The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells

It was not long after I arrived in Texas that I was exploring the area west of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, when I saw a HUGE building looming in the distance as I approached the town of Mineral Wells.

This HUGE building looked so out of place, towering above the small town which looked like it had fallen on hard times.

I can not remember now how it was I learned this HUGE building was the Baker Hotel. I know I discovered the Baker Hotel late in the last century, before Googling made it easy to find information.

After I began my Eyes on Texas website I returned to Mineral Wells to take more photos of the Baker  Hotel. On one of my visits a custodian let me inside to explore the first floor. By then the Baker had been stripped of most of anything valuable, but you could still see signs of its glory days, like the art deco style floor pointing arrow above the elevator door. And what looked like pink tinted mirrors in the ballroom. Why those mirrors were still there seemed to be yet one more Baker Hotel mystery.

When I made a Baker Hotel webpage it was the only webpage devoted to this subject on the Internet. That is no longer the case.

Earlier in this century I would frequently get inquiries about the Baker Hotel from people thinking I somehow had a direct involvement with the building. Over the years there have been multiple instances of someone having a plan to restore the Baker Hotel to its former glory. Some of these plans seem well grounded, generating news coverage.

And then nothing seems to happen and the Baker Hotel remains in its state of gradual decay.

Exhausting Hike To Summit Of Enchanted Rock

As you can see the hike to the summit of Enchanted Rock in the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, in the heart of Texas Hill Country, can be a bit exhausting for some.

Hiking Enchanted Rock may be the best hike in Texas. It certainly is one of the most scenic and most popular.

Go to our Eyes on Texas Enchanted Rock webpage for more pictures and more information, including the following Enchanted Rock factoids...

• Enchanted Rock State Natural Area consists of 1643.5 acres on Big Sandy Creek, north of Fredericksburg, on the border between Gillespie and Llano Counties. It was acquired in 1978 by the Nature Conservancy of Texas. Enchanted Rock is a huge, pink granite dome rising 425 feet above ground, 1825 feet above sea level, and covering 640 acres.
• Enchanted Rock was named a National Natural Landmark in 1970. In 1984 Enchanted Rock was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
• A Spanish conquistador captured by the Tonkawa escaped by losing himself in the rock area, giving rise to an Indian legend of a "pale man swallowed by a rock and reborn as one of their own." The Indians believed he cast spells of enchantments on the area, The first well-documented explorations of this area began around 1723 when the Spanish stepped up their goal to colonize Texas. During the mid-1700s, the Spaniards made several trips to the north and northwest of San Antonio, establishing a mission and presidio (fort) on the San Saba River and doing some mining on Honey Creek near the Llano River.
• There is only one granite formation in America larger than Enchanted Rock and that is Stone Mountain in Georgia.
• Enchanted Rock State Park fills up (in terms of parking) and frequently closes on weekends (sometimes as early as 11 a.m.) Reopening usually occurs at 5 p.m. Call ahead (325-247-3903) or have alternate plans if you arrive at the park and find it closed. 
• There is only one granite formation in America larger than Enchanted Rock and that is Stone Mountain in Georgia.

Maybe a Mighty Fine Time at the 2014 State Fair of Texas drinking Funnel Cake Ale with Fried Gulf Shrimp Boils

Those are the BIG BOOTS of BIG TEX you are looking at on the left.

Big Tex stands guard and greets people at the State Fair of Texas.

It was from Big Tex I learned to use the phrase "mighty fine time" after I heard Big Tex greet me with something like "I hope you have yourself a mighty fine time at this year's State Fair of Texas."

I don't remember for sure, but I think you may hear the big guy say mighty fine time in the video below that I compiled from that year's State Fair visit.

The State Fair of Texas, also known as the Texas State Fair, starts up in a couple Fridays, September 26 to be specific. The Fair runs through October 19.

Earlier this month the winners of the Big Tex Choice Award were announced. The Best Taste Award went to Clint Probst's Fried Gulf Shrimp Boil. The Most Creative Award went to Justin Martinez's Original State Fair Brew – Funnel Cake Ale.

I believe this is the first year State Fair of Texas visitors under 21 years old can not sample one of the Big Tex Choice Award winners.

To read the details of what makes up a Fried Shrimp Boil and Funnel Cake Ale, along with descriptions of the fried concoctions which did not win, go to the blogging I blogged last month about the Big Tex Choice Awards titled The State Fair of Texas 2014 Big Tex Choice Awards This Year With Beer.

