gunslinger

 

Gunfights are daily occurrences in Tombstone, the town "too tough to die."  Re-enactments of the days of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday happen in various saloons and the OK Corral.  The reason parking is free is because everything else charges admission!  Except Boot Hill - you can wander there without charge.  But the cemetery also appears as a re-enactment.

 

Tombstone, Arizona

san xavier

 

Mission San Xavier is known as the "white dove of the desert."  It shines in the early morning light. A National Historic Landmark, San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic mission 1692. Construction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797.

 

Mission San Xavier
Tucson, Arizona

best buds

 

This pot-bellied pig has been a resident on the Tohono-O'odham Nation Reservation for at least 15 years (he was much smaller back then).  His best bud is the dog.  They share the shade and also the dog house in the rear.  Every time we've driven by this house, the pig and the dog are side-by-side.

 

Tohono-O'odham Tribal Nation

Tucson, Arizona

 



sonora dog

 

  The lunch spot recommended today was BK's known for the Sonoran hot dog, featured on Food Wars.  The hot dog is grilled on the stainless steel grill located in the corner of the shaded dining area.  The dogs are wrapped in a layer of bacon that tends to melt off during cooking to leave behind only a slight smoky flavor. Sonoran hot dogs are also differentiated by their bread—dense bakery-style rolls slit down the length of the bun to form a pocket of sorts. The chunky toppings that threaten to spill from the bun are chopped tomatoes, pinto beans, onions, cheese, and hot peppers. Top all of that off with a few squirts of condiments designed to replicate the Mexican flag (ketchup, mayonnaise, and either tomatillo or jalapeño salsa).  I ate the whole thing.

 

BK Carne Asada & Hot Dogs

2680 North First

Tucson, AZ



homebound

 

Pie Allen is one of 34 National Register Historic Districts in Tucson and is named after a former  mayor who sold dried apple pies to the Calvary.  The neighborhood is eclectic with tattoo parlors about every third business.  "Keep Austin Weird" might takes notes here.  I don't if the leaves this guy is carrying home are to eat or smoke.

fences

 

The decorative double-loop wire fence that probably once defined a home place now lies half-buried by the sands of time.  No evidence of the house remains -- reverted back to prairie and now bounded by barbed wire fence.  Only a handful of buildings remain in Goodnight, Texas.  It's hard to imagine it as a bustling town in the late 1800s.  It had a railroad station, post office, school, churches -- even a college founded by Charles Goodnight.  Do not speed by on US 287.  Stop at the Goodnight Historical Center and tour the wonderfully restored 100-year old ranch house.

 

Goodnight, Texas

2.21.2014

 modeling

(using reflector to catch ambient light)

 

My Saturday was spent at South Plains College taking a photography class on studio lighting.  I learned about strobe lights, hot lights and reflectors as well as using the equipment with live models.  I also learned that's not my style of photography.  I spent more time photographing the action than the model.  I really wanted a better picture of those purple suede platform heels rather than her face!

(1:1 lighting ratio with hot lights)

turn here

 I confess.  I have a condition.  It has a name - or several.  I am a tombstone tourist,  a taphophile, a graveyard junkie.  The term "tombstone tourist" originated with the title of Scott Stanton's book chronicling the final resting places of famous musicians.  Scott passed away in 2013 and I wanted to read his obituary to see where he is buried; however, I didn't want to pay the "legacy" fee to read it! 

The only famous musician gravesites I have visited are Buddy Holly in Lubbock and Hank Williams in Birmingham.  This sign points to the graveyard in Goodnight, Texas where Charles Goodnight is buried.  Not a famous musician but a cattle rancher, bison breeder and inspiration for "Lonesome Dove."

Goodnight Cemetery
Armstrong County, Texas

tres madonnas

 

Corina died 22 days after her 10th birthday 40 years ago.  Someone still cares.

 

Olton Cemetery

Lamb County, Texas

2.15.2014



arf arf

Today's post is a travel tip.  If you're into Boston Terriers, and I have friends who are, then plan a trip to Floydada to visit the Boston Terrier Museum.  What is now the Museum used to be Pitts Hospital, where a lot of people from Floydada were born. It was later turned into a pharmacy but was vacant for years.  Opened in 2007, the Boston Terrier Museum houses a collection of dog-related memorabilia that outgrew house and shop.  But hurry if you want to see Boston Terrier candy dishes, door stops, shot glasses and whatever else the collector found in his travels, the owner is in his 70s and museum hours are irregular.

