us a drink, but she did quench our thirst for knowledge about the second oldest opera house in the state of Texas.

“This was built in 1891 and it was built by six businessmen,” Rosie said. “They were the Real Estate Board here in Uvalde and they decided they wanted a place of entertainment and this town was super tiny so for an opera house this big to be here was very unusual.”

Graduations, balls, and Vaudeville acts were the most common occurrences at the opera house until 1917. Former Vice President of the United States and Uvalde native John Nanae Garner bought the building and worked out of the cupola room, even during his tenure in nation’s capital.

“He had his desk in the window there because he liked to look out at ‘his town,’ as he called it,” Rosie said. “You can see the courthouse, City Hall, the post office, the crossroads and the Market Plaza, so you can see everything from that window.”

After Garner passed away in 1967, his estate took over the building until 1979.

“The Garner heirs sold the building to the city for $10 so it’s a city building now,” Rosie said.

After a major push to restore the building, it was reopened in 1982.

“A lot of the stuff was in disrepair,” Rosie said. “A lot of the theater stuff certainly was gone so in terms of it being a functioning venue, all the original seats were gone. There was a lot of disrepair and the building was open so people would just walk through it. Historically, it’s a huge piece of Uvalde. It is one of the oldest buildings here in town. It’s on everybody’s logo, website, home page, poster of Uvalde. It kind of represents us.”

The most popular part of the place sits perched on a pole, a peculiar piece of art not really pertaining to any kind of Texas history or purpose.  It is simply a dragon that architect B.F. Trister might have breathed fire or blown some smoke to create.

“B.F. Trister when he finished designing the building, the myth is that he decided to go out and celebrate once he finished,” Rosie said. “He had a few too many drinks and he scribbled on the plans. When he handed the plans over to the contractor, they decided that the scribbles were a dragon. He’s called the drunken dragon because he was a drunken mistake. He’s not supposed to be there but we like him, so he can stay. He keeps the ghosts away.”

The original dragon rests its’ wearing wings in the lobby after being popular for target practice over the years, but the mythic monster made of metal still likes to sit amongst the sweet sounds of serenade coming from the stage.

“When you’re singing or you’re performing, all you can think about is trying to remember the words and the notes,” Nancy said. “It just takes you away.”

Take some time to see some local Texas talent and take in the history of the second oldest opera house in the Lone Star state at a stop that strikes the right note on The Texas Bucket List.

“When I’m on that stage, hopefully I’m bringing people some joy and taking them away from whatever might be an issue in their life at the time,” Nancy said. “It’s just a win-win deal. If you haven’t been in an opera house and you haven’t been in live theater, you haven’t lived.”

The Texas Bucket List – National Videogame Museum in Frisco

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Frisco – If the theme song to the old Nintendo game Super Mario Brothers still strikes a cord when it comes to your childhood, and a chance to play the game itself floods you heart full of memories. Now, you can Super Mario until the sun sets at a stupendously sized museum in Frisco known as the National Videogame Museum.

“I feel like I’m 14 again,” Michelle Ybarra said.

John Hardie heads the charge when it comes to these plug and play pieces of equipment that have stood the test of time for the most part.

“Everyday, I turn them on, and it’s like, ‘What’s not gonna come up today?,’” John said. “They’re that finicky, you know?”

Originally from New York,  John moved down to Texas when his museum become a reality in 2017.

“…My wife’s from Texas,” John said.” I lived in San Antonio for five years in the 80’s, so that made me an honorary Texan. They allowed me to move back.”

John and a couple of buddies had a big collection of back in the day technology. What used to be a traveling display of yesteryear’s hottest Christmas toys has turned into a full time interactive collection at the museum where having fun is not frowned upon.

“Traditionally, you hit a button and maybe something lights up,” John said. “There’s not much interactivity in a museum, and we felt that we had to turn that model on its head and do something complete out of the … everything had to be interactive. Kids today, they’re adaptable. They’ll play anything, right? They like the new stuff, of course, but they’ll play the old stuff, even though the graphics aren’t as pretty or whatever. Dads like us, you know, you and me … we grew up with this stuff. So it was second nature to easily … to bring those people in.”

While showing up your kids at your kind of games in popular around here, it’s also about showing the younger generation what life was like back in the 80’s.

