day trips

Traveling around Texas seems to get better each year, but along with the encouraging news comes a mixture of not-so-good and downright sad happenings. In no particular order, here is a list of ten events in 1995 that did or could affect day trippers:

1. Aquarena Springs (pictured above) completed a full year of operation under the control of Southwest Texas University. The university has upgraded the facilities and added natural history exhibits. Ralph the swimming pig and the glass-bottom boats are still at the theme park, but the visitors they attract help to pay for research on the San Marcos River.

2. Day tripping on the Internet is a reality. Several Texas towns now have Web sites with travel information, and even guidebooks can be accessed; to read this column on the Internet go to /.

3. Great Scots, there's a 250-foot statue of Sam Houston looking over I-45 in Huntsville! More than one late-night trucker must have thought he was having a religious experience with he came upon the illuminated giant.

4. The population of whooping cranes spending the winter along the Texas coast increased to 149 this year. The previous record of 146 was set in 1990; the 1994 count was 132.

5. The Hartman Bridge, the largest cable-span bridge in the U.S., opened in September, connecting Baytown with Houston. Three years late and over budget, the 40-story bridge was delayed because the contractor tried to use steel from South Africa while that country was under a U.S. embargo because of apartheid.

6. San Angelo State Park, Texas' newest state park, opened in October at O.C. Fisher Reservoir. Four ecological zones overlap in the 7,032-acre park that attracts over 300 species of birds and 50 mammals. The park offers water sports and camping, as well as 15-mile hiking-biking-equestrian trail, Indian rock art, and dinosaur tracks.

7. On December 29, 1995, Texas celebrated its 150th year of statehood -- though more hoopla happened for the sesquicentennial of independence from Mexico in 1986.

8. The dog track in Harlingen closed. The horse track at Bandera closed, saying the lottery and Retama Park in San Antonio took away its customers. Then Retama closed, saying they didn't have enough customers.

9. The speed limit on some highways was increased to 70mph from 65mph. Evidence suggests that with an increase of only five miles-per-hour, highway fatalities will substantially increase.

10. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced another increase in usage fees. Beginning Sept. 1, 1996, costs for hunting and fishing licenses will increase, and on May 1, 1996, most parks will begin charging a per-person entry fee. Discount packages such as a combination fishing and hunting license or the new Gold Conservation Passport (which doubles in cost to $50) will become even better bargains.

Coming up this weekend...

Dallas Video Festival features the work of pioneering filmmaker Spencer Williams at the Dallas Museum of Art, Jan. 4-7. Williams, best known for his work as half of the Amos `n Andy TV show, was a leader in the black cinema during the segregation of the 1920s and '30s. 214/823-8909.

Coming up...

Janis Joplin Birthday Bash in her hometown of Port Arthur attracts a variety of musical styles to honor the late blues singer, Jan. 13. n