Summer 2014 Issue

In 1954, when Paul "Bear" Bryant, the new football coach at what was then called A&M College, conducted his pre-season football training camp at the school's adjunct in Junction, he couldn't have known that a great legend would be born. Joining Texas A&M's Twelfth Man legacy, the story of Bryant's "boys of Junction"

MARBLE FALLS—The game, although it had to be won for the historic moment to be reached, was actually on the undercard. There was symmetry in that each moment of the action and halftime equaled a year in the incomparable coaching career of Jerry English. 40 seasons on the bench and this well-respected and admired mentor and teacher arrived at 1,100 victories.

You've probably heard it said that if you live in the Hill Country, you live in a desert. Certainly, it's a funny type of desert — the kind that periodically floods. When it comes to precipitation around here, it's feast or famine. If you ask me, I think it's time for a feast.

Warmer weather is here. You have no excuse. Get outside and enjoy nature. And if you get outside to a state park in the Texas Hill Country you cannot ever be bored. "They're close to urban centers like San Antonio and Austin, and there's something for everyone in every season," explains Tara Humphreys, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Region 3 Interpretive Specialist.

In the tiny community of Concan, Neal's Dining Room is a timeless tradition. This impressive stone building is tucked away in a copse of trees, on a bluff overlooking the scenic Frio River. Both longtime residents and tourists know that this is the place to go for great, home-cooked food. And they've known it for nearly 90 years now. Local rancher Tom Neal and wife, Vida Thrift Neal, founded historic Neal's Lodges in 1926.