July-September 2016 Issue

There’s really no doubt that barbecue is best served in the greatest place on Earth – the Texas Hill Country, of course! It would take lots and lots of road trips to be able to sample some from every single restaurant serving up the smoky, juicy good stuff, but that’s a challenge I’d be willing to take!

The First Texas Olive Oil Company at Bella Vista Ranch in Wimberley was, indeed, the first commercially producing olive orchard in the state. They’ve been producing olives since 1998 and pressing fresh oils since 2001, which doesn’t seem like a very long time. Most potential olive farmers were frightened off by experts who believed Texas could not successfully grow olive orchards.

In Texas we do things right. It’s just who we are. And when it comes to our BBQ, that standard is our battle cry. David Herrera, owner of Dave’s Old Fashioned BBQ in Fredericksburg, Texas is always up by the crack of dawn. He doesn’t see what he does as work, because he loves what he does. What he does is barbeque and he does it right. At 5am David and his pit man are building a fire, from the mesquite wood stacked along the back fe ...

ADVERTISING, THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY As a very young kid, I remember seeing what are now the iconic Burma Shave signs alongside some of the roads our family travelled.  In the days before billboards, regulations and all sorts of other restrictions, folks drummed-up business in a wide variety of ways.

You say you’re 10 years old and you want to ride a real bucking bull? No problem. Big D Mini Bulls of Wimberley can help. And we’re not talking about some coin-operated rocking bull in a mall or a mechanical bull in a carnival.

Hang your Stetson in Central Texas, and you’ve got a lot to brag about.  We live in an outdoorsman’s paradise — more than a dozen sparkling clear lakes offer you world class fishing, sailing, and other water sports.  Our hills abound with whitetail deer, wild turkey, and other game.

Ah, rodeo time in Texas. If you grew up in Texas, there’s not much chance that you haven’t been to a rodeo, after all, it is the State Sport. There’s something that draws people from all walks of life; the thrill of watching ‘real’ cowboys and cowgirls riding powerful horses through obstacles and challenges is something that even the most urban dweller can appreciate. The cowboy lifestyle has forever been romanticized, and since most ...

Some people just have really terrific ideas.  In August 1999, sisters Maurrie Sussman and Becky Clarke had so much fun on a fly-fishing and camping trip in Montana that they decided to invite their friends to join them.  Seventeen years and close to 7,600 friends later, Sisters On The Fly (SOTF) is still going strong!

It is impossible to be bored at the State Fair of Texas. Impossible? Absolutely. Within this 277-acre historic park in Dallas, you’ll discover auto shows, live music, a petting zoo, creative arts, livestock shows, a midway full of thrill rides and games, several great museums, and 18 different shopping areas offering everything from books to mattresses, hot tubs to tools and farm equipment.

“Howdy, folks. Howdy, howdy.” That’s Big Tex—all 55 feet of him—welcoming everyone to the State Fair of Texas. He first showed up at the fair in 1952. He learned to speak by the next year and by 1997 gave a friendly Texas wave. Big Tex is one of the most famous Texans on earth—and the tallest. Like many Baby Boomers, he has had some problems with age.