Road trip across Texas

Willie Nelson serenaded us as we drove past oil rigs and windmills. My goal was to physically inform my son about just how big the great state of Texas really is. There is nothing like the vista of miles of purple horizon beyond miles of golden grass to achieve a proper respect for Texas, especially when it requires you to sit still in the car for hours.

Our final destination was Pueblo, Colorado, requiring us to pass through the corner of New Mexico as well. Pueblo, a little town about the size of Tyler where I have two beloved cousins, is gem of a town nestled in the foothills of the Rockies where a boy could easily imagine that he was living in the 1800s when miners still searched for silver and gold.

One of the best parts about having a son late in life is having an almost forty year headstart on the boy, meaning road trips are highly entertaining for both of us. I love to surprise him by knowing things he's never dreamed of yet, like the perfect Mayan patio right here in Texas where they serve Mexican food just the way kids love it, dripping with melted cheese, topped with guacamole and sour cream, and followed by pralines that are even better than the ones I make from scratch. Our first stop, just three hours into our trip, with a detour past the stockyards, was to have an early lunch at Joe T. Garcia's in Fort Worth. Oh, life's simple pleasures.

So, here are the best things to do when traveling from East Texas to Pueblo, unanimously voted on by a road-weary mother-son team, listed in the order that we discovered them together.

~ The first picture we took was of my son standing in front of Little Hope Baptist Church, on the way to Canton. I know it's named after the Little Hope Community, but there is something inspiring about people who are not afraid to name their church such a thought-provoking name. I have driven by there a thousand times, but never taken the time to follow the signs back along the country roads surrounded by pastures to see the building where those folks have been worshipping for over 100 years. Okay, maybe not all the exact same folks, but their kids and grandkids.

~ Next stop, Joe T's where fountains, tropical plants, and twangy salsa transform the patio into an international experience.

~ Pump jacks bobbing up and down all across the golden farm land around Wichita Falls and Vernon are a thrilling sight for a boy who has been hearing about the glories of the oil business from his grandfather who is a retired geologist.

~ Quanah, Texas is a sleepy town named for the famous Comanche Indian Chief who was the son of the white captive woman named Cynthia Ann and her husband, Petu Nocona. Having fought fearlessly against the settlement of the Comancheria, a vast area that runs from the Arkansas River in western Colorado into Kansas and south into Mexico, Quanah became a leader and spokesman for his people, interceding with the U.S. government and even hunting with folks like Teddy Roosevelt. Pretty rich history for one small Texas town.

~ Amarillo, which means yellow in Spanish, is about ten hours from Tyler and is a perfect place to spend the night, and is, coincidentally, my dad's birthplace.

~ Watching out the car windows as Texas turns into New Mexico and southern Colorado, the plateaus and terrain of the Wild West make it easy to imagine the ghost of John Wayne riding across the landscape.

~ After miles of wide open prairie, the first mountain pass at Trinidad is a wind-y rollercoaster that includes gorgeous green views.

~ Pueblo is a surprising antique jewel of a city, located at an elevation of 5,000 feet. With canyons and cactuses, the area is very similar to the Hill Country of Central Texas, but without the overpopulation that the Austin-San Antonio corridor has attracted. Plus, there is the additional bonus of being on the high plain surrounded by purple mountains, including Pike's Peak in the distance.

~ Being an open range state means that if a property owner in Colorado does not fence in his acreage, it is assumed that mule deer and cattle will graze freely, allowing the land to qualify for agricultural status. We saw plenty of wildlife making full use of their tax-subsidized dinner program.

~ The Lake Pueblo State Park includes RV and tent camping on limestone cliffs overlooking boating, waterskiing, sailing, swimming and fishing in the pristine blue water of the 4500 acre reservoir reflecting the big blue sky.

~ Pueblo's Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, including the Buell Children's Museum, the Helen T. White Galleries and a conference center available for event rental, deserves a note of its own. It is located in the heart of the old downtown where buildings dating back to the 1800s are restored and a river walk is hopping with music, restaurants and regular festivals. Speaking of restaurants, a few blocks away, La Renaissance serves 5-course dinners like lamb or prime rib for less than $25 per person to customers enjoying a night out on the town in their blue jeans. Actually, the best thing about Pueblo is the people with their casual, friendly attitude.

~ Is there a better way to crown a road trip than with a train ride? If you are willing to drive a few more hours to an elevation of 10,000 feet, it is worth the effort to enjoy a ride on the Leadville, Colorado and Southern Railroad. The trip affords dramatic views of the Arkansas River as it snakes along below some of Colorado's highest mountains. I kept wondering if Quanah Parker ever sat on his horse taking in the same vistas.

Coming home to East Texas a few days after our train ride, it took thirteen hours to drive frm Amarillo to Denton. My son was duly impressed. Thirteen hours in the car is a massive feat of endurance for a tenyear old boy. I kept reminding him that it would have taken weeks or months in a covered wagon. Not to mention the troubling fear of mad Comanches. In those days of course, not now.

As we turned into our neighborhood, we couldn't decide which day of a road trip is more fun, the day we leave or the day we get back home. It is hard to beat the shady welcome of the piney woods of East Texas.

P.S. September means it is only a few short weeks until October breezes make the golf courses of East Texas irresistible. Now is the time to let me know which courses you want to see on your reader's list of favorites.

Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives in beautiful East Texas, a terrific home base from which to explore the rest of the world. All comments, ideas, and lists are welcome at CaeKrafve2@aol.com.