Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for texas
The Heart of Aggieland
By Linda Tancs
An Aggie is a student at Texas A&M University in College Station. The term Aggie is used by many to reflect agricultural roots. In the early 1900s, students at the university were referred to as farmers. College Station was founded as a railroad town in the late 19th century before becoming the academic and entrepreneurial center that it is today. In addition to the renowned university, the town is home to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum, where a new pavilion features a retired Marine One helicopter, the Union Pacific 4141 locomotive and the Bush family gravesite.
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Venetian Flair in Texas
By Linda Tancs
Just minutes away from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, offers Venetian-inspired flair. That’s where you’ll find Mandalay Canal, a waterway connecting with Lake Carolyn that winds through restaurants, shops, office buildings and residences. What would a canal be without a gondola? Take a ride along the waterfront, passing waterfalls and bridges, for a dose of Old World charm.
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Tall Grass Prairie in Texas
By Linda Tancs
Rare remnants of the tallgrass prairie are some of what you’ll find at Eisenhower State Park near Denison, Texas. Nestled on the shores of Lake Texoma, the park’s name honors the 34th U.S. president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was born nearby. Explore trails along high bluffs, swim, or fish for striped bass, crappie and catfish. Some of the wildlife you may encounter include armadillos, beavers, deer, foxes, opossums, bobcats and roadrunners. This time of year, colorful wildflowers bloom throughout the growing season, which lasts until November.
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The Story of War in the Pacific
By Linda Tancs
Fredericksburg, Texas, was the boyhood home of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Nimitz served as commander in chief, United States Pacific Fleet and later named commander in chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, during World War II. So it is fitting that the city hosts the National Museum of the Pacific War, which provides the nation’s most comprehensive account of World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific theater. The campus offers a history of the war as well as a vast collection of artifacts and personal stories of people who lived and died during the Pacific War.
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A Giant Hydrant in Beaumont
By Linda Tancs
For centuries, Dalmatians have been the unofficial mascot for firefighters in the United States. Due to their expertise as carriage dogs, they were reliable accompaniments to fire carriages of the 1700s, clearing the way for the horses. Their vital role in firefighting is commemorated with a Dalmatian-spotted fire hydrant that stands 24 feet tall next to the Fire Museum of Texas in Beaumont. The structure was donated to the city in 1999 by The Walt Disney Company to celebrate the re-release of the animated movie “101 Dalmatians.” It weighs a whopping 4,500 pounds and it works, capable of spewing 1,500 gallons of water per minute.
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An Outpost on the Texas Frontier
By Linda Tancs
Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg, Texas, was the first U.S. Army outpost built on the Texas Frontier. Used by the Army from 1848 to 1853, it also served as a camp for the Texas Rangers and as a fort for the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. The historic site contains one original garrison building, one late 1800s old farm shed and three reproduction garrison buildings. Although the buildings are closed to the public, the grounds are open daily from dawn until dusk for self-guided tours.
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Big Boots in Texas
By Linda Tancs
In San Antonio, Texas, there’s a pair of boots decidedly not made for walkin’. That’s because they’re 35 feet tall and 33 feet long. Touted as the world’s largest cowboy boots, the fake ostrich-and-calf-skin boots are located outside North Star Mall.
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A Tribute to Stonehenge in Texas
By Linda Tancs
Ninety percent as tall and 60 percent as wide as the original Stonehenge in England, Stonehenge II in Ingram, Texas, is a tribute to the prehistoric monument in Wiltshire. The stunning replica was created by Al Shepperd and his neighbor Doug Hill. It’s located beside the Guadalupe River on the campus of the Hill Country Arts Foundation.
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The Birthplace of Dallas
By Linda Tancs
Dealey Plaza is a city park in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It’s sometimes referred to as the “birthplace of Dallas” given its history as the site of the city’s founding by John Neely Bryan in the 1840s. Named for civic leader George Bannerman Dealey, it might be better known as the place where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Three decades after the Kennedy assassination, Dealey Plaza became a National Historic Landmark District. The Sixth Floor Museum, located within the former Texas School Book Depository building in the plaza, chronicles the life and legacy of the president.
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A Weird Museum
By Linda Tancs
If you love museums dedicated to oddities and weirdness, then the Museum of the Weird in Austin, Texas, is for you. Operating in the tradition of a dime museum (an emporium for oddities and curios), the facility features attractions like shrunken heads, mummies and a cyclops pig. You’ll find it on 6th Street in the heart of downtown’s entertainment district.
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