Boston Terrier Museum
206 W. Houston
Floydada, Texas
2.1.2014

school spirit

 

The Dairy Mart is probably a main hangout for students at Anton schools -- all 104 of them in grades 7-12.  One thing about a small school (and I should know), there are opportunities for everyone--from six-man football to the band to FFA to the girls' basketball team in the regional playoffs to the yearbook staff, Go Bulldogs!  Guess what the school colors are.

 

Dairy Mart

Anton, Texas

2.15.2014

cross and star
 

 Barn decoration dates back to the 18th century, originating from folk art passed from German and Swiss immigrant.   The Amish painted hex signs on barns to bring good luck or to protect the property and livestock.  Or perhaps the farmer needed cash and allowed a company like Red Man tobacco to put up advertising on the side of the barn.   A more contemporary form of barn design is the use of painted quilts; Brownfield touts a quilt trail. In this part of the country, barn decoration usually follows either a patriotic or religious theme.  American and Texas flags abound.  Other farmers, like this one outside Olton, display symbols of their faith.

 

FM 168

Lamb County, Texas

2.15.2014



dead drive-in

 

As one approaches Olton, a tall structure looms on the horizon.  It's not a water tower or grain elevator--what can it be? Turns out it is a drive-in movie screen.  What does a landowner do with a defunct drive-in, especially when the screen is built with concrete blocks?  This landowner with the house next door appears to ignore it.  The former box office is now a carport, the parking area dotted with trees, the concession stand is slowly deteriorating and a fence surrounds the whole thing.  I don't know when the Mustang Drive-in closed; a "drive-in theater" website lists it under "dead drive-ins" along with Lubbock's Circle, Corral, Golden Horseshoe and Red Raider.  At one time, Olton was a swinging town with TWO theaters -- the Mustang Drive-in and the Roxy downtown on Main Street.  More small town history lost.

 

Mustang Drive-in Theater

Farm Road 168

Lamb County, Texas

2.15.2014

pop in the shop

 

Today was one of those tantalizing teasers of spring -- who would believe 80 degrees in mid-February?  Even my 89-year old dad enjoyed being able to go to the farm. He plowed some and worked on equipment in the farm shop.

 

Lone Oak Farms

Hale County, Texas

happy valentine's day

 

While skimming through archived photographs to see if I had a Valentine-themed image for today, I came across this love bug and teddy bear with red satin heart-shaped pads on her paws.  How appropriate!  When Interstate 27 (all 123 miles of it from Lubbock to Amarillo) was constructed beginning in 1975. large excavations were made along the way to provide dirt for the overpasses.  On the south side of Hale Center, one enterprising family built a cabin on the edge of the pit, which in good years, is a small lake--this year the boat dock is several feet above the dry bed.  For decades, this VW has sat on the corner of the acreage along the frontage road.  Lately the teddy bear has appeared.  Know what she's holding?  A Budweiser.  She'd toast Valentine's Day and say "here's looking at you" but sadly she has no eyes! 

 

South I-27 Service Road

Hale Center, Texas

10.26.2013

giddy-up

 

Jake encourages the Longhorn to take his laps around the arena.

 

J&B Cattle

New Deal, Texas

2.12.2014



working cattle

 

Every afternoon, Jake and his horse "work cattle"-- or rather they give the cattle a work-out.  Jake and his J&B Cattle provide competitive bucking bulls for events.  The bulls are run around the cattle pen working up a sweat -- the bovine version of jazzercise!

 

J&B Cattle

Old Amarillo Highway

New Deal, Texas

vintage

 

Today the Lubbock County Historical Commission met in the Arnett House, which celebrates 100 years in 2015.  The bungalow-style house, built in 1915, was originally located at 1214 Avenue L in downtown Lubbock.  In 1957 it was moved to the then newly-established Lubbock Christian College.  Dr. Sam Arnett, longtime resident, physician and hospital founder, donated the house and 20 acres of land to the college. The house contains a handful of original features like the gable roof, bookcases, solid wood pocket sliding doors, butler's pantry, cabinets and glass door knobs.

 

Arnett House

Lubbock Christian University

Lubbock, Texas

"budded on earth to bloom in heaven"

 

Young Joseph is buried in the Estacado Cemetery. The cemetery, started by the 1879 settlers, is one of the first on the Llano Estacado or Staked Plains.  This child's gravesite is marked by a cast concrete stone with a bas relief lamb.  Early  2oth century tombstones have a variety of engravings and sculptures as symbols marking the life or passage of a deceased loved one. Baby lambs represent a lost child and innocence.  What's more remarkable about Joseph's site is the presence of irises.   "White cemetery iris" are found throughout rural cemeteries.  These flowers survive--considering lack of water and attention.  We've been in drought conditions for three years and this winter has had snow and freezing weather yet there is still a touch of green in this clump of iris.  They probably weren't planted by Joseph's mother in 1912 but by the beautification committee in 1939 when the land was deeded to the cemetery association.

