Kay Ellington

Who among us hasn’t been stopped in our tracks on a midsummer afternoon when the aroma of sweet smoke wafting from an outdoor grill harkens us back to bygone days — whether those memories date back to cowboy-camp cooking on…

“When you get just outside of town, take the first farm-to-market road on the right.” While directions like that might make complete sense to a Texan, out-of-staters accustomed to “interstate,” “freeway” or “boulevard” are often left scratching their heads.Texas is…

When tourists visit Archer City, Texas, says onetime Archer County judge Gary Beesinger, they inevitably arrive with one particular objective: “They come for Larry.”Larry is, of course, native son and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Larry McMurtry, who’s had many of…

“I saw your area code — 806,” comes the rich and unmistakable voice of singer “Little Joe” Hernández over the cell phone. “That’s cotton country,” he reminisces. “I picked a lot of cotton in Lubbock, Plainview, Abernathy. People don’t appreciate…

The iconic footwear of Texas has left tracks across the state’s heritage and culture from the Chisholm Trail to current-day cowgirl chic. Boots.You’ll find them on the feet of politicians, poets laureate and pop stars. And unlike many heritage crafts,…

Nothing piques a highway explorer’s curiosity more than the roadside lure of a cavern or a cave. Many of us grew up traveling in the back of a station wagon, counting down the miles to the exit leading to attractions…

The cowboy boot was essentially invented in Texas. Many assume the cowboy boot simply evolved in the U.S. and Texas from European conquistadors’ and settlers’ couture. Long after Cabeza de Vaca washed up on the Texas coast, however — and…

If you meet someone from Odessa, and they tell you they have six-foot-tall jackrabbits on their streets, it’s not a tall tale. Historically, Odessans have always had a curious relationship with these cottontailed crea-tures. After all, the jackrabbit’s quickness, agility…