Texas Bucket List

Texas Bucket List

The Texas Bucket List – Port of Brownsville Boat Tour on South Padre Island

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Brownsville – It’s not often you get an extremely foggy day down on South Padre Island but that was exactly the case when I arrived on SPI to take a tour of the Port of Brownsville.  Despite the dense cloud cover, it doesn’t keep James Woodrow Wilson from boiling up some shrimp because he’s busy preparing a feast for a few folks wanting to take a ride on his boat.

Once the crowd is settled, Captain Woody, as he’s called, takes the sightseers on a carefully guided journey through the Port of Brownsville. Woody is the captain of the Breakaway Cruises Port of Brownsville Tour and he has one interesting past, that all starts with his name. “Well, I get a lot of grief about it. And I’m still waiting for my check for Toy Story,” joked Woody. “I was original, boots and all!”

While being a cowboy is every young boy’s dream, being behind the wheel of this ship is where Woody belongs. “Love driving boats. I love being on the water. It’s just been a passion of mine ever since I was little. And just meeting everybody. You meet everyone from all over the world, I’ve met on this boat.”

Shannon Cherrington helps Captain Woody on the tour, making sure things flow smoothly along the waters of the Brownsville ship channel. “There’s so much to see out there and it’s so rich in history,” said Shannon.

While trolling down the port, you’ll see massive offshore oil rig platforms being repaired. There are also ships being built and massive military ships being decommissioned. “This was an old aircraft carrier that, if I’m not mistaken, it was the Bonhomme. It was one that succumbed to arson by one of the crew members. And the damage was worth, basically a total loss.” Oh, wow. “It would cost more for them to repair it than it was worth. And it’s worth more in scrap than it would’ve been for them to repair it,” said Captain Woody.

If space is more your speed, a pass by Space X will light your engines. “Seeing all the rockets, whenever they’re getting ready to launch and all that, sitting out on the launchpad, it’s amazing,” Woody commented. “Watching them take off and being able to land, 40 years ago that would’ve been unheard of. But just seeing technology advance with what they’re doing over here, it’s just mind boggling to me.”

Not only do you get to see some amazing things on the sightseeing tour, but you also get the chance to enjoy some of Captain Woody’s shrimp which is an old family recipe – and it’s delicious.

If taking a unique tour with a unique captain who happens to cook is something you’d like to see, sailing with Captain Woody on the Breakaway Cruises Port of Brownsville Tour is definitely a unique stop on The Texas Bucket List!

The Texas Bucket List – Texas Through Time in Hillsboro

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Hillsboro – Texas has always been a popular place for earth’s inhabitants, even long before the Lone Star State became a state. Evidence of the biggest beings to roam the planet have been discovered in places like the Waco Mammoth Site and Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glenn Rose.

Conveniently located between both those sites is the Texas Through Time Museum in Hillsboro and it’s where you’ll find Andre Lujan digging through the dirt. “Texas is really unique because just about every geologic time period is represented in our fossil record. We had a flying reptile with a 40-foot wingspan, a flying reptile the size of a jet. We had some of the largest living land animals that ever walked the planet Earth. Amazing stuff.”

Andre is a self-taught paleontologist that put together this prehistoric place dedicated to telling the tales of Texas’ ancient past. From spiny creatures with sharp teeth to ancient alligators, Texas Through Time runs through the gamut of gargantuan and not so gregarious things that roamed these parts. “We’re really leaving no stone unturned. It doesn’t matter if the fossil’s the biggest or the best, if it’s found here in the state, then it’s part of our story. And they’re all important,” said Andre.

Getting to experience unique places like this is what we pride ourselves on showing here on The Texas Bucket List, but Andre has a different list he goes by. “Finding things that are on your bucket list. I found a saber cat skull when I was in the White River Badlands in South Dakota, and it was just so surreal,” he said.

Research and restoration takes place around the clock at Texas Through Time, and it’s work that you can actually witness. The prep lab is where the work gets done and where a lot of the dust gets made that you see on cases out front. Some fossils are displayed still intact with the rock in which they were found.

One of their trophy pieces at the museum is a cretaceous shark found in Uvalde. According to Andre, to find a skeleton of a shark is extremely rare, and to find one covered in skin is even more rare. This particular fossil represents the finest example of this type of fossil found in the universe, and it was found right here in the great state of Texas.