“So this is two of my favorite exhibits,” John said.  “We have recreations of an 80’s living room and an 80’s bedroom. The 80’s living room is something we’ve been doing since we started doing shows. We always had just a couch and a TV and period/era type stuff, and people always identified with it. The wood paneling, the fake plant. Right? Your afghan on the back of the couch. This was your mom’s or your grandma’s living room, you know?”

One of the most popular spots in the whole complex is a recreation of an 80’s video arcade.

“It’s called ‘Pixel Dreams’, and 42 arcade machines from the era,” John said. “Neon, blacklight. The 80’s music. We have a high score board. You get your name up there if you beat the house champion. And you can see all pretty much every classic that people really will remember or identify with.”

The amount of games, gadgets and interactive displays seems as long as the list of game titles the ol’ Blockbusters used to have.  From virtual reality, one of kind games, to prototypes of popular gaming accessories like the original power glove this museum has it all.

“I think there’s still a stigma today,” John said. “You talk to somebody, ‘What do you do?’ ‘I run a museum.’ And I shouldn’t feel this way, because I know what it is, but they’re like, ‘Oh, what kind of museum?’ I’m like, ‘Video games,’ you know? And it’s just the way I was raised, because even growing up, there came a point where you were supposed to stop playing video games.”

We’re all still kids at heart, and the National Videogame Museum doesn’t just bring us back. It lets us show our kids just how totally radical life was all those years ago making it a fun filled stop on the Texas Bucket List.

I like how there’s the games when my father was a kid here, and I never knew it’d come this far in these years all the way from the 1900’s to the 2000’s,” Andy Castillo said. “It’s a long time.”

 

The Texas Bucket List – J. Lorraine Ghost Town in Manor

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Manor – Texas ghost towns have a lore of their own.  Stories of the Old West and a connection to the past makes these sorts of places the perfect stop to ponder what life was like in the good ole days. In the ghost town of J. Lorraine, just off of 290 in Manor, you won’t find hardcore history because this place is here just for fun.

“Before I retired, I started the ghost town,” George T. Richards said.

George is about as much a cowboy as his town deserves a historical marker.

“I wear a cowboy hat, but I’m afraid of horses,” George said. “ They could step on you.”

For some reason, he really likes old western towns. George’s family moved to San Antonio when he was a young boy, and after getting his degree at Texas State University, he went on to serve in Navy.  

“At one point I was on the flight deck of the USS Independence, we were off the coast of Florida, and we watched one of the Apollo rockets,” George said. “I felt like singing The Star Spangled Banner, or something. So here I’m on an aircraft carrier watching a moon rocket go up.”

Eventually he went on to work for the Texas Attorney General’s office as a system analyst, but before he retired, he took to the town, his own town.  He began building everything on this 15-acre estate.

“My mantra was, at least one more board a day,” George said.  “Every day I would come out, on the weekends. I would come out and just keep adding to it.”

Since he was not a craftsman by trade, there were a few learning curves.

“I will say I wasn’t a carpenter, and whatever I’m doing wrong, I’m really good at it now, ’cause I keep doing it the same way,” George said.

He kept on hammering and gave his retro retirement community a name that was close to his heart.

“I named it after my daughter, Jennifer Lorraine,” George said. “It’s J. Lorraine, Texas.”

20 buildings make up the majority of J. Lorraine, and each little corner has its own unique characteristic about it.  It’s as if each little part of the place could tell a story of its own.

“I thought I was gonna make a big western perimeter, and in the middle would be the bar and the dance hall area,” George said. “Then I started that front façade and I realized that I didn’t know what I was doing.”

All kidding aside, the most common theme you’ll find in these parts is a place to pop a top.

“That just happens to be,” George said. “This is a bar town, I guess. Every other building’s a bar I guess.”

What exactly would convince a man to build his own world, his own reality?  Well, he just wanted his own magical place.

“I remember as a kid, I was watching TV and this guy would come on T.V., and he had built a place that had Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland … It was Walt Disney,” George said. “And it stunned me as a kid that grownups would build something that was just for fun. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty neat. When I grow up, I’m gonna build something just for fun.’ So this is my little tiny Disney World.”

J. Lorraine is open to the public and has a maze, a theater, and all sorts of places to explore.  What you won’t find here are ticket booths. This small world comes with a small price: Free.

“I always say we’re kind of desolate out here, and we have been,” George said. “It’s hard enough to get people to come out anyhow, so if I charge them to come in, I don’t know if I’d have many people anyhow.”

Walt Disney once said that the real trouble with the world is that too many people grow up.  For a guy like George, well if the boot fits. Exploring J. Lorraine is well worth a stop on the Texas Bucket List.

