Canton's First Monday Trade Days
It's time again for the First Monday Trade Days, held in Canton, about an hour's drive east of Dallas. This flea market is a must for dedicated shoppers and collectors and calls itself the world's oldest and largest flea market. Check out our new
photo gallery in the
Canton Travel Guide.
posted by Paris and John @ 5:27 PM
Houston Gearing up for Auto-Filled Weekend
Houston is gearing up for a weekend of automotive fun on May 11-13, 2006. The weekend will mark the return of the Grand Prix of Houston and Art Cars, mobile works of art on parade.
Paint My Ride The world’s oldest and largest art car parade will showcase over 250 mobile works of art for more than 200,000 spectators on Saturday, May 13, beginning at 1 p.m. Everyone's Art Car Parade features wildly decorated, one-of-a-kind vehicles of all shapes and sizes from across the U.S., winds along Allen Parkway into downtown Houston.
The diverse collection of amazing Art Cars includes:
-A fire-breathing, 112-foot, moving marvel built from recycled oil drums and equipped with a full bar
-A two-story flower pot car
-A Texas-style hybrid combing the transportation wonders of a bicycle and a canoe
-Cars covered with condiment packages, dolls, Pez candy and even Yao Ming paraphernalia
-Exquisite lowriders
The Grand Prix of HoustonThe Grand Prix of Houston returns after a five-year hiatus, featuring an unprecedented combination of racing and entertainment. Held for the first time at the 345-acre Reliant Park, the Grand Prix of Houston will hold the first night race on a street course in Champ Car history.
The weekend's events include:
-Thursday, May 11 – Practice and qualifying events are open to the public, as well as a professional boxing event produced by Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions
-Friday, May 12 – An American Le Mans Series race, featuring multi-class racing in cars such as Audis, Ferraris and Porches
-Saturday, May 13 – The three-day event culminates with a marquee race, part of the 2006 Bridgestone Presents Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford.
Never before have two world-class series like Champ Car and American Le Mans raced together on the same weekend at the same location.
In addition to the marquee racing events each evening, visitors will enjoy a festival atmosphere with live music, exhibits and sporting events.
posted by Paris and John @ 4:50 PM
State Parks Damaged by Rita Reopen
Last September, Hurricane Rita ripped through East Texas and forced the closure of several state parks. Good news: one has reopened and a second will be reopening soon.
Martin Dies Jr. State Park near Jasper reopened over the Easter holiday weekend after being closed for repairs, maintenance and cleanup for more than six months. A partial reopening of Village Creek State Park near Lumberton about 60 miles to the south is expected by summer.
The majority of campsites at Martin Dies Jr.’s Hen House Ridge unit, one of three park units on O. A. Steinhagen Reservoir, were occupied over the busy holiday weekend, according to park manager Dan Odom. The swimming beach, too, saw plenty of action.
Odom said 31 water-and-electric campsites, 19 screened shelters, a mini-cabin and 35 water-only campsites in the Hen House Ridge unit are available for overnight camping.
Hardest hit was the Walnut Unit just across U. S. Highway 190, where 75 water-and-electric sites remain unusable, 20 screen shelters were smashed and a mini-cabin was crushed by fallen timber. In all, Martin Dies Jr. State Park has 227 campsites. Odom said he hopes to have the Walnut Unit’s group dining hall, boat ramp and fishing pier back in operation by May, though campsites will remain closed until repairs can be made.
For more information:
• call contact Martin Dies Jr. State Park, (409) 384-5231
Village Creek State ParkAt Village Creek State Park, park officials are shooting for a May 1 opening of 19 of its 25 water-and-electric campsites, as well as the children’s playground, cabin, group picnic pavilion, 4 out of 15 picnic sites and 2 of its 8 miles of trails. The Customer Service Center in Austin (512-389-8900) is accepting camping reservations at Village Creek for June 1 and after.
