Category Archives: Quirky Texas

Buggy Barn Museum in Blanco

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I love unique and quirky. You’ll get both at the Buggy Barn Museum in Blanco.

Buggy Barn Founder

Located in the heart of Texas Hill Country, the museum and Pine Moore Old West Town are the brainchild of Dennis Moore, Blanco resident and trucking company owner. Moore began collecting buggies over a dozen years ago, at first renting them for proms and weddings. Bit by the buggy bug, his collection has swelled to over 270 of the horse-drawn conveyances. According to Moore, he has the second largest collection of buggies in the United States, and the largest collection open to the public.

Buggy Barn Museum

It’s an incredible assemblage. There’s an elegant Czechoslovakian funeral carriage and dozens of Studebakers. Who knew Studebaker made wagons before cars? After the Civil War, Studebaker was the largest producer of horse-drawn vehicles in the world. The museum has dozens of these Studebaker originals. It’s a bit overwhelming with buggies and wagons everywhere. Placards provide the carriage’s pedigree: when built, by whom, and for what purpose. Some have a famous lineage, having appeared in such films as Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. From the practical buckboard wagon to the opulent coach, you see it all at the Buggy Barn Museum.

Pine Moore Old West Town

The Buggy Barn Museum, while impressive, is only a fraction of what you’ll find here. There is an entire Old West town. Well, not old, but a new, Old West town set. Pine Moore has been used for filming movies and music videos. You can rent the town for functions or use the church for your wedding. It’s really amazing. Pine Moore has a Texas Rangers building complete with jail cell, a saloon, and even a dentist/barber building.

Prop Master’s Dream

Pine Moore buildings are chocked full of vintage furniture and western gear. There are hundreds of saddles, wood stoves, butter churns, and ice boxes. The Buggy Barn Museum is one-stop shopping for anyone staging an American West production. All, including the buggies and wagons, are available for rent. For me, it was fascinating to go through the buildings and see all the everyday fixtures of frontier life.

The Buggy Barn Museum is not the typical museum. The massive collection is organized, but not like a standard museum. There are not exhibits, in the classic sense. But there is an amazing collection of western gear, carriages, wagons, and homestead furnishings.

When You Go

Buggy Barn Museum (1915 Main Street) is open Monday through Saturday. Admission is charged. There isn’t a café associated with the museum, but downtown Blanco is just a mile away. The Redbud Café (410 Fourth Street) is an excellent place for lunch. It’s open 10 am to 3 pm, later on Friday and Saturday.

Fun Fact: What is the difference between a buggy and a wagon? Buggy is normally a light two- or four-wheeled carriage, whereas a wagon is a heavy transport vehicle.

Chairy Orchard in Denton

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The Chairy Orchard

Nestled between rambler homes in a residential area on the outskirts of Denton, the Chairy Orchard is a delightful pocket park. Shaded by large trees and bordered by Cooper Creek, the meadow could be mistaken for any peaceful green space. Well, it could except for hundreds of chairs that lend the attraction its name: The Chairy Orchard.

The Chairy Fairies

The Chairy Fairies, neighbors Ann Pierson and Judy Smith, curate this quirky assemblage. Chairs circle the meadow and line pathways through the unique orchard. Every type of chair seems to be represented from a hammock to an old beauty parlor chair. Wood. Wicker. Metal. Plastic. Upholstered. It’s all there in the orchard. There are even miniature chairs secured to a wood fence.

The collection started on a whim after Judy hung a few wooden chairs in one of the great trees and called it her Chairy Tree. The women decided to expand on the idea and set out to collect a hundred chairs to scatter around the grassy lot. That beginning quickly grew through finds at garage sales, thrift shops, and even curbside castoffs. People often now donate chairs, like the one donated by a high school graduating class.

So Many Puns

The Chairy Tree pun continues throughout the orchard. There is a ‘High Chair’ made from a series of increasingly smaller chairs stacked on top of each other. The ‘Wheel Chair’ consists of toy wheels attached to a wooden Adirondack chair. And red-painted canes create the ‘Cane-backed Chair.’ The ‘Arm Chair’ made with mannequin arms is a bit creepy, but otherwise the punny chairs add a playful ambiance to the unique orchard. And, of course, there is a spot at the CemeChairy for those broken chairs.