“Well, I’m glad y’all stopped by, and get anybody else who wants to stop by to an old western town, we’d be glad to have them,” George said.

The Texas Bucket List – Galleywinter Gallery in Fort Worth

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Fort Worth – On the southwest side of Fort Worth just a few miles from the famous stockyards, you’ll find an gallery dedicated to the incredibly diverse world of art. These pretty paintings and stunning sculptures are part of the story to a particular Texas musician who simply produces pieces that come to him wave on wave. For nearly three decades, Pat Green’s music has been a part of Texas culture. Now, he’s expanding his signature to include a few works of art that have to be enjoyed with the eyes rather than the ears.

“It’s my passion and it’s also just the way I release everything that’s crazy inside of me,” Pat Green said. “Much safer. Better on my liver.”

Pat Green is used to painting the town from the comfort of the concert stage, but when he’s not playing on the stage he likes to get creative on the canvas.

“I get to spend my whole day here, every day making stuff up, and then on weekends I go to work,” Pat said. “This is a guitar that is cut aluminum as well that I painted with resin over the aluminum and then set it in a white aluminum to kind of give it a contrast, but you can really see the cubism side of it.”

Pat named his showroom Galleywinter Gallery after the ranch he grew up on near Waco, as well as one of his most popular songs.

”I think, in a way, Galleywinter is a fictional place,” Pat said. “It’s a … Galleywinter is a … My brother said that’s where … He was on a back of an Easy Rider rocking horse and my mom asked him where he was going, and he said, ‘I’m going to Galleywinter.’ So the name stuck.”

Alongside artists Ginger Walker and Cheryl Hodge, Pat surrounds himself with the best of the best when it comes to whatever craft he’s working on.

“I’m outmatched by these people,” Pat said. “They’re much better artists than I am. If you play golf with better golfers than you, you become better. That’s really kind of what I look around and say, okay, I’m in with some good guys and I’ll figure this out. I really enjoy it. I mean, it’s a challenge like anything else in this world, but when I started playing guitar, I wasn’t dreaming of singing at the coffee shop, you know. I was dreaming of playing in the stadium. Houston Astrodome. That’s where I was in my heart, and that’s where I am with art. I’m not going to say I’ll ever be Picasso or anything like that, but I mean, my dreams aren’t anything short of that.”

The medium that resonates most with the singer songwriter: Sculpting.


 “Where I fell in love with art was when I started into sculpture and started creating things that were three dimensional that you could put your hands on,” Pat said.

Matisse once said that “creativity takes courage.” Pat has got the creativity part down, well, pat.  So much so that even his commissioned pieces are no problem.

“I’m kind of used to that kind of pressure. I’ve been … you know, I’ve been on a stage, I’ve been in front of people, I handle expectation pretty well,” Pat said.

Pat doesn’t have to ponder when it comes to his passions.  His heart is wholly into his work whether it’s on stage or in the studio, making a visit to his gallery well worth a stop on the Texas Bucket List.

“If you want to see me, you know, really enjoy this part of my life and work hard and smile on my face, and usually the music’s blaring and the … you know, there’s always free drinks for anybody that wants to come by,” Pat said. “You know, that’s the same thing I say about my music. The more you drink, the better we sound. Well, a couple beers, my art looks pretty good too.”

The Texas Bucket List – Washington’s Birthday Celebration in Laredo

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Laredo – Festive, fun, and full of life.  Celebrating is easy to come by in Laredo, Texas. From January to February, Laredo throws a bash fit for a king, though fortunately he rejected the offer. George Washington was the first President of the United States and down in the border town the George Washington Birthday Celebration is a fitting party for a politician that never affiliated with one.

“We know how to have a really good time,” Veronica Castillon, Lifetime Director of Washington’s Birthday Celebration, said. “We have a great time, but tomorrow morning we gotta get up and do it again, so space yourself, space some energy.”

Veronica plays a huge role in this presidential party that’s been a part of Laredo since 1898.  

“Here in Laredo we’re very good about celebrating El Cinco de Mayo and Diez y Seis de Septiembre,” Veronica said. “We do that very well, so now let’s do something that’s American. Why not George Washington’s birthday?”

The celebration started back in February of 1898 when a fraternal organization called the Improved Order of the Red Men captured city hall in a mock battle. The key to the city was presented to the chief of the tribe, who handed it to Princess Pocahontas.  It’s been said that the Sons of Liberty of the American Revolution held the same sort of ritual, and George Washington posed as the Chief. For some reason, this really resonated with Laredo in the 1800’s, and over 100 years later the party has grown.