Andre’s expertise and passion for our prehistoric past has even made him an expert appraiser on Pawn Stars. “My knowledge of paleontology, which a lot of it’s been gained through experience and reading as much as I can, has kind of made me an expert in a lot of areas. So I’ve been called on as an expert for the History Channel and the other places to come out and share my knowledge and help them solve problems,” Andre mentioned.

But Andre’s biggest goal is to inspire the next generation of dinosaur diggers. He said, “when I have young people coming in here, kids that want to be a paleontologist, and I can put a fossil in their hand, and they can go in the lab, it becomes real for them. It’s no longer a dream, and that’s really cool.”

If you’re looking to learn more about our prehistoric past and want to see some cool fossils along the way, be sure to check out the Texas Through Time Museum. And just maybe, you’ll find as much interest in it as Andre, who will do this until he is also a fossil.

The Texas Bucket List – Walburg German Restaurant and Biergarten in Walburg

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Walburg –When fall finally finds its way to the Lone Star State and October rings in the festival season, there’s no shortage of places to raise a pint or liter at. But up on the north side of Williamson County is Walburg, a small German community that’s got a reputation for having a good time. “You can bring your entire family from one to 99 out here and everybody’s entertained,” said customer Deborah.

Ronald Tippelt, the owner of the Walburg German Restaurant, hails from Munich, Germany. Ronnie said his parents made sure he stayed in school so he didn’t end up as a restaurant owner. But here he is, ending up with a restaurant anyway.  “all my family’s in Munich. I’m the only defector. They feel sorry for me. I feel sorry for them,” joked Ronnie.

To say Ronnie enjoys owning this restaurant might be an understatement. This German party started off as an adventure for him back in 1987. It was then that a 27-year-old dude from Deutschland decided he wanted to start off an adventure in a German town that wasn’t in Germany.

What makes Ronnie’s place really unique is the authentic Bavarian buffet on the weekends, a boat load of German beers, a beautiful beer garden, and the fact that Ronnie himself sings to his customers. If you guessed yodeling is his specialty, you guessed correctly! Ronnie never thought his singing skills would pay off in the Lone Star State. “I played a few gigs and the people liked it. I said, “Well, I’m going to start going that. There’s actually money in it,” Ronnie said.

Craig Bond is the head chef at the Walburg German Restaurant, and he happens to be English. Turns out he married a girl from Texas who got him to leave jolly ol’ England for the finest place on the planet. Craig has been working in the kitchens for about 18 years, but he had a specialty for seafood. Thanks to Ronnie relinquishing his recipes to Craig, he’s now serving up sauerkraut and schweinebraten. He said, “Food makes people happy and this is the perfect setting and environment for people to do that.”

We always talk about bellying up to the bar, but for the first time on The Texas Bucket List, we decided to belly up to the buffet. The buffet had a combination of German and Texas favorites, and after putting together a plate the size of Neuschwanstein Castle, I was ready to chow down.

I headed straight for one of my favorite things – sauerkraut. With the nice vinegary taste and rye seeds, it was fantastic. Then onto the schweinebraten, wiener schnitzel, and finally, the brat. Everything was top notch and made my German meal complete!

If having some incredible German food or just toasting to the day is something you’re looking to do, coming to Walburg is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List!

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 – East Texas Oil Museum in Kilgore

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Kilgore – Texas is all about oil and it all strart with the state’s first really big boom at Spindletop back in 1901. Today you can find pumpjacks from Beaumont to Midland with roughnecks working throughout the day to collect crude.

Over in northeast Texas, the oil boom wasn’t heard till the 1930’s.  That’s when things got crazy in Kilgore.  “At the height in Kilgore, there were over 1,100 derricks. As you looked across the skyline, you could see them popping up all along,” explained Olivia Moore, manager of the East Texas Oil Museum.

Just a few blocks from the big rigs scattered across the Kilgore skyline, the East Texas Oil Museum tells the story of the crazy way oil exploration exploded in Kilgore. “It not only tells the story, tells the history, tells the oil piece of this area, but it tells the story of the people who’ve lived here,” said Olivia.

Dedicated to the boom that kicked off on December 28, 1930 the East Texas Oil Museum takes a look at what life was like when oil changed the landscape of a little town. “Well, they say that a picture’s worth a thousand words. Well, could you imagine how many words walking into a picture would be,” Olivia stated as walking into the museum.