Chairish Wall

One of my favorite locations within the Chairy Orchard is the Chairish Wall. No need to visit a Paris bridge to leave your lock of love. You can do that right here at the Chairish Wall. And throughout the Chairy Orchard there are a few non-chair themes and puns, like the Flower Bed, a bedframe buried in dirt and decorated with plastic flowers. Along one side is a beautiful collection of wood and Buddha. There are so many fun things to discover in the Chairy Orchard.

When You Go

The Chairy Fairies encourage people to take pictures, eat lunch, or even rearrange the chairs. The Chairy Orchard (1426 Churchill Drive, Denton) is open dawn to dusk. It’s free but you can leave a donation in the red refrigerator on the edge of the orchard. Or consider bringing a chair of your own to donate.

Everybody is Somebody in Luckenbach

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Is Luckenbach a town, a dance hall, or a tourist attraction? Truth be told, it’s a little of all three. There is a general store and post office; a dance hall, consistently recognized as one of Texas’ top ten; and a kitschy landmark. Transcending all generalizations, Luckenbach is a county music gathering place.

We visited Luckenbach the afternoon before a music festival. Dozens of folks prepared for the thousands arriving later in the day. Directed to a field to park, we made our way past weathered-wood ticket booths and onto the grounds. To our left, nailed to a fence, we found the Luckenbach logo and infamous population sign, a popular photo spot. The population sign, Population 3, often goes missing, stolen by tourists wanting more than a picture to remind them of their visit. Leave the sign in place and buy your souvenirs from the general store, please.

Courtyard and outdoor stage

Behind the Luckenbach store you’ll find a courtyard with picnic tables, an outdoor stage, and a rooftop canopy formed by hundreds year-old oaks. This is the heart of the Luckenbach experience. The Picker Circle listed on Luckenbach’s calendar denotes free outdoor entertainment – offered most afternoons. Grab a beer and relax. Enjoy the music, dance, eat, and people watch.

I’m not sure what I enjoyed more – the music from the fiddler onstage or the diversity of people. Remember, Everybody is somebody in Luckenbach. Our fellow visitors included a septuagenarian couple swing dancing in newly purchased cowboy hats; weekend bikers in leathers and bandana doo-rags, and twenty-something women in Daisy Duke shorts and boots. It’s a relaxed, unpretentious vibe.

The Feed Lot serves typical hamburgers and hot dogs. To the left of the stage is a bar with a remarkable selection of beers, but bring cash (no credit cards).

Post office and hat shop

The post office is also the town general store. Here you get the flavor of a tourist spot with everything from t-shirts to drink ware to guitar picks all embossed with Luckenbach’s logo. With a nod to country music, you’ll also find a nice selection of country music CDs.

The Snail Creek Hat Company, located behind the store and next to the outdoor stage, offers a unique twist to the traditional western hat. Yes, you can buy the traditional felted hats, but the store specializes in the wide brim, palm leaf variety – half Panama and half cowboy hat.

History of Luckenbach

In the 1840s German farmers, including Jacob and August Luckenbach, settled the area. The town thrived with a cotton gin and dancehall until the turn of the twentieth century. The town declined in population and opportunity until the 1930s when the dancehall was rebuilt. That rebirth as short lived. By 1960, only about 50 people lived in Luckenbach. Modern day Luckenbach owes its reincarnation to John Russel (Hondo) Crouch. Hondo bought Luckenbach in 1971 and declared himself mayor of the town of three. A humorist and writer, he hosted a Luckenbach World Fair, a women-only chili cook off, and other quirky festivals. And it was Hondo who coined the phrase Everybody is somebody at Luckenbach. Waylon Jennings 1977 song, Luckenbach Texas, sealed the town’s fate as a national icon. Music legends like Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett popularized the town as a country music destination.

If you go

Luckenbach is about 14 miles from Fredericksburg in Texas Hill Country. The physical address for your map app is 412 Luckenbach Town Loop, Fredericksburg. Most afternoons, you’ll find free country music entertainment on the outdoor stage. Because it is outdoors, weather may be a factor. The oak trees provide some cooling during hot Texas summers, though the ideal time to visit is in spring. Shows, festivals, and dances require tickets. Before you go, check the event calendar. The general store accepts credit cards, the outdoor bar does not.

 

Stonehenge II in Texas Hill Country

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What do Stonehenge, Easter Island, and Texas Hill Country have in common? A visit to Hill Country Arts Foundation in Ingram, Texas, solves that mystery. There you’ll find a Stonehenge and two Easter Island Moai head replicas. The structures are the work of two Hill Country residents, Al Shepperd and Doug Hill.

