A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....08-05-03....Texas, MY Texas

Billie

[Billie]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine ~

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For the past several weeks, we've been enjoying Mama Bear's cyber tours of various states of the USA, and she will be introducing even more as her time permits, until we've visited them all. As all our hostesses live in a different state, we decided that each of us would feature our own state, and today I'd like to invite you to Waltz Across Texas with me.

Texas is the only state to have the flags of 6 different nations fly over it. They are: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States, and the United States.

Texas boasts the nation's largest herd of whitetail deer.

Jalapeno pepper jelly originated in Lake Jackson and was first marketed in 1978.

President George W. Bush and former President George H.W. Bush proudly call Texas their home, and two other Presidents were born in Texas: Dwight D. Eisenhower, our 34th President, was born in Denison, Texas, on October 14, 1890; and the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, was born on August 27, 1908, near Johnson City, Texas.

Texas can lay claim to: 13 Masters titles, 11 U.S. Opens, 6 British Opens, 14 PGAs, 13 U.S. Womens's Opens, 19 Vardon Trophies (awarded annually for lowest scoring average), and 9 Ryder Cup captains.

Texas is the home of other Sports Giants and Champions: The Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Dallas Mavericks (NBA), Dallas Stars (NHL), Dallas Burn (MLS), The Houston Astros (MLB), Houston Rockets (NBA), Houston Comets (WNBA), Houston Texans (NFL), Houston ThunderBears (AFL), San Antonio Spurs (NBA), and The Texas Rangers (MLB).

Six Flags Over Texas, Schlitterbahn Waterpark ........ and the Eiffel Tower. :)

Eiffel Tower, Paris, Texas

There are fourteen other American municipalities named "Paris," and more than a few have chosen to erect Eiffel Tower replicas to pay homage to their French namesake, but no others are adorned with a giant cowboy hat.

But at 60-ft. tall, it is edged out of faux-foreign architecture dominance by a mere five feet. The Eiffel Tower in Paris, TX is 65-ft. tall, built by the local iron worker's union.

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If you thought everyone wore cowboy boots, a 10 gallon stetson hat like J.R. Ewing of Dallas, and had an oil well in their back yard, you would be only partly right. Texas is made up of seven distinct regions; In some of those regions, the stetsons and boots are more at home than others. Let's take a look at the seven regions.

Cowboy boots and stetsons are at home in large parts of this region! I spent several summers at church camp in the Davis Mountains as a young teen. Sunrise, and evening services on top of a mountain - breathtaking!

Lubbock, Amarillo, Wichita Falls.....
Farmland - beautiful rows of wheat and cotton for miles and miles, wide open spaces. Cattle, horses grazing. You'll see cowboy boots and stetsons here. :)

My very favorite of all the Texas regions - I was born in this part of the country and spent my early childhood in Austin. It's the prettiest of all of Texas to me, with crystal clear lakes, rivers and streams, rolling hills, oak trees, bluebonnets, quaint little towns, bed & breakfasts and more. Just driving through this part puts me in a vacation mood.

Oh, Big D! What you do to me! The Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex! My favorite place to shop! Shopping, Amusement Parks, Sports, Dining! It's all there. 'Nuff said. :)

I know least about this region, but the fall colors are spectacular - forests, National Parks every where! A wonderful, scenic drive.

Have spent many vacations in Corpus Christi, Padre Island. Beautiful beaches. And Houston, known most recently as Space City, the largest city in Texas, has so much to offer. Sports, shopping, entertainment, fine dining, night life.

One level below the busy streets of downtown, the Paseo del Rio is San Antonio's premier visitor experience! The popular River Walk is edged by hotels, art and gift shops, restaurants and sidewalk cafes, boutiques, and live music, riverboat cruises. I love this place!

It's like a whole other country. It has roughly 262,000 square miles of land area, and another 5,000 or so square miles of water.

More land is farmed in Texas than in any other state.

The world's third largest telescope is atop Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains.

The nation's longest highway in any one state is U.S. 83. 903 miles from Brownsville to the Panhandle. (Interstate 10 is only 878.7 miles long from Louisiana just east of Orange, Texas, to El Paso.)

The world's largest spring fed swimming pool, with a 62,000 square foot surface (almost 1.5 acres) is Balmorhea State Park in the Big Bend Region. It's one of the largest man-made pools in the United States.

The world's tallest masonry structure (taller than either the Washington Monument or the Statue of Liberty) is the San Jacinto Battlefield Monument.

The world's most complete collection of working World War II aircraft is the Confederate Air Force, located in Midland (home of the Presidents Bush).

And finally, there are over 1400 FReepers who fly the Texas flag on their profile pages - more than any other state. :)

Welcome to Texas, Ya'll!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 08-04-03 Military Monday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[Calpernia]

Hey Amy, is this how you ended up CA?