When walking into the museum, you are greeted with a man hanging from the ceiling that is sure to surprise you.  “We have Buddy,” explained Olivia. Buddy being an animatronic figure of course. “Buddy welcomes you in, talks about electricity coming to the East Texas oil field and then that brings you right into the general store, where we have Mr. Crim, the mayor of Kilgore talking to his customers about the goings on in the East Texas oil field,” explains Olivia. This town, that happens to be inside of the museum, consists of everything that you would have found in Kilgore during the oil boom. One of the most active sites for drilling in Kilgore happened to be right in the middle of town.  An area famously referred to as the world’s richest acre. “Out of that 1.2 acre space, they were able to pull 2.5 million barrels of oil out of that. And a barrel of oil is 42 gallons if that gives you any kind of reference of how much crude that is,” explained Olivia.

The historical pictures of the time help tell the story but actually having some derricks on that acre, well that helps too. “We’re an oilfield town and we’re very, very proud of our heritage,” stated Mayor of Kilgore Ronnie Spradlin.

Ronnie Spradlin has been the Mayor of Kilgore since 2010 and he grew up here.  Back when he was a boy, he took a family trip to Big D and he had one big question. “Where are their derricks? I assumed every town had derricks in it. Ours did,” said Mayor Spradlin. These towering spires dedicated to a time gone by help bring the story of Kilgore’s oil boom back to life.

Each one of these derricks here now, represents pretty much where a derrick was. “There were even more on the block, but we put back the number of them to have a representation of what it looked like,” explained Mayor Spradlin. If there was a building, they would simply knock down the walls and drill straight through the floor, not even pull up the floor! “Yep, the old brick floor from the bank is the next derrick over, and they left the brick there and just drilled through it,” said Mayor Spradlin.

“The oil field itself affected so many people in East Texas. It helped insulate against the great depression. It helped win World War II with our oil getting to the refineries in the Northeast. It just is such a special story. And it needs to be told,” said Olivia.

“The oil business has been like a ride on a roller coaster. There’ve been years where there was more money in town, second highest deposits in the state of Texas back in ’78, ’79. And then when the oil field would crash, people would be unemployed. Our unemployment would go to double digits and in spite of what the nation’s doing. So, we’re have our own little economy that’s totally separate from the rest of the nation,” explained Mayor Spradlin

So the oil continues to churn out of Kilgore, providing Texans with a natural resource for energy and our economy, including bringing people to town to get a look at the lineage of the Lone Star State. “Being transported back in time is something that all people would love to do before they kick the bucket,”joked Olivia.

“If you haven’t been to Kilgore, you haven’t been to Texas in my mind,” stated Mayor Spradlin.

“It’s an everyday reminder of how important oil was to the city of Kilgore and how important it is still today,” said Olivia.

The Texas Bucket List – The Orange Show in Houston

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Houston – The hustle and bustle of the city streets in Houston can always be a bit bananas but there’s no reason to gripe about sour grapes.  Just take a little detour on the side of Interstate 45 for a fruity lesson about the Orange and the one and only Orange Show.

“Thank God, Jeff bought this property right by the freeway. He really did us a favor,” said Pete Gershon. Gershon is the Curator of Programs for the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. “What we do at the Orange Show is to celebrate the artist in everyone,” stated Pete.

The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art celebrates the Space City’s unique art scene with places like the Beer Can House and its name sake, The Orange Show.  “The Orange Show means so much to us. It’s a symbol,” said Pete.

This odd and interesting homage to the orange was built by one man who had a fondness for one particular fruit.  “So the Orange Show was built between 1955 and 1979 by a retired postal worker named Jefferson Davis McKissick. He moved into this neighborhood when it was pretty new, and bought this as vacant property,” explained Pete while walking us through the installation. “This is a place where information is communicated. Jeff really wanted you to know about the nutritional value of the orange. So he’s made some signs here that explain where the nutrients come from. So it’s kind of like an art exhibit and lesson in health, according to Jeff,” explained Pete. “He felt like the orange was the perfect food. He wrote a whole book about this. It was called, “How You Can Live to be a 100 Years old and Still Be Spry.” And he wrote this in 1960 and it was like the 1960 version of a blog. It was stapled together, mimeograph pages, information that he had gleaned from his visits to the public library. And he thought if you really took care of your body and you ate the right things and you exercised right you could live to be a 100 years old. Jeff only lived to be 78. But his message survives,” said Pete.

