We LOVE to get up and go. Grab some coffee and hit the back roads… to anywhere! Whichever way the wind blows. We love getting lost on random country roads, oftentimes having to eenie-meenie-miney-moe our left and right turn decisions. The fun we’ve had while looking for – and discovering new places to explore has been exceptional!
One thing that has really inspired our many adventures and travels, and homesteading dreams… are the various television shows devoted to them – which we take full advantage of.
So often on Saturdays we have the travel programs on, just for some all day background ‘noise.’ We used to religiously start every Saturday morning with our coffee in bed – watching Texas Country Reporter, and The Joey and Rory Show. Then we’d be all inspired to get outside and adventure off somewhere, or tackle homestead projects, like gardening… “Joeys Garden” was the most inspiring, ever! (But I’ll save homesteading for another topic all together.)
It’s really become such a family-togetherness thing – a tradition over the years to regularly watch all the “Texas” shows – where we discover new places we want to visit that were featured, then make it a goal to go!
Sometimes they are a last minute, wake-up-then-decide-which-location-to-visit thing, based on the day’s having a beautiful weather forecast. (Spring in Texas is perfect for lots of day trippin!) And so we choose to live as spontaneous beings for this very reason… ALWAYS remaining open for any last minute adventures! I want our children to live their lives in a manner of jumping on the chance for trying something new, and hopefully they will pass that same attitude down to their children as well. (Side note: this is