“We have the nation’s largest and longest celebration of George Washington,” Veronica said. “Freedom and democracy. We celebrate everything he stood for.”

The majority of the celebration takes place in February.  Parties, parades, pageants and plenty of particulars go into this massive celebration put on by the Washington’s Birthday Celebration Association, which offices out of a building built to look like Mount Vernon.

“We’ve got to celebrate something in Laredo that’s truly American,” Veronica said. “If you look inside my closet right now, it looks like Uncle Sam threw up. Everything is red, white, and blue.”

The Martha Washington Pageant is a popular part of celebration as young girls from all over the state showcase fashion that is no longer in style but still incredible to see.

“The dresses, those are works of art,” Veronica said. “You know, if it’s velvet and it’s beaded, if those dresses, and the petticoat. Those things weigh anywhere from 50 to 65 pounds. So you have to learn how to walk and move in it. The first time I put my dress on I go, oh how pretty. And then I tried to move forward, and I couldn’t.”

On the final Saturday of the month, hundreds gather on the square in Laredo and march towards Mexico because a celebration of this size just isn’t the same unless you invite your neighbors. The international bridge is closed off to traffic and grandiose displays of patriotism from both sides of the border can be seen. Slowly, delegations from Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo in Mexico make their way to the middle of the bridge. After all the spectacles have subsided, four children emerge.  A boy and girl from Mexico and another pair from the U.S.A. meet in the middle. The future of the two countries aren’t here to debate or to get a look at what life is like on the other side of the border, they’re here to hug.

“To me the bridge ceremony is the heart of our celebration,” Veronica said. “It’s just the way of us every year, announcing to the world, or demonstrating to the world, our friendship. The river that runs through here, it’s not a divider, it’s actually a connector. We drink the same water, we ride the same bridges on a daily basis.”

The children make way for adults, city, state, and even national leaders to exchange flags and do something this world so desperately needs: Take a moment to show a little love for one another.

“We have so much in common with our friends and families in Nuevo Laredo,” Veronica said. “We’re human, we all bleed the same, I like to say. We like to party together. And we like to build relationships. We like to build strong, safe communities for our children and grandchildren.”

The George Washington Birthday Celebration in Laredo is one of kind. It’s a border town with a big place in its’ heart for a man who never even knew what the state of Texas would become.  Somehow, he still brings people together, and being a part of this month long celebration truly is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“I really don’t believe that we’re the only community that has a sister city that maintains a long lasting ties that go back hundreds of years,” Veronica said. “But, we’re probably the only one that demonstrates it so festively as we do here in Laredo during Washington’s birthday.”

The Texas Bucket List – Traintopia in Frisco

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Frisco – In a big building dedicated to discovery in Frisco, you’ll find a smorgasbord of things to do.  If you stay on track, all the way to the back of the building you’ll find a mighty display on a miniature level.

It’s called Traintopia and it’s part of the Museum of American Railroad in Frisco.

“You’ll see trains moving about while you actually walk around the entire layout,” Bob LaPrelle said. “You’re going to see seven different operating lines.”

Bob is the President and CEO of the Museum of the American Railroad. The museum is home to all sorts of big trains, and they are all historically significant.

“It’s an amazing creation,” Bob said.

Bob was all aboard when the museum was approached about receiving the train set as a donation from Jane Sanders.  She had inherited the collection from her husband Steve. Steve was a former oilman and precious metals collector who owned a hobby shop and had a lot of love for little locomotives.

“She was in a real dilemma about what to do with this $1 million train layout that Stephen had built and it’s a win-win situation, because she was able to get it out of her home, sell her house, and we were able to add a fantastic exhibit to the museum,” Bob said.

Piece by piece, the train set was moved to Frisco and painstakingly reassembled.

“It really appeals to people of all ages,” Bob said. “I mean adults love it. The thing to notice on this layout is also the mural, the backdrop, which was actually hand-painted in the Sanders’ home and then we photographed it and reproduced it on the wall here in Frisco.”

Depicting the American Southwest from Dallas to Colorado, the massive 2500 square foot set with a quarter mile worth of track is stacked with scenarios.