I do not know if I will make it to the 2014 Texas State Fair. My last visit I parked in a remote parking lot from whence I was delivered to the Fair's entry gate via a Trinity Rail Express train. That was fun.

I could take a TRE train to Dallas, and then hop the DART train line which goes directly to the State Fair of Texas. That might be adventurous. Or possibly all sorts of aggravating.

If you have yourself a mighty fine time watching the video below, please note that that is not Big Tex playing bongos you hear throughout the video....

Visiting Zebra at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

If you are visiting the Hill Country zone that surrounds Glen Rose there are two nearby attractions you need to visit.

One is Dinosaur Valley State Park.

The other is the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.

The intro blurb from my Eyes on Texas website's webpage about the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center sums up how I felt about the experience.

Located near Glen Rose and Dinosaur Valley, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is the most entertaining attraction we have yet found in north Texas. The lively wildlife, the many visitors, the well-designed park, the scenery. This place even managed to have several very steep hills, both uphill and downhill, so steep they required 'shift to low gear' signs. Steepest road grades we have seen in Texas. 

The drive through Fossil Rim is basically one surprise after another. I had never had a a zebra stick its head in my window before. Or try to bit a chunk out of my steering wheel.

I don't think I have ever added so many photos to a webpage as I did on the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center webpage.

I also do not believe I ever experienced, before or since, as much interaction with wildlife as I did the day I visited Fossil Rim. In addition to the zebra, I also got close with an ostrich, a giraffe and a laughing goat. To name a few of the more memorable encounters.

After I webpaged my experience I got email from Fossil Rim, after which a few emails were exchanged. And then Fossil Rim mailed me a Season's Pass for two, along with four guest  passes. All good for a year.

None of which I got around to using. I have long intended to  return to makes videos. But never have.

I have never been much of a fan of zoos. Although zoos have greatly improved, losing much of that animals in prison cages feel, replaced with simulated natural habitats.

At the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center you definitely do not feel like you are visiting a zoo. It feels more like you are taking a drive through the natural habitat of hundreds of wild animals having themselves a mighty fine time interacting with the visitors.

Lost in Dinosaur Valley State Park

As you can see on the list of links on the right I have an Eyes on Texas Facebook page.

Today Facebook repeatedly suggested I enable an automatic posting feature where a Facebook post gets posted as an Eyes on Texas Twitter post.

Not really understanding what this would do I enabled it, thinking that the Twitter tweet would somehow link back to the Facebook post.

Instead the Twitter tweet linked to the link in the Facebook post which linked to my original Dinosaur Valley State Park page on my Eyes on Texas website.

So, a person seeing the blurb of text on Twitter, when clicking on the link, does not go to the Facebook source of that text, instead they go where that text does not exist.

Confusing.

Below is the text in the post on Facebook about Dinosaur Valley State Park of which Twitter tweeted the first few words.....

The best hiking and mountain biking that I have experienced in North Texas has been in Dinosaur Valley State Park, located near Glen Rose and the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. 

I sort of enjoy getting lost. 

I've been lost on the Dinosaur Valley trails both hiking and biking, with the best/worst lost experience occurring on a Christmas Day.

I did not realize the park would be pretty much empty on Christmas Day, with no one at the entry gate. I pedaled for hours, telling myself to keep track of the various junctions and colored trail markers.

But, as the sun began to set I realized I was not where I thought I was. 

I was lost. 

As darkness began to set in I began pondering hiding the bike in the brush and moving as fast as I could on foot. Right about then I got my bearings.

I think this may be the last time I've been lost.

Until today when I got lost in Facebook and Twitter.........

The State Fair of Texas 2014 Big Tex Choice Awards This Year With Beer

Next month, September 26 to be exact, in Dallas, the 2014 State Fair of Texas opens, and stays open through October 19.

The Texas State Fair is well known for many things. Big Tex comes to mind. As do Corny Dogs. Along with one of the biggest State Fair Midways in America, including what used to be the tallest Ferris wheel in the Western Hemisphere, til supplanted by bigger wheels in Seattle and Las Vegas.

And then there is the annual competition to win a Big Tex Choice Award.

