Victoria’s zoo includes only critters native to the state, many of them threatened or endangered. But the hundred or so different species represent a surprisingly diverse spectrum of the animal kingdom, and when I visited on a peaceful August weekday, the residents were all out and about, clearly enjoying the
When I first walked into the Caldwell Zoo, I ran smack into a wall of stench radiating from the flamingo island (summed up by one young nose-pinching passerby as “stinky”). Happily, the inevitable eau de zoo didn’t linger as I wound my way down a path to the East African
Since 1929 the San Antonio Zoo has charmed every Texan within a hundred-mile radius. To avoid the Saturday and Sunday throngs, try arriving first thing in the morning during the week before the school groups (and remember, there’s no law saying you have to take your own kids). The lack
I nominate the Houston Zoo, the state’s most popular, for a most-improved award. In addition to the vast new children’s-zoo area, which opens this month, many new walkways and viewing platforms make it more appealing than ever. The zoo is 78 years old, and many of its exhibits were designed
How many monkeys did Frank Buck capture?
The Fort Worth Zoo goes the extra mile, and if you visit it, you should do the same. Every inch of this 65-acre park is worth seeing. Once run by the City of Fort Worth, the zoo has been managed since 1991 by the Fort Worth Zoological Association, a nonprofit
Rising high above the floor of the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico's Museo Maderas del Carmen nature reserve is like a whole other country. Plus: information on how to visit the park.
Kudus—I mean kudos—to the landscapers and horticulturists at the El Paso Zoo. Their careful plantings, which manage to block sun but not wind, helped make a midsummer visit almost cool. Still, baking visitors gratefully entered the indoor displays: In the nocturnal exhibit, my friend Isela gazed for a long time
Dennis Nixon
“Wow, this looks like a great place,” exclaimed my six-year-old daughter, Rayna, before we’d even gotten out of the car at the Dallas Zoo. The towering giraffe statue out front was all it took. Her enthusiasm propelled us through the entrance and up the bamboo-lined ramp that leads to the
Luis Foncerrada, age ten, burst through the gates first, grabbing a zoo map on the way; his brother Sebastian, five, was a half step behind, followed by me. Veteran zoo-goers, the boys barely glanced at the flamingos, paused briefly for the jaguars, and then settled in to observe the spider
The fledgling Austin Zoo is basically a big, no-frills barnyard full of exotic jungle beasts as well as miscellaneous domestic breeds. Situated on the city’s southwestern edge, it started out in 1992 as a petting zoo for small fry and has since expanded to include 106 species, from Shetland ponies
Juan Miró builds his legacy in Austin.
Lee Ann Womack's radio days.
Alpaca
Ross Perot's lost legacy.
The problem with Mary Karr's latest confessional memoir, Cherry, is that she won't stop confessing.
Wayne Reaud's hard drive against Compaq.
Women go on display in Dallas. Plus: A natural promotion from Texas Parks and Wildlife; gut times at Beaumont's Best of Texas International Music Awards; O. Henry's paper trail in Austin; and musician Jason Moran comes home to Houston.
The Internet faces the music.
1 cup polenta, conventional or instant 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary 8 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese salt to taste pinch of cayenne dash of red-wine vinegar 1/4 cup olive oil for sautéingIf using conventional polenta, bring 3 cups of water to a boil and whisk in polenta.
1/2 cup finely chopped Italian parsley 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary 2 tablespoons capers, chopped 4 anchovies, mashed in a mortar or bowl juice of 1/2 lemon 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar 2
CHAPTER ONEIn West Texas where Jacob Trace made his way toward a dry camp after a fruitless day trailing a mountain lion, September dusk brought little relief from the heat and his mule kicked up dust from the parched, cracked earth. In Houston where Randolph Morgan, assistant director of the
Not just a pretty face.
They saved lives and enlightened us, gave us pleasure and gave of themselves. Meet the most impressive, intriguing, and influential Texans of 2000.
Fort Worth’s Doug Swanson is pulling the plug on his Jack Flippo series, which makes House of Corrections (Putnam) your last chance to dance with the charming wild man. Flippo is all the more endearing for his faults (e.g., a propensity for sharing wives not his own). And this is
“Years ago, in state documents, Vachel Carmouche was always referred to as the electrician, never as the executioner.” This stately but ominous opening line kick-starts Purple Cane Road (Doubleday), the crown jewel of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series. The Houston native wrings enough nuance, danger, and humor out of
Texas novels come in all stripes, but leave it to veteran writer Robert Flynn of San Antonio to introduce the species of the tiger tale to this neck of the woods. Collaborating with the late Dan Klepper, Flynn has released The Devils Tiger, a wild story about a Russian veterinarian
Sixteen years after her Olympic triumph, Mary Lou Retton talks about her family, her career, and what she really thought of Bela Karolyi.
The story about Aaron Latham.
A blockbuster start-up tries to end e-mail insecurity.
San Antonio brothers pen a sitcom that's all in the family.
It's all in the gams.
Dive, he said.
It's no croc: September is alligator season in Texas, and hunters are taking to the marshes hook, line, and rifle.
The Texas stock to avoid right now.
My grandfather came to America penniless and undereducated, and he worked hard to give his family the things he went without. His greatest legacy is that he did just that.
The biggest university endowments—who gives, how much, and why.
Dead by Dinner (Aznut Music), the debut CD by Michael Hall and the Woodpeckers, arrives in stores this month. Hall has been an associate editor of Texas Monthly since June 1997.
The politics of the Medicaid "shortfall."
Art-rock was never my cup of noise—so much so that I never even realized it had practically disappeared until this Houston quintet, currently based in San Marcos, sought to bring it back. With lyrics supremely neurotic and music nicely melodic, the band sounds both skeptical and outraged and uncharacteristically visceral,
With more than thirty albums under his belt, it would seem that Rodolfo “Fito” Olivares, Texas’ king of the tropical sound, is taking a giant leap with his first concept album, Zoológico Tropical. Not necessarily so. The Houstonian frames his signature alto sax over his trademark cumbia beats in songs
Ronald Shannon Jackson makes a loud and messy brand of music; overabundant notes gush like an uncapped fire hydrant. Like his mentor Ornette Coleman, the Fort Worth drummer is first and foremost a composer. His music, while superficially linked to forgettable jazz-rock fusion creations, pulls a memorable sense of purpose
A lot of ink has been spilled over Fastball’s success, with 1998’s platinum album All the Pain Money Can Buy, the Grammy nominations, the high-profile tours, and the fact that a few months before the out-of-left-field hit single “The Way” took off, the threesome was still working day jobs in
Shy-tech.
For the birds.
Blood Meridian.
Producing results.
A vote against Texas Democrats.
Family values.