While Jeff’s allegiance to oranges is the message, the architecture, art, and design of his palace to produce is what makes this place really stick out. “As his ideas evolved, the space began to ramble on and on and expand and grow,” said Pete. “Engaging with art does not necessarily mean an afternoon in a quiet museum, where you’re very seriously walking through and studying the artwork,” stated Pete.

While this art installation is a part of the community now, when Jeff built it the reception was a little sour. “There was some resentment and some confusion, I think, with the neighbors. But Jeff was not really a chook. This is somebody who graduated from college, went off to grad school. He worked in a bank. He had a good head on his shoulders,” explained Pete.

From upbeat signs, sizable steamboat models, to things that just don’t make a lot of sense, there’s all sorts of stuff to see here but for Jeff, a tiny ledge filled with a funky assortment of tiles is what squeezes the artist juices from his soul. “Yeah. It’s a weird little part that nobody ever notices, but it’s a hodgepodge tile that… Obviously Jeff never wanted to throw anything away. He wanted to decorate every surface. It’s just something I noticed and always wondered, why did he do it like that? Why did he use this strange assortment of hearts and fish and geometric tiles? It’s really one of the most abstract pieces of the Orange Show. It’s a minor detail, but it’s always caught my eye.” And what’s unique is, it’s hidden back here in the back in the corner against the stairs,” explained Pete while showing us the ledge.

So if you want to be a star in the Orange Show, just stop by The Orange Show, and see why peeling away the layers of the art exhibit is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “You can think differently. You can think differently about art and creativity. Everybody’s an artist deep down, and you can work with what’s close at hand and make something special and unique. And we can inspire people to do that with this place,” expressed Pete.

The Texas Bucket List – Fountainville Creamery and Soda Fountain in Midland

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Midland – Heading to the ice cream store is always an indelible memory. The taste of cold, creamy goodness coating your tastebuds with its sweet symphony is always a reason to smile. Seeing those unfiltered faces full of joy is the exact reason JP Hearne opened his Fountainville Creamery in Midland. “There was nobody making ice cream. So we decided that’s what we needed to do,” said owner JP Hearne.

JP is a former photojournalist for the local paper but one day, he got the inside scoop into making unique ice cream flavors. Actually, it was culinary school where JP majored in pastry and desserts and that got things lined up into creating this ice cream factory with funny flavors.  “West Texas, they deserve their own ice cream. We’re using West Texas flavors with the West Texas formula,” said JP.

Cornbread, Tumbleweed, Avocado Toast, and German Chocolate Cake are just a few of the flavors. There’s even one called queso! That shouldn’t be associated with ice cream at all.  “You’re going to get flavors you’re not going to get anywhere else,” joked JP. The one flavor that makes everyone scream, is the Black Gold.

Before we try to strike it rich in the ice cream parlor, JP showed us how he carefully creates his creamy craft ice cream in his tiny kitchen. Since opening in 2016, JP has made 18 tons of ice cream! It all starts with his ice cream base he makes from scratch using local ingredients and natural flavors. His colors come from fruits and vegetables.

As you can imagine, when it comes to an ice cream that’s as black as space, there’s a lot of questions.  Like, should I even do that? “Some of them are just, almost like a mind game. They’re just a trick of the mind. The black gold, the longer people look at it and say, ‘That really looks like licorice. I hate licorice.’ Everybody hates licorice of course. But it’s a mind game. It does not taste like licorice and has no licorice in it. And it’s just a unique thing that gives you a feel for West Texas because of the black gold that’s here,” explained JP.

The ingredients to the black gold seem simple enough. “This is our Graham cracker. And then we add local honey.And it’s a charcoal with coconut. “Yeah. It’s made from coconut shells.So it’s activated charcoal.Tap the secret ingredient in,” explained JP.

Once it’s all in, JP flips the switch. A short while later, out from the machine comes a bubbling crude….I mean cream. “It does make your tongue black, so,” joked JP.