Previous years, as far as I know, all Big Tex Choice Award entries have been deep-fried delectable items like Deep Fried Coke, Fried Bacon Cinnamon Roll, Fried Bubblegum, Deep Fried Butter, Deep Fried Beer.

Well, you get the drift.

Now this year, for the first time, one of the entries is not deep-fried. That would be Original State Fair Brew  - Funnel Cake Ale, the first Tex Choice Award potential winner in history requiring one be 21 years old to sample.

Below, direct from the Big Tex website, that being the official website of the State Fair of Texas, are this year's Big Tex Choice Award finalists...

Chicken Fried Loaded Baked Potato by Butch Benavides
The creamy and moist insides of a baked potato, loaded with generous amounts of butter, bacon, and cheddar cheese, are coated and battered with a delectable blend of spices and flour that create a perfect combination of fried crispy crust and delicious, creamy loaded baked potato. Served with a ranch dipping sauce.

Deep Fried “Breakfast for Dinner” by Edna Sutton & Tom Grace
A twist on a favorite American dinner–”Breakfast for Dinner.” This is a 10″ flour tortilla stuffed with eight favorite breakfast items – scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, bacon, potatoes, ham, onion, cheddar cheese and gooey cinnamon roll bits – that are deep fried until golden brown and served with a creamy country gravy, salsa and a pico-queso dip.

Deep Fried Texas Bluebonnet by Isaac Rousso
The Deep Fried Texas Bluebonnet is a blueberry muffin, scone-style batter that is stuffed with cream cheese, blueberries and sweet morsels of white chocolate. It is baked and deep fried to a perfect golden brown. This mountain of flavor is topped off with whipped cream, chopped white chocolate morsels, powdered sugar, blueberries, and a delicious blueberry glaze.

Fried Gulf Shrimp Boil by Clint Probst
Everything you would expect in a shrimp boil rolled into a ball, dusted with Fish Fry, and fried to a golden brown! Baby gulf shrimp, diced red potatoes, onion, lemon, and seasoning are formed around a cocktail shrimp, dusted and fried with the tail sticking out for a handle. Served with a remoulade sauce.

Fried Sriracha Balls by Mark Zable
A lip-smacking combination of shredded chicken, corn, green chilies, tomatoes, and Sriracha hot sauce, formed into balls and coated with crispy tortilla chips. It is then flash-fried until golden brown. For those who like their food higher on the Scoville Scale, extra Sriracha Sauce is available.

Fried Sweet Texas by Justin Martinez
Traveling across Texas to try the best and most popular desserts gave inspiration for this fried treat. Fried Sweet Texas starts with fresh pie dough filled with crunchy pecan pie, juicy peach cobbler, and creamy buttermilk pie. It is then deep fried until the crust is golden brown and flaky, and then served up with a side of Texas’ own Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream. A real tribute to Texans and their amazing sweet treats!

Original State Fair Brew – Funnel Cake Ale by Justin Martinez
A light and delicious ale brewed to be reminiscent of one of the telltale flavors of the State Fair – FUNNEL CAKE! This refreshing English style summer ale has been brewed to be ready and crisp, with just the right amount of toastiness and sweetness, finishing with delicate notes of natural vanilla; all great flavors you find in a perfectly executed funnel cake. For those whose taste buds call for a sweeter finish, take advantage of the option to have the rim of your cup coated with powdered sugar. Must be 21 years of age.

Twisted Texas Tacos by Christi Erpillo
What do you get when you combine the four major food groups of Texas? Chicken Fried, Barbecue, Tex-Mex, and Chili – Twisted Texas Tacos! This taco starts off with tender, juicy hickory smoked Texas beef brisket, double-dipped in a barbecue spiced buttermilk batter and deep fried until it is robust and beefy. It is served in a warm flour tortilla, generously layered with a Mexican cheese blend, crispy fried okra, and a sweet and crunchy tri-color slaw, accented with zesty poblano and sweet pepper corn. Served with a creamy country gravy, spicy Texas Chili and a miniature salute from the Lone Star flag.

Below is a  list of the previous winners of the Best Taste and Most Creative Awards.....

The last time we attended the State Fair of Texas was the 2006 version. That year Fried Coke won the Most Creative Big Tex Choice Award.

Below is our video made from the 2006 visit. In this video you get a good look at Big Tex, hear Big Tex talk, walk  through the aforementioned Midway and if you look closely you will see Fried Coke available for ones dining pleasure...

