Archives: Travel and Outdoors

The Traveler: Why Stop?

It’s a Grab Bag Monday! You never know what’s going show up here.

You’ve seen them before: those roadside historical markers that pop up at random places along the highway. It’s easy to keep the cruise control in gear and coast by, not giving the unassuming sign a second thought.

So, why stop?

Maybe the better question is, why not?

Years ago my husband and I sailed north on Highway 83 in Texas. We were en route to the Oklahoma panhandle for a dear grandparent’s funeral. It was a long, emotional trip. We needed a break. We spotted a large iron bridge that spanned the Red River near Wellington. It broke up the horizon, and a “Historical Marker Ahead” sign teased us off of the road. The gravel shoulder crunched under our tires as we eased to a stop.

My expectations of the marker hovered on the low end despite being a fan of history and cool-looking bridges. I expected tidbits on the construction of the bridge or something similar. But check out what it said:

The Red River Plunge of Bonnie and Clyde

On June 10, 1933, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Pritchard and family saw from their home on the bluff (west) the plunge of an auto into the Red River. Rescuing the victims, unrecognized as Bonnie Parker and Clyde and Buck Barrow, they sent for help. Upon their arrival, the local sheriff and police chief were disarmed by Bonnie Parker. Buck Barrow shot Pritchard’s daughter while crippling the family car to halt pursuit. Kidnapping the officers, the gangsters fled. Bonnie and Clyde were fated to meet death in 1934. In this quiet region, the escapade is now legend.

Excerpted from Why Stop? A Guide to Texas Roadside Historical Markers by Betty Dooley Awbrey and Stuart Awbrey

Holy moly. What a surprise! If that didn’t make us glad we stopped, I don’t know what would. My eyes were as big as a getaway car’s tires as I gazed over the bridge and followed the bank that sank into the riverbed.  I could imagine it all happening.

Isn’t it amazing the things that pop up around you that you’d never guess? One moment you’re trudging along an endless highway, the next you’re seeing the scenery in a while new light. Taking a minute, taking a chance lets ordinary surroundings whisper their amazing secrets.

I’m so glad we stopped.

What about you? When/where have you been pleasantly surprised by a chance encounter or unplanned stop? Hypothetically, what would a historical marker in the future say (funny or serious) about where you live?

Want to know more?

Interview with son of eyewitnesses by A. Winston Woodward

The Historical Marker Database online and its Google/Android App

25+ Top Apps for iPhone/iPad

Spring = Kolaches, of course

There’s a lot to love about spring. Greening grass, budding trees, sweetly-scented flowers. No matter where you live, it’s enough to invite the mind to wander deliciously and dream of beautiful days.

I grew up in Texas and live now in New Mexico, so I’ve had a variety of things to appreciate about spring in these two states.

…Never mind that with spring in New Mexico, temperatures often flirt with the 90-degree range in February or that March through May is referred to affectionately as “the windy season.” (Here’s a secret: “windy” could mean a 25-mile-an-hour “breeze” to a 60-mile-an-hour “stiff breeze.” Forget your hairdo that day.)

…Or that in Texas, the tornado siren doubles as the neighborhood’s call to prayer.

Nope, never mind all of that. There are plenty of things to love about spring. Here’s a short list of mine:

1. Birds singing outside all day long, which makes me think of…

2. Goosebump-free coffee-sipping outside in my favorite coffee house’s garden, which makes me think of…

3. Planting a few vegetables and flowers, which makes me think of…

4. Texas bluebonnets, which makes me think of…

5. Central Texas and its green, rolling prairies and hills, which makes me think of…

6. Kolaches from West, Texas. (Not West Texas, mind you. West, Texas, which is in Central Texas, naturally.)

Yep, like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, much of my life circles ’round to kolaches – the slightly sweet, pillowy yeast roll-and-fruit pastry. Don’t ask me why. But if you try them, you’ll know.

Now, please tell me that your mind meanders like a winding stream too. I can’t be the only one.

Happy Kolache…I mean, Spring!

Let’s talk: What do you like about spring in your area?

Madera Canyon

The trail led us up rocky switchbacks and through mountainside meadows. The morning breeze brought a welcome chill. Petite wildflowers, yellow and sometimes purple, decorated the way.

It was hard to tell that wildfire had violated this high desert oasis just over a year ago. Hard, except for a handful of trail-side scenes we stumbled upon. One rested ten feet from the trail, tucked behind a gnarled mesquite tree on top of the hill.

It hid itself in the tall grass. Easy to miss. A circle of wildflowers hugged the patch occupied by a lump of charred wood –  a small victim among the thousands of acres the fires ravaged. It lay there black and dead and quiet. The flowers held vigil with dainty, stubborn dignity. Life was their testimony; beauty rebuked the haphazard destruction. Wordless tribute sprung from the nourishment the wood sacrificed, defying the past to all who cared to pass by and take note.

Let’s talk: When, lately, have you noticed a small miracle? Was it easy to spot or easy to miss?