Do you watch Food Network’s show The Great Food Truck Race with Tyler Florence?
Teams from around the country operate food trucks in a winding string of cities, advancing to the next round of competition each week by how much the trucks earn. It’s fun to watch, and today…it was fun to watch them film in Galveston, too!
The trucks parked in Saengerfest Park on The Strand downtown, and began serving at 11 a.m. Each truck had a film crew assigned to them to capture the action – good and bad.
When I saw that the array of food included Mexican and Cajun food and seafood, all I could think was “They better have really brought their “A” game.” Galvestonians are a food-loving bunch, and these dishes are regular “food groups” there.
The crowd wasn’t disappointed. The cooks running the trucks were spirited and enjoyable, despite the pressure of the competition, and the dishes got a round of thumbs-up from everyone I talked to – which is high praise.
As the lunch hour approached, the lines got longer and some of the trucks simply couldn’t keep up the pace.
Others sold out of product and had to make a mad dash to the nearest grocery. If you watch the show, you’ll know that this is one of the biggest “oh no’s” of a day of competition because it causes a truck to miss precious hours they are allowed to serve.
Pups even came with their owners, hoping that something would drop within their reach.
I love a scary movie. Not a gory movie or one of the blood-guts-n-gore type. Just scary. Like ‘The Others,’ “Sixth Sense,” or the version of “The Changeling” with George C. Scott. Scare me with a suspenseful story, not with a splatter of blood.
But even I admit what a cult horror classic the 1974 version of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” has become. And what could be more fun than visiting a film location of a famous scary movie in time for Halloween? This one happens to be on a backroad in Texas.
Scene from ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’
If you’re familiar with the movie, then the Last Chance Gas Station, also known as Bilbo’s Texas Landmark, is sure to send a shiver up your spine. In the film the station and BBQ joint was run by the character of Drayton Sawyer, the head of a family of cannibals who offered their own specialty of human chili to unsuspecting customers. Mmmmmm.
About four miles south of Highway 71 in Bastrop, the retro-renovated station used in the film is now known as the We Slaughter Barbecue. But don’t worry, if you stop for lunch you’ll be served much more traditional brisket plates than the previous fictional owner offered. In fact, it’s really good barbecue, so you can check out the fun location and check lunch off your list at the same time.
Any cult classic lover will have a heyday inside the gift shop filled with horror memorabilia, toys, shirts and souvenirs.
The owners opened the location as a “bed and barbeque” for those who dare to stay past sundown. Guests can sleep in one of the small cabins out in back of the station. Each cabin sleeps three adults . . . so no one has to brave a night at the location alone. And of course the tiny cabins are decorated with blood red walls . . . maybe so stains won’t show?
At the time I’m writing this, the cabins are $129 per night, or slightly less if you’re brave enough to stay multiple nights.
Outside of the station sits an abandoned van that is nearly identical to the van owned by some of the unfortunate customers in the movie, and the owners have recently acquired the actual Black Maria semi truck from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre as well.
If you’re planning to attend the “Cult Classic Convention” in Bastrop this coming March (2023), this would be an ideal place to stay. But be sure to send a postcard to let loved ones know where you are . . . just in case they have to search for you later.
“Every ranch pickup ought to have at least one cow dog in the back,
barking at every passing truck.” – Hank the Cowdog, Ranch Life Book No. 1
I had to smile when I read that this Friday is National Dog Appreciation Day . . . because in my world, every day is dog appreciation day!
And as a Texan, what better dog to send some appreciation to than the star of the humorous mystery novel series Hank the Cow Dog.
If you aren’t familiar with Hank, you’re in for a treat. This hysterical cow dog, or “Head of Ranch Security” as he prefers to be called, has a slew of doggone fun adventures among other characters that include Pete the Barn Cat, Slim Chance and Sally May – all created by Texas Literary Hall of Fame inductee John R. Erickson.