The 4th of July in Texas including Willie's 4th of July Picnic in the Fort Worth Stockyards

On the left you are looking at a float which floated in the 2013 Arlington 4th of July Parade.

The people in the picture are all looking skyward due to being momentarily distracted by a large formation of airplanes passing overhead.

Last year's Arlington 4th of July Parade had many special moments, such a the Big Bud Kennedy float, the Wheelin' Elvi, several salutes to Veterans, multiple marching high school bands along with a lot of patriotic 4th of July type moments.

The Granbury 4th of July Parade has many large well done floats, a lot of school participation, including cheerleaders, marching bands and the town's football team. After the Granbury 4th of July Parade ends the celebrating continues around the courthouse square.

Willie's 4th of July Picnic once again takes place at the Fort Worth Stockyards. More details about that below.

A look at some other Texas 4th of July celebrations, including Willie's Picnic....

Amarillo: July 4th Fireworks

The Texas Panhandle's largest fireworks display, sponsored by the Amarillo Globe-News. More than 50,000 people gather near Thompson Park to view this spectacular event. Time: Sunset. Cost: Free. Location: Ross Rogers Golf Course in Thompson Park (US Highway 287 north).

Arlington: Annual 4th of July Parade

This parade has become one of the largest in Texas. An old-fashioned community parade. With over 150 entries that include marching bands to exotic automobiles, military color guards to clowns, and dignitaries to unique presentations, the theme of what Independence Day is all about. Parade entries and volunteer helpers are welcome. Time: 9am, lasting about two hours. Cost: Free. Location: downtown Arlington.

Baytown: July 4th Celebration

An evening featuring a variety of family-oriented activities including a parade, food booths, craft booths, a children's amusement area, live entertainment, and a fireworks display. Cost: Free admission. Location: Bicentennial Park (Market Street / Lee Drive) in Baytown.

Chappell Hill: 30th Annual 4th of July Parade

"Best Small Town Parade in America," featuring floats, cowboys, antique cars, the renowned Marching Kazoo Band. Creative entries welcomed. Prizes awarded. Time: 10am. Cost: Free admission. Location: Downtown Chappell Hill.

Lake Jackson: Old Fashion 4th Celebration

An old-fashioned 4th of July celebration, the day begins with food, games, fun, family and friends, ending at dusk with a spectacular fireworks display. Location: MacLean Park, 91 Lake Road.

Lubbock: Fourth on Broadway

A celebration of the 4th of July with a parade and street fair. The parade begins at 10am, followed by live music, with food and craft booths lined up along Broadway. The day ends with a concert and fireworks display. Time: All Day. Cost: Free. Location: Broadway Street.

Rockport: Rockport Art Festival

This art town's juried fine arts festival hosts 125+ artists from across United States. In a tented atmosphere adjacent to Rockport Center for the Arts, it is situated by Aransas and Little Bays and Rockport's Harbor and Beach Park. Includes artists' demonstrations, foods, live entertainment, shopping and hands-on art activities for children.

Washington-on-the-Brazos

Celebrate our nation's independence where Texas declared her independence. HEB Presents Fireworks-On-The-Brazos with free Blue Bell ice cream and Coca-Cola drinks, live concert and a fireworks extravaganza. Time: 10am-10pm. Cost: Free. Location: Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site, 12300 Park Road 12, Washington, Texas.

Willie's 4th of July Picnic 

Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic is designed to provide guests a not-to-be-missed afternoon and evening of exceptional performances by artists from all musical genres, along with some unexpected jam sessions. Basically Willie's 4th is an all day concert taking place at the Fort Worth Stockyards. $40 advance purchase general admission, $60 day of show general admission. For more information about Willie's 4th of July Picnic go to Billy Bob's.

The Woodlands: 9th Annual Red, Hot & Blue Festival

The Woodlands' single largest event is held in Town Green Park on the banks of The Woodlands Waterway. The 23-minute fireworks show, shot over The Woodlands Town Center, is the second largest in the Greater Houston region, second only to downtown Houston. Location: From I-45 going South: Take the Robinson Road/Woodlands Parkway exit #76. Continue on I-45 feeder to Woodlands Parkway and turn right. Follow Festival Parking signs to park. From I-45 going North: Take the Woodlands Parkway exit (76B) and travel west on Woodlands Parkway. Follow Festival Parking signs.