Stonehenge II and Moai heads

Neighbors, the two men hatched the plan to build a Stonehenge replica in 1989. Using steel frames, plaster and metal mesh, they built a scaled version (about 90 percent the height and 60 percent the width) of the famous Stonehenge circle on Shepperd’s ranch. It took them just nine months to construct the monument. A few years later they fabricated two Moai heads following a trip Shepperd made to Easter Island. For years, tourists flocked to Hunt to see the oddities.

Current location

Stonehenge II and the Moai heads found a new home in 2010 on the grounds of the Hill Country Arts Foundation in Ingram. I have to say, this location is perfect. The Moai heads flank a dirt pathway leading through a meadow to Stonehenge II. It’s a bucolic spot, with the Guadalupe River just off to the left.

Admission to the site is free, but the photographic opportunity is priceless.

Encore

I recommend you visit Stonehenge II about lunchtime. Why? Co-located on the art foundation property is a delightful little restaurant, Encore. The restaurant offers home-style lunches six days a week (closed Mondays). The restaurant has an outdoor deck that overlooks the Guadalupe River. We lunched there during our visit and were pleasantly surprised by the freshness of the cuisine and friendliness of the service. They also proffer an amazing selection of craft beers.

Blue Topaz

If you’re in the market for unique, fine jewelry, you’ll find it in Ingram. Just down the road from Stonehenge II is Gems of Hill Country. The jeweler Diane Eames and her partner Brad Hodges offer lone star cut (that’s the cut with the embedded five-pointed Texas star), blue topaz jewelry. Blue topaz is the official state gem of Texas and found only in the Mason area. The stone is usually clear, but you can also find blue variations. The more intense the blue, the more valuable the stone. Eames is a true artist. The stones she cuts are breathtakingly beautiful. Prices begin in the $200 range and go up from there.

When you go

Stonehenge II (120 Point Theatre Road South, Ingram) is in a field. As such, it’s accessible seven days a week. Encore (122 Point Theatre Road South, Ingram) is open for lunch 11 am to 2 pm Tuesdays through Sundays. And Gems of the Hill Country (200 Highway 39, Ingram) is open by appointment (phone (830)-367-3368).

 

Cadillac Ranch

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Cadillac Ranch – things don’t get much quirkier than a farmer’s field with 10 car butts sticking in the air.Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch History

Well into its middle age, the 40 year-old art installation has morphed from avant-garde oddity to iconic roadside attraction. Ant Farm, the trio of Chip Lord, Doug Michels, and Hudson Marquez, created their strange art installation by burying Cadillac at an angle corresponding to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The cars look like an unfinished picket fence.

What inspired Ant Farm? The description for the “Cadillac Ranch 1974-1994” video suggests the art installation represents, “….comically subversive homage to the rise and fall of the tail-fin as an icon of postwar American consumer excess.”

Stanley Marsh 3, the wealthy patron who shelled out the cash for Cadillac Ranch, said in an Amarillo Globe News interview that the Cadillac symbolized a time, “…when we all thought we could hit the road, get a blonde, break the bank in Las Vegas, and be a movie star.”

Whether meant to be provocative or just fun, Cadillac Ranch continues to draw thousands each year.

Public Art Installation

Today’s Cadillac Ranch looks very different from the 1974 Ant Farm installation. To start with, Cadillac Ranch is at an entirely different location. It’s still in a farmer’s field, just two miles away from its original site. The installation had to be moved in 1997 as west Amarillo grew and developed.

Forty years of weathering has not been kind to the Cadillac. Bits of Cadillac (like a trunk lid) are missing from some cars. And, oh my, the colors. Each Cadillac benefits from hundreds of graffiti artists who pay homage to the site. The layers of paint look like a crazy sort of bondo on the autos. In fact, some cars likely have more paint than metal left.

Oddly, I found the effect of so many colors and graffiti artists enhances Cadillac Ranch’s appearance. The stunningly bright colors against the azure blue skyline makes for stunning photographs. Trash left behind by the installation’s visitors is the only detractor of this odd art piece.

When you go.

You can access Cadillac Ranch off Interstate 40 in Amarillo. Take the south frontage road between exits 60 and 62A. There are ample places to park on the road apron. Entry is through a metal fence. Bring spray paint (the brighter the colors, the better) if you want to try your hand at a little graffiti art. There are often half-used cans of paint also available. If you visit, please pick up and dispose of your trash.