Time to taste some flavors! The Chupacabra has cajeta, goat caramel, goat milk, with a little bit of strawberry, but has a lot of delicious flavor! As for the Avocado Toast, it is surprisingly good despite have bits of crackers in the ice cream. Why not try some Cornbread too? Perfect combination of sweet and savory. Turns out Queso flavor isn’t really queso, but mango cheesecake with tropical fruit, and it is amazing!

Finally, it’s time to tap into the Black Gold. Nothing like you’d expect. It’s just very light and little honey, a little bit of Graham in there. That’s very good. “I make more black gold than I do vanilla,” stated JP.

It’s been said that ice cream is cheaper than therapy and for JP making the ice cream has been very therapeutic, especially being able to do it with his wife Beverly. “Working together has been a blessing. I always know somebody’s got my back and I’ve got hers,” expressed JP.

The Texas Bucket List – Muy Grande Deer Contest in Freer

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Freer – As the sun dawns on a new day during deer season in South Texas, the long shadows of the winter solstice make finding that big buck in the brush that much more difficult. For some hunters this experience is about getting away and taking refuge from the wintry temps in a blind that’s out of sight from everyone else. Because just being out here is beautiful.

“It’s an addiction, man. I mean it’s South Texas, when hunting season comes, guys will… They’ll drive all night long from God knows where,” said Kenneth Sharber. Sharber runs the Muy Grande Village in Freer.

Situated smack dab between Corpus and Laredo, this specialized store is sort of like a gas station, convenience store, restaurant, feed store, and sporting goods stop all rolled into one. “We’ve evolved from just a little old gas station on the corner of Highway 16 and 59,” stated Kenneth.

This business was started by Kenneth’s father-in-law Leonel R. Garza in 1965 and in order to promote his business, Leonel started a deer hunting contest at his Center Circle Gas Station. “People started making fun of him and calling it the gas station deer contest and that kind of stuff. And then Garza got a little perturbed about that. He didn’t like that. And so he came up with a name, Muy Grande. That name has stuck for 56 years,” explained Kenenth.

Now the Muy Grande is just as big as it sounds, attracting thousands of hunters each year to participate in a hunting contest that’s got a massive reputation. “It’s as big as Texas. And it’s as wide as the Rio Grande,” stated Kenneth.

Back in 1965, Homer Garza won the first contest that was only dedicated to the deer with the largest spread. His prize, Leonel’s old watch. “He had won a wristwatch for selling tires and he gave Homer the wristwatch. That was the first prize that was given. And it’s pretty cool,” said Kenneth.

The prizes have evolved a little bit from that. “Now we give jackets and trophies and plaques. And we have a really nice award ceremony. We give out about 300 trophies and jackets each year,”” stated Kenneth.

The Muy Grande is the Masters when it comes to this sort of competition. The oldest contest of its kind in the world, prizes are awarded for all sorts of crazy categories.  “Men’s, women’s, kid’s, boy’s, girl’s, youth division. We have Pope and Young division, which is a bow division. We have Macho Grande, which is anything that’s got a hole in the ear, tags, any of that kind of genetic stuff. We’ve got out of state. We’ve got Mexico. We’ve tried to accommodate every hunter from high fence to low fence, to Macho Grande, to give everybody a fair chance. And everybody gets competitive. It’s fun,” explained Kenneth.

And with the Muy Grande division, they take everything of your submission into account.  “Yes. It’s all around, yes, sir. When you’re Muy Grande all around, as you can see, like I said, we’ve got the weight, the spread, the points, the left circumference, right circumference. And we add all that together and that gives you the Muy Grande score,” explained Kenneth.

There’s even a husband-and-wife team category. “If you hunt together, you stay together,” joked Kenneth. And a contest for top story. Not like that could be subjective or anything. “Top story of the year, we’re looking for the most interesting thing that’s happened this year and checking it out,” said Kenneth.

Now how do you know if you should enter the one 190 club or the Muy Grande all around division? “Well, the good part about our contest is, when you enter the $25 entry fee, before you kill the animal, it puts you in every category here. So when you bring your animal, it’s up to us. We take a look and see where it’ll fit. So this thing is constantly moving back and forth, which keeps it exciting. Keeps the phone ringing,” explained Kenneth.

This contest in this little Texas town has drawn hunters from every corner of the country and even a few well-known country stars.  George Strait won this competition back in the 80’s.