The books have sold over 9 million worldwide! Pretty darn good for an old dog! My daughter and I read dozens of them when she was little, and I’ve lost count of how many I’ve gifted to other kids.
Do you have to be a kid or a Texan to get a kick out of Hank’s stories? Nope! People as far away as Taiwan are fans. But as long as you’re reading one, why not read it aloud to the nearest child? That will brighten both your days!
Erickson, whose hometown is Perryton, grew up in the Panhandle so his description of characters and written version of a Texas twang ring true. He got his literary start with San Angelo’s Livestock Weekly in the 1980s, mentored by another Texas writer named Elmer Kelton.
Being a long time fan of these books, if you think I made it a point to stop on a recent trip to San Angelo just to see an ode to Hank . . . well, you’d be right. A bronze statue of the Lone Star State’s beloved canine sits on a ledge in Heritage Park at the corner of West Twohig and Oakes Streets. Sculpted by San Antonio artist Raul Ruiz in 2018, he looks right at home with the other features of the pocket park displayed to honor the ranching and agricultural heritage of the state.
There’s a sculpture of a rancher and his trusty horse, native plants, a vintage cistern system and plenty of space to sit for a spell in the shade of a leaf-shaped overhang that provides an escape from the Texas sun. The park is open to the public daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If you want to make a quick visit to one more spot in town honoring Lone Star literature, swing by the mural by Stylie Read of Elmer Stephen Kelton – Erickson’s mentor – author of over 50 western novels. It’s at 118 South Chadbourne Street.
Now that school’s back in session, if your child is looking to add to their library list, they might just want to check out one of the over 70 stories about this scruffy, scrappy hound. The Texas tails…um, tales… are worth howling about.
For my 11th birthday, my parents took a group of my friends and I to see a new movie: “The Legend of Boggy Creek- A True Story.”
If you need a good giggle, click here to see the original movie trailer.
It was a new scary movie (called a docu-drama) about a monster that lived in the swamps of Arkansas. (I know, I know…”swamps in Arkansas?”) Basically portrayed as a Bigfoot-like creature, this guy attacked and killed people. I remember not being very scared (even back then it took quite a bit to scare me), but my friends screamed and clutched each other through the entire thing. I don’t remember if I noticed that it was painfully obvious that this “Bigfoot” was a guy in an ape suit, complete with cutout eyes.
But as bad as it was, the movie holds a fun spot in my memories because, hey…it was my birthday.
Just a few months ago I was speaking at a paranormal convention in Jefferson (about Victorian funeral customs). One of the gentlemen who had a booth in the vendor hall carried just about everything Bigfoot-themed you could think of: dolls, bumper stickers, books, key chains and more. I resisted as long as I could, but I finally politely asked him what connection Bigfoot had with East Texas.
He looked at me as if I had lost my mind, and then asked if I had ever heard of a movie called “Legend of Boggy Creek.”
I smiled and replied that, well yes as a matter of fact I remembered that movie.
That’s when he told me that although the movie was set in Arkansas, those events actually happened in East Texas, where Bigfoot has been seen for years.
A couple of other attendees gathered to tell me that OF COURSE it was about East Texas, and the movie had even been filmed there.
Well, huh. Who knew?
I thanked them for the information, and sat myself down for a visit with Mr. Google. But all I really had to do was walk across the street from the convention area to see a bronze statue of Bigfoot.
The next day, I drove to Uncertain, which is appropriately named for anything spooky, and recognized the same type of swampy, cypress-filled waterways and run-down wooden shacks that appeared in the movie.
I didn’t get to meet Bigfoot, but maybe he rests during the day. Wherever he was, I found Uncertain to be a magical place, and can’t wait to visit again to go kayaking or on an airboat ride. It’s an ecological wonderland. But I’ll have to remember to keep an eye out for the Big Guy in the treeline.
If you think that Dia de los Muertos is a creepy holiday, or the same as Halloween . . . think again! This Latin American holiday is rooted in the love of family and traditions.