Click the OIL

Come 'n listen to my story 'bout a man named Jed

Poor Mountaineer barely kept his family fed

An' then one day, he was shootin' at some food,

An' up thru the ground came a bubblin' crude.

Oil that is! Black gold! Texas tea!

Well, the first thing ya know, Jed's a millionaire

Kin-folk said, "Jed, move away from there." Said

Californy is the place y'oughta be, so they

loaded up the truck, and they moved to Beverly.

Hills that is! Swimmin' pools, Movie stars!

Ol' Jed bought a mansion. Lawdy it was swank

Next door neighbor was pres'dent of the bank,

Lotsa folks objected, but the banker found no fault,

'Cause ol' Jed's millions was a-layin' in the vault

Cash, that is! Capital gains, Depletion money!

Well now it's time to say goodbye to Jed and all his kin

An' they would like to thank you folks fer kindly droppin' in.

You're all invited back again to this locality,

T'have a heapin' helpin' of their hospitality.

Hillbilly, that is! Set a spell, Take your shoes off!

Y'all come back, here!

[harrowup]

Dagnabbit, Billie! I thought Waltz across Texas was our midi...

Some great stuff here to save. Don't forget Palo Duro Canyon...Charles Goodnight...Larry McMurtry...The Last Picture Show and the fact that the Amarillo Club Dining Room is the highest restaurant east of Denver...(31st Floor of the Bank One Building) plus Amarillo's 3700' elevation.

'Course, there just may be a sno-cone or donut stop up there in the Davis Mtns that you ran across sneaking out of camp...

[JustAmy]

L O L

Hey ...... I tried to warn you. I don't know much about Texas except where my ancestors settled.

[Billie]

hmmm, keeping a beat is just not my strength ^-^

I'd say you got it! Can't you hear it?! Or stomp your feet to that part!

[Billie]

Black gold..... oil, that is. :) (Well, I did mention it one time...in the J.R. Ewing part) LOL

[Dog Gone]

It's incredibly cold water. It's kind of neat because it's in one of the most barren and hot spots of Texas, but it's a little too cold for me.

I think Balmorhea had its heyday in the 50s, judging by the architecture. And new water attractions like Schlitterbahn probably ended it as a significant tourist attraction, but it's still kind of neat.

[JustAmy]

" Amy, is this how you ended up CA? "

LOL ...... not quite (Would have been great!). Have you heard of the Dust Bowl? The family farm could no longer support my Grandfather's family and my Father's expected family (me).

[Billie]

Neat graphic! I bet they had a heck of a rodeo to celebrate 150 years!

[humblegunner]

Howdy, Y'all!

Wish I could have made the picnic..
Looks like a HOOT! We'll have a shoot soon, I hope!

[Billie]

I've never seen such a colorful train! Purple boxcars! Looks like an advertisement for Crayola!

[Calpernia]

Dust Bowl? I don't think I've heard of that.

[LadyX]

Due to circumstances beyond my control this day - -

The LadyX is just now boarding the moving conveyor belt
to hurry through this wonderful thread about TEXAS,
all the while humming Git Along Little Dogie . . .

[Billie]

lOL! hey, there h'up! I wondered if you'd hear Waltz Across Texas playing and venture over. :)

Gosh, there are so many things not touched upon - I thought of The Last Picture Show and Giant and several other things and the post was getting pretty heavy already. Also in Menard where Jim Bowie was buried (I think he was buried there!), every year they used to have this huge Musical in the canyon there. It was fantastic - the talent in that little town! Sitting on blankets, stadium seats, rocks, whatever, and seeing this Western unfold way down below you.

Thanks for coming by!

[Billie]

Hi, Maggie! So glad you got here at last! I have to go for a while or for all evening - don't know yet! Will be back if I can!

[FreeTheHostages]

Whew. I'm here! My what a busy day!

Billie, I confess I'm just about to read what you wrote. It looks like it's going to be good!

[JustAmy]

A dust storm approaching Spearman, Texas, April 14, 1935.
From: Monthly Weather Review, Volume 63, April 1935, courtesy NOAA.

Spearman is NW of Wheeler. My Mom and Dad were married in Wheeler in October 1935.

[FreeTheHostages]

LOL -- I was going through the regions and I was thinking just what then appeared: "Texas is sooo big!"

Well that's beautiful. The slide show rocks!! So pretty, with the light yellow hat and rose. It makes me a little jealous: I've no such scenes to show for D.C.!

[humblegunner]

Well, better late than never!

We've kept something hot for you on the pit...

[jwfiv]

Hi, Lady Maggie...)

[Calpernia]

So it blew you all the way to CA?? (teasing)