Well, we had to ask what Kenneth’s favorite part is of hosting this hunting contest.  “The kids, yeah, it’s the kids because you get to see them grow up. You get to see them bring in their animal and they got that first experience. So to me, it’s the family. When you have the hunting family, the hunting world, it’s pretty awesome,” expressed Kenneth.

Even if hunting isn’t your thing, just seeing the sun makes those long shadows across South Texas makes this trip something everyone needs to experience before they kick the bucket. “If you have the opportunity, take it. And I’ve had people say, ‘Well, I don’t like to shoot.’ That’s cool. That’s cool. Go sit in a blind. Go sit out there for a minute and turn your cell phone off and listen to the birds. Listen to the wildlife. Watch the sunrise. Watch the sunset. And you’ll understand it. You’ll understand how the addiction comes,” said Kenneth.

The Texas Bucket List – Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in Mission

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Mission – We’re always fond of flying the coop on The Texas Bucket List and when you’re in South Texas, one of the top birding centers in the whole world, you find out that birds of a feather really do flock together. “Birdwatchers, they’re an interesting lot. They chase those birds wherever they can, and this is one of the places where you can see stuff nobody else has,” said Park Ranger Roy Rodriguez.

Roy didn’t grow up too far from here considering he’s from Pharr but what makes this neck of the woods so far from what the rest of the state is like, besides the fact that it’s far, is it’s unique ecosystem. “We are on the 100th meridian, putting us right down the middle of the country. We have the Gulf of Mexico pretty close. We have the desert pretty close. The mountains are pretty close and so are the tropics, so we’re basically at the biological crossroads of North America down here with two migratory flyways. Important bird area,” explained Roy.

The Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is only one of nine birding centers you can find in the RGV.  Each of them is dedicated to one of the most popular activities in this part of our state, birdwatching. “I grew up hunting and fishing like a lot of people in Texas. I didn’t really know much about birds, except for those birds that I was going to try to shoot and eat, and at some point I discovered that birdwatching was a big deal down here. We’ve got lots of wildlife, lots of shorebirds, and it’s all about water. So as long as we have water, you’re going to attract a lot of wildlife,” stated Roy.

The Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is only one of nine birding centers you can find in the RGV.  Each of them is dedicated to one of the most popular activities in this part of our state, birdwatching. “I grew up hunting and fishing like a lot of people in Texas. I didn’t really know much about birds, except for those birds that I was going to try to shoot and eat, and at some point I discovered that birdwatching was a big deal down here. We’ve got lots of wildlife, lots of shorebirds, and it’s all about water. So as long as we have water, you’re going to attract a lot of wildlife,” stated Roy.

Roy took to birding like a duck to water and since 2001 he’s worked at this State Park that was established in 1962. “People come to your town to see what you have, but they never go out there and experience it themselves. Well, the first day I went out birdwatching, I was blown away that so many people from around the world came here to my little part of the world just to see what we had, and I had no idea,” explained Roy.

With 800 acres right on the Rio Grande, the park is full of flying fowl that create a colorful fresco. “You get hundreds of birds on one trip, and you get a hundred birders to see that one bird,” said Roy.

Roy then took us on a walk over to the Hawk Tower observation deck to see a breathtaking view of the park and maybe even catch a glimpse of some singing birds. “We have volunteers that count four months out of the year, counting all migrating raptors that they can identify as they head south and when they return in the spring. We’re one of over 200 sites in the U.S. that have Hawk Watch so that we can keep track of these movements of these raptors, which are great indicators of the overall environmental health,” explained Roy.

Harris Hawks, Merlin Falcons, Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbird and Green jays are small samples of some of the things you’ll see here but if an Altamira Oriole is on your bucket list, Roy can summon them with a simple whistle! “The valley overall, the whole region, has got so many different types of habitats. It’s not just South Texas and a couple of woodlands. There are elevational differences. We’ve got the desert and the Gulf of Mexico within 140 miles, and in between there, we’re looking at about 11 or 13 different habitats, and those are all unique,” explained Roy.

So we had to ask just what that bird is that everybody’s looking for. “There’s a few birds that are considered to be the bird you got to see when you come down here. One of them is called the Hook-billed Kite. It’s a type of raptor that specializes in eating snails. It goes after crawfish and other things as well, but it’s a very riparian bird. It likes the woodlands near the river, and so their habitat is very, very limited in the U.S. If a birder comes down here and gets their Hook-billed Kite, I think that then they can die happy, I guess,” explained Roy.