My friend Stacy, from the Hurried Hostess blog, and I got to visit with Houston Life TV and share a bit about this special tradition.
Here are the trivia questions that I posed to the hosts. Give them a try to see how you do!
How many days does the celebration of Dia de los Muertos span?
one
two
three
four
Dia de los Muertos coincides with which two Catholic holidays?
Halloween and All Souls’ Day
Assumption and Good Friday
All Saints Day and All Souls Day
Halloween and Our Lady of Autumn
What is the traditional flower to leave on graves during the Day of the Dead celebrations?
roses
marigolds
tulips
mums
Dia de los Muertos was originally celebrated in what month?
December
August
March
January
The iconic woman skeleton character in a dress and hat is known as:
la Madre
la Madrina
la Muertida
la Catrina
In the United States, pumpkins are associated with Halloween. What traditional food does Mexico associate with Dia de los Muertos?
corn
beans
potatoes
butternut squash
Which people were the first to practice the beginnings of this tradition?
Spanish
Hondurans
Aztecs
Mayans
Answers:
.
.
.
Did you peek?
.
.
.
How many days does the celebration of Dia de los Muertos span?
Three. October 31 is All Hallow’s Eve, a day of preparation for the return of the spirits. November 1 is El Dia de los Innocentes (day of the children). On this day celebrants welcome the spirits of lost children. The last day is November 2, or Day of the Dead, when the rest of the family members and friends who have passed on are reunited with their loved ones for one day.
Dia de los Muertos coincides with which two Catholic holidays?
All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2)
What is the traditional flower to leave on graves during the Day of the Dead celebrations?
Marigolds! The brilliant color and strong fragrance of this flower is thought to attract the spirits and lead them in the direction of the celebrations.
Dia de los Muertos was originally celebrated in what month?
The celebration originally fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, which was around early August.
The iconic woman skeleton character in a dress and hat is known as:
La Calavera Catrina (the skeleton Catrina), also known as the elegant skull, comes from an etching created by Mexican cartoonist and illustrator Jose’ Guadalupe Posada around 1910. Wearing her fancy hat, she serves as a reminder that death does not discriminate between classes and comes even to the wealthy.
In the United States, pumpkins are associated with Halloween. What traditional food does Mexico associate with Dia de los Muertos?
Butternut squash is traditionally candied and enjoyed as a dessert, but squash recipes of all types can be found during the holiday.
Which people were the first to practice the beginnings of this tradition?
Aztecs. The origins of the rituals practiced during Dia de los Muertos can be traced back 3,000 years!
So, how did you do? Share the quiz with your friends to see how their Day of the Dead knowledge matches up!
Watch Courtney Zavala And Derrick Shore of Houston Life TV
There’s nothing that’s more fun than when someone shows an interest in what you do (O.K., maybe a couple of things – but it’s right up there!)…so I was thrilled to be contacted by the television show Texas Country Reporter to talk about the historic cemeteries in Galveston.
This particular show focuses on the people of Texas more than the places, so there were more questions about me than I’m accustomed to…but you better bet that we ended up talking about Galveston history just the same!
I was originally contacted by one of the producers, and we exchanged a few rounds of information via email and by phone. Once the shooting schedule was set I was given a date that my segment would be shot.
What we see when we watch TCR episodes is a series of short interviews, but there are hours of work (and miles of travel) that go into producing each one.
When I asked Quintin, the energetic young producer in charge of my shoot, how the logistics of shooting so many stories come together, he explained that there is more than one team.
The crews group their shoots by area of the state, then line up times each subject has available.
Two sets of production teams are sent out to begin filming separate story segments for the show. After initial footage is shot, the hosts join them for their portion and then leave to join the other team.
Once the twosome in charge of producing and shooting the Galveston segment had time to get the bulk of footage with me in the cemeteries, the show hosts arrived to film their part – which took about an hour.
After the hosts finish, they left to meet up with the other producer/camera team to film their part of another story.
