How to Spend a West Texas Weekend in Roscoe and Sweetwater
Sample tasty barbecue, gape at one of the world’s largest wind farms, and get a dose of state history in these neighboring West Texas towns.
Sweetwater
BBQ
August 28, 2013
Interview: Gaylan Marth of Big Boys Bar-B-Que
Photo by Nicholas McWhirterOwner/Pitmaster: Big Boys Bar-B-Que, opened 2000Age: 57Smoker: Direct heat steel pitsWood: MesquiteI’ve been out to Sweetwater twice for Gaylan Marth’s barbecue at Big Boys. The first time I was with my wife and kids. They stayed in the car while I got a to-go order. Eating in the car we
BBQ Joint Reviews
May 16, 2013
Big Boy’s Bar-B-Que
The exceptional thing to note about Big Boy’s Bar-B-Que is the fact that it exists at all. Located in a caliche lot along a desolate road in Sweetwater next to a bowling alley turned bar, Big Boy’s has the feel of an oasis—or a mirage. Blink and it might disappear.
Food & Drink
January 20, 2013
Honorable Mentions
Nineteen joints we couldn’t countenance not noting at all.AMARILLO Beans N Things A cozy country cafe plunked down on a busy city street. 806-373-7383BRADY Hard Eight Pit Bar-B-Que Meats are cooked cowboy style directly over hot mesquite coals. 325-597-1936DALLAS Baby Back Shak
Critters
June 18, 2012
A Blind Man’s View of the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup
Canadian journalist and author Ryan Knighton—who is blind—communes with reptiles he can't see for VICE magazine.
BBQ Joint Reviews
October 18, 2011
Big Boy’s Bar-B-Que
A large pickup truck whizzed along Lamar St. (State Highway 70) in Sweetwater while we sat in the parking lot of Big Boy’s enjoying some smoked meats while my newborn son ate in the backseat. The scene was only worth a glance until a State Highway patrolman followed
Energy
July 31, 2011
A Mighty Wind
The unlikely story of how a handful of dreamers, schemers, and (all too often) failures made oil-and-gas-rich Texas the leading wind power state in the country.
The Culture
August 31, 2008
How to Wrangle a Rattlesnake
THE RATIONALEWith eleven species of rattlesnakes calling our state home, chances are you’ll find yourself face-to-fang sooner or later. Most common to West Texas, rattlers like to den up in dry, rocky crevices, but you’ll also find them slithering through grass or slumbering under woodpiles. “Essentially, if you’re in West
Texas History
April 1, 2002
Our Towns
What's the story behind "Bug Tussle"? "Old Dime Box"? "Frognot"? It turns out there's more to a name than I ever expected.
Art
April 1, 1992
The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup
Photojournalist Jim Cammack was struck by an odd sight at Sweetwater’s annual spring rattlesnake roundup: a man with a tail. No, the man, a Jaycees volunteer, was not participating in a roundup-sanctioned snake-wrestling contest. He was demonstrating one technique for holding the powerful Western diamondback while milking its venom.
Critters
June 30, 1976
Nobody Loves a Rattlesnake
Especially not in Sweetwater: the score at last count was Humans 10,000, Rattlers 0.