To say Roy really likes his job might be an understatement, he’s as proud as a peacock to be here. “The connection to this park is deeper than just the job. Like I said, I was meant to be,” expressed Roy. “We are the stewards of the planet, and the more we know and the more we connect, the more we appreciate. And the more we appreciate, the more we value that stuff, the more likely it’ll still be here for our kids when they grow up,” said Roy.

The Texas Bucket List – Memorial Mini Golf and Museum in Buda

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Buda – The sound of a golf ball hitting a putter is always pleasing to the ear but when the ball finds the bottom of the hole, that’s even better. For people who play putt putt, that’s pretty much the only task at hand.  But over at Memorial Mini Golf in Buda, there’s much more to the golf game here.

Brian McKinney is the owner of this big putting playscape that looks a little different from your typical mini golf getaway. “My favorite hole is probably the Submarine Atlantic Blockade hole,” said Brian.

Here there’s a mix of green, blue, black, and tan making up 18 holes that are dedicated to the veterans of World War II. “I’ve been collecting World War II memorabilia. And my grandfather was in World War II, his little brother was in World War II. My dad was in Vietnam. So military history’s kind of just been my thing,” said Brian.

So, Brian created this one of a kind excursion complete with a museum and the only full scale replica fighter plane playscape in the world. “History buffs, mini-golf lovers, I mean, you could almost spend a half day here in itself,” said Brian.

Brian’s inspiration to create this colorful place to place a round actually came to him in a dream. “I had a pretty vivid dream that my wife and I and kids were playing on a World War II themed miniature golf course. It was a little bit different how this turned out, but, but I woke up and said… It was a calling to try to figure something out, to create an interactive environment, to not forget this generation and mini-golf was it,” explained Brian.

Each hole is dedicated to particular parts of the war and the people who fought it. “Hole number one starts in Blitzkrieg, which is the start of the technical start of World War II. And then it just runs down the chronological order,” explained Brian.

Another hole is dedicated to Pearl Harbor. “Bomb hits are actually where the bombs hit on the real USS Arizona that sank it. And then here we have a replica, full scale replica, 40-millimeter anti-aircraft cannons that were made by the same model builder that built the planes in the museum. And then the hole is dedicated to a veteran who trained with the Navy on Pearl Harbor,” explained Brian.

Then there’s the hole dedicated to Normandy and it’s a beast! “So it’s the longest par five. There’s actually a place in the Northeast that has the world’s longest hole, but it’s a par 12,” said Brian.

While this is fun, it’s actually quite a lesson in what happened during the war and those who contributed throughout. “Getting these younger generations to learn what these guys did outside of what just their Texas history book teaches. But more of the details that we have with the veterans dedicated to the holes and the additional history that we added to the placecards,” said Brian.

One of those veterans featured is Abilenian Huie Lamb. The playscape is a replica of his plane and inside the museum at Memorial Mini-Golf you’ll find a display dedicated to him along with a collection of his things. You’ll also find the uniform of Dorothy Lucas, who served with the Women Airforce Service Pilots. “This one gets overlooked, I think a lot, in history where all the able body guys that could fight went overseas and who, who was, who was making and helping with the war production in the United States. And they stepped up big,” explained Brian.

Being fortunate enough to have grandparents that served in the war, it’s refreshing to see the next generation have a way to learn about this amazing generation. “It’s pretty cool. Especially when they go from the course into the museum. And I hear a lot of parents saying, ‘That’s what your great-grandfather did.’ Or ‘That’s what your great-grandfather flew.’ And then they go, ‘Wow.’ Like they’re just that, that kind of makes it all worthwhile when you hear the wow factor of, ‘Wow. That’s what my great-grandfather did.’ and  like, ‘That’s what he flew!’ It’s real, it’s really neat to hear that,” expressed Brian.

Saluting the greatest generation that ever lived is always easy but to do it while play golf and learning about the toughest war of all time is an easy stop, for the most part on The Texas Bucket List. “It’s not huge, like the Nimitz Museum or Smithsonian, but you’re getting a huge chunk of history at every hole,” stated Brian.