These two teams kind of “tag team” doing stories for a week, and then return to the office to edit the following week while another set of teams goes out. The process is obviously a well-oiled machine.
Quintin and Dan met me at the Broadway Cemetery District to go over ideas for information to include and begin shooting some “B roll” footage. “B-rolls” consist of footage edited in around the main portion of the segment to complement and fill it out.
Image courtesy of @degreesnorthimages
I had sent out a note to some friends a few days prior that we would need some “faux tour-takers” when the crew needed shots representing the tours that I give at the cemetery, just before noon, and luckily I have great friends and a super sister who braved the heat to join us for a little over an hour. A HUGE thank you to all of them!!
After that, the show hosts Bob and Kelli Phillips arrived. If you watch the show, you will be happy to know that they are just as sweet and thoughtful as they appear on TV.
The producer and I had figured out ahead of time some of the information to include, but the couple had many of their own questions as well. Sitting on the wall of Trinity Episcopal Cemetery, Kelli and I got to chatting right away. Though Bob was standing behind the producer and Dan the camera operator, he asked questions as well, but it soon became apparent that the segment would just include Kelli and I on camera.
The producer at one point laughingly asked Bob, “Are you just going to give Kelli the entire segment?”, to which he replied, “I guess I am.”
Texas Country Reporter Festival, Oct. 27, 2018
They also invited me (as they do all their on-air guests) to take part in the Texas Country Reporter Festival in Waxahachie on October 28. I’m trying to decide if I really want to have a book booth…or just wander around and have fun talking to people! You can find out more about the festival here: http://texascountryreporter.com/festival
After the Phillips left to go on to the next assignment, we took a lunch break with the plan to meet afterward at the Galveston Texas History Center of the Rosenberg Library. It’s one of the locations that I told the crew from our first conversations was important to include. Their resources are invaluable to any researcher interested in local history.
The Head of Special Collections Lauren Martino and Senior Archivist Sean McConnell were wonderful enough to have pulled a wide variety of maps, documents and photos to represent the types of materials that might be used in my type of research.
Once we finished at the library, Quintin and Dan were heading back to the cemeteries to look for particular types of gravestones to shoot, so I went with them to save them from wasting “searching around” time.
It also gave me a chance to talk to them a bit about how they got started, what the favorite stories they worked on were and why. They get the chance to capture stories of all sorts of people: artists, veterans, craftsmen, storytellers and local characters.
The day before they filmed the Galveston segment, they shot a beekeeper in Houston removing a hive from the wall of a home. They all had to wear the protective gear, but said it was still pretty unnerving.
One laughed an said it was obvious that I was usually on the “other side” of interviews. Well…yeah.
I was also very happy that they filmed its story in late April to catch some of the amazing coreopsis that covers the cemetery complex in May. They may not have been at the height of bloom, but they looked beautiful. And hopefully this adorable little girl will be making a cameo appearance!
And just a note…we met at the cemeteries at 7:40 a.m. and left that day at 4:15 p.m. So I probably s-h-o-u-l-d have remembered sunscreen, ha ha!
When Quintin and Dan left they were heading for Beaumont to film the next day. Quintin is single and Dan has arranged to bring his wife along whenever she wants, so they are both at perfect times in their lives for this kind of work. What a great way to see our state.
So when will the segment about Galveston’s Broadway Cemeteries air? We’ll have to be patient. It will be part of the new season in the fall, so I should have an airdate by September. I’ll keep you posted!
In Houston Texas Country Reporter airs on Saturday evenings at 5:00 p.m. on KHOU 11 (CBS). For other market airtime and stations, visit http://texascountryreporter.com/showtimes
When I saw that the array of food included Mexican and Cajun food and seafood, all I could think was “They better have really brought their “A” game.” Galvestonians are a food-loving bunch, and these dishes are regular “food groups” there.
ly asked Bob, “Are you just going to give Kelli the entire segment?”, to which he replied, “I guess I am.”