Estacado Cemetery

Crosby County, Texas

2.1.2014


top prices

 

The ghost signs on this abandoned elevator proclaim "Marshall Buys Grain" and "Top Prices."  These tall symbols of small towns have lost business but still stand as landmarks.  There are scores of photographers who specialize in grain elevators and across the nation, historical societies preserve this aspect of our history.  As you drive across the plains, note the number of grain elevators you see -- they're usually the first thing you'll notice on the horizon.

 

Marshall Elevator

Floydada, Texas

2.1.2014



triumph

 

Many times in my travels I come across a sight where you want to ask someone "why?"  In Floydada, atop a 20-foot pile of dirt, is perched a Triumph.  I know it wasn't driven there but rather placed.  Why?  In 1965 I would have died for a British racing green TR4A convertible with 2.1-liter, 104 bhp four-cylinder engine with dual carburetors, four-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension and hydraulic front disc brakes.  Alas, in 1965 I was driving a 1959 green Chevy 3/4 ton pickup with 4-speed manual transmission-- my friends cruised in a Chevy 409 or an Impala SS or a red Mustang.

 

Floydada, Texas

2.1.2014

sit a spell

 

Since I was last through Seagraves, the historic Simpson Inn has added an Ale House.  The original hotel was built in 1917 and named the Hotel Texan.  It was later purchased by Emma Simpson and renamed.  The building survived the fire of 1928 and it now re-establishing itself as a destination hotel.  Enjoy a variety of sitting choices outside the hotel while observing the police station across the street.  Book your Valentine retreat in the Wild West Room or the Victorian Seaside Retreat Room.  Drink lots of craft beer or cask ale in the Ale House (there's not much else to do in Seagraves!)

 

Simpson Inn

Seagraves, Texas

eye spy

 

The eyes of the Krystal Club caught my eye.  Wasn't much information on the place except the newspaper reports of the stabbings which occurred there.

 

Krystal Club

106 Avenue A

Midland, Texas

the duke

 

I asked Dan, the barber, why John Wayne was on the sign.  He replied,  "It was the painter -- he drinks, you know."  So I still don't know why John Wayne is on the sign but I know the barber.

 

Dan's Village Barber Shop

Old Town Village

Midland, Texas

diversification 2

 

If you are taking a drive to Floydada, don't plan at eating or drinking at this restaurant/private club -- it's closed.  According to some research, Babe was a businessman in town; after buying trucks and trailers here you could go across the street to his tire store for service.  Don't plan on eating at Leonard's Café either  -- it's closed as well. The two places had an interesting connection, according to the Plainview newspaper.  Sorry I missed the gorilla.

 

Babe's Steakhouse and Private Club

Missouri Street

Floydada, Texas

2.1.2014

conoco

 

I know -- I've been on an old truck kick lately.  This gasoline tanker was spotted behind the Continental Oil Company in Floydada.  Better known as Conoco, the Continental Oil Company was founded in 1875.  Despite several mergers, the familiar red bar and triangle logo was used from 1930 to 1970.  Starting in 1909, Conoco built filling stations and then established fleets of trucks to deliver fuel. This particular truck stopped delivering a few decades ago.

 

The photo below also has a Conoco delivery truck, if you look closely under the "warehouse."  My grandfather W. O. Fortenberry and his brother Albert were influential Lubbock County businessmen in 1930-40s .  Bill built the gin at New Deal; Albert had the Conoco dealership.  His trucks delivered throughout the West Texas region and New Mexico.  Right to left: Bill Fortenberry, his wife Bonnie, and Albert in the white suit.

 

 

Fortenberry Gin at New Deal 1939

 



Little known Conoco facts:

In the 1940s the oil company produced an "anti-squeak" crayon under the Conoco label.

The 1957 Wham-O Hula Hoop was made with Conoco/Phillips plastic.

 



diversification

 

Running a restaurant in a small town is tough business.  The secret to success must be diversification:

 

1.  Take out orders

2.  Today chile rellenos

3.   Menudo -- rated #1 in the Panhandle

4.  Laundry drop off service

5.  Booth rental spaces

6.  RV park - discount lowest rate in town (includes free meal)

 

Unfortunately, one can't do business if the place is closed at 1:00 pm on a Saturday.

 

El Rancho Restaurant

1109 Ralls Highway

Floydada, Texas