“We were lucky structure-wise,” said park manager Jerry Rashall, “but we lost about 50 percent of our trees. Three tornadoes touched down, one 25 yards from the park residence.”
Rashall said he hopes to have the rest of the picnic area, the walk-in campground and remainder of the trails open before the end of the summer.
For more information:
• call the park, (409) 755-7322
Sea Rim State Park and Sabine Pass State Historic SiteFarther south along the Gulf Coast, Sea Rim State Park and Sabine Pass State Historic Site, both of which suffered serious damage to their facilities, remain closed until funds for repairs can be identified, said Jerry Hopkins, director of state parks for southeast Texas.
Labels: State Parks
posted by Paris and John @ 7:23 PM
Houston Chef Opens Restaurant Featuring Lone Star Cuisine
Here's one that caught our eye: Houston chef Doug Atkinson has opened a new restaurant in Bellville. The Latigo Cafe-Bakery, located just off the square in a former historic Dr Pepper bottling plant, features Texas dishes with a gourmet twist. Look for the Cowboy Burger, an oak grilled burger topped with jalapeño jack cheese and peppers, the Flat Iron Steak, the Pecan Crusted Rainbow Trout and more. It looks like they'll have a pretty tempting array of dessert dishes as well including Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Pecan Pie, and Jalapeño Cheesecake.
Doug Atkinson has served as Executive Sous Chef at Stephen Pyles' Star Canyon restaurants in Dallas and Las Vegas.
posted by Paris and John @ 4:18 PM
2006 Texas State Park Guide Now Available
We'll be swinging by a state park soon to pick up our copy of the newly released 2006 Texas State Park Guide. The publication is free but, due to mailing costs, you can't order it but must go by and pick it up in person.
The new 112-page guide can be picked up free at any Texas state park, most TPWD law enforcement offices, the state’s 12 Travel Information Centers and at various chambers of commerce and convention and visitor’s bureaus. The guide is available, too, as a downloadable PDF file on the
TPWD web site in English and Spanish.
Photo courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department © 2006
Labels: State Parks
posted by Paris and John @ 9:53 AM
Panhandle Plains Historical Museum Planning Activities
The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (PPHM), which can truly be described as a Texas-sized museum located in Canyon, Texas, has a full schedule of upcoming events:
Palo Duro, The Grand Canyon of Texas: March 11- July 16 Honoring the 75th anniversary of the opening of Palo Duro Park, the exhibit features a variety of artifacts, photographs, and paintings relating to Palo Duro Canyon.
Picturing Palo Duro: April 15-October 8 This exhibition presents artisitc interpretations of the "Grand Canyon of Texas" from Randolph Marcy's 1852 expedition to contemporary painters.
My Hero's Have Always Been Cowboys is the theme of the Palo Duro Western Film Festival May 5-7, featuring classic western films, many shot in and around the Texas Panhandle. Great films and popcorn make this a must-see event.
Masterpieces of American Indian Art opens May 20 A newly renovated gallery, exhibiting outstanding examples of baskets, beadwork, pottery, textiles, silver and turquoise jewelry, paintings and sculpture.
The Duval Collection: August 5-January 2007 Housed in Houston, this collection includes dazzling specimens of native copper, azurite, amethyst, selenite, and many other gems from around the world, all chosen for their beauty of form and color.
Summer museum hours (June through August) are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. For more information visit the
museum's web site.
posted by Paris and John @ 11:58 AM
Recovery from Panhandle Wildfires
We received word from the Amarillo CVB that the Panhandle fires are out and Amarillo luckily escaped damage. Travelers around the world followed these wildfires on television as they burned thousands of acres across the eastern Texas Panhandle in mid-March.
Word from the Amarillo CVB is that Amarillo was unscathed by the fires and all travel facilities are operating and are getting ready for an exciting summer.
To help ranchers recover from these fires, go to the
Texas Cattle Feeders Association website.
posted by Paris and John @ 11:56 AM