“You’ve got the curio shops and the little tourist courts up here in New Mexico, very similar to what you would have seen in Cimarron Canyon,” Bob said. “New Mexico kind of transitions into Arizona. You start getting some beautiful colors and hues. Then it transitions into West Texas, so you got the oil refineries and you got the tank cars at the refinery loading up crude oil, going out by rail obviously, and then a small West Texas town. Downtown Dallas is really where it all culminates, and you have a very active Main Street from about 1965 showing all the theater marquees, all the tall buildings, the Magnolia building, the Adolphus Hotel, and even Durand Chevrolet. Then finally you end up at Dallas Union Terminal, where all the passenger trains arrived and departed from Dallas. Every time I look at this layout I see something new. There’s just so much finite detail, you know, that they brought into this layout, and they all tell a story of Steve Sanders. That’s what’s amazing. “

The town transitions between day and night.  Blinking lights, signs, and the Palo Duro drive in take on an all new life in the darkness. It has been said the Devil is in the details, but here that means so much more.   It’s the particulars in the people, and the curious conversations they all seem to be having with minute meanings in everything.

“One of the things that we’ve really tried to do with this layout beyond entertainment is to inspire a new generation, introduce them to the world of railroads and the world of trains,” Bob said. “There are still careers out there that people can pursue in the railroad industry and there’s a lot to learn from this layout. “

Be it day or night, you can stop by Traintopia and get a first class ticket to a world frozen in time on the tracks that now a treasure Texans can hop on board with. Traintopia certainly makes for a unique stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“This was only available to a small number of people that Steve knew and now everybody can enjoy it, so it’s a must see,” Bob said.

The Texas Bucket List – Roy Orbison Museum in Wink

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Wink- Way out in West Texas, where working in the oil fields are a way of life, you’ll wind up in Wink.  What once was a town of thousands is now a community trying to literally stay on the map. A massive sinkhole known as the Wink Sink might play a role in that one day. For now, time seems to be standing still.  “All I Need Is Time” to make a stop in a city like this. At least that’s what one of Wink’s most famous residents once sung about.

We’re at the Roy Orbison Museum in Wink.

“Very important figure to the town of Wink because I would say that he put Wink on the map,” Barbara Sabonya said.

Barbara is a volunteer at the Roy Orbison Museum which is a little pit stop in Wink that you’ll miss if you blink.  Chances are even you’re too young to know who Roy Orbison was, you’ve heard his music.

“”Crying” is the one I always try to sing in the car. I can never get that, ‘Crrrrryyyyin’,” Barbara said.

The man with the legendary and distinctive voice first moved to Wink with his family in 1946. By 1949, he had built a band known as the Wink Westerners.

“The earliest yearbook we have is 1949, and he’s pictured in that yearbook and he’s already wearing glasses,” Barbara said.

The Wink Westerners would play regularly on the radio in the region even back when Roy was just a regular kid.

“We have Roy Orbison Drive and we have the museum,” Barbara said. “We do have some people here that had a personal connection with Roy, unfortunately I’m not one of them.”

Helen Voyles and her husband Billy did have connection to the one of a kind crooner.

“Well, he’s a person that you’ll never forget,” Billy said. “He was just a good guy.”

They used to hang out with Roy during their high school days, and Helen was even Roy’s date to prom.

“We just went as friends, you know,” Helen said. “It was just friends and all, and just had a blast. I wore a pink formal. I’ll never forget that.”

Spring of ‘54 was a much simpler time, and Helen still remembers the night from all those years ago.

“Well, we double dated with another couple, and Roy didn’t have a car,” Helen said.
“We just had a blast and dance our heads off all night, and then we went to Monahan’s and had french fries and Cokes over there. They were the only one place that was open.”

Hearing Helen tell her incredible story was an added bonus to visiting the museum that has more than just a few old pictures and records.

“Our most treasured possession, in my opinion, is under the counter,” Barbara said. “It’s a pair of his actual glasses.”

Getting to see and touch the rock and roll legend’s storied sunglasses is like strumming Willie’s famous guitar, wearing one of Johnny Cash’s black shirts, or driving Elvis’ pink Cadillac. Expect, there’s only one of them that you actually check off the list.
“People who’ve looked through say you need to be careful,” Barbara said. “You feel like you’re either on a boat or inebriated. Don’t move around when you have the glasses.”

While Roy’s glasses were his visual trademark, it was his voice and songs that have stood the test time making this marvelous museum a must stop on The Texas Bucket List.  

“He’s just one that we’ll never forget,” Helen said. “Roy’s just … he’s just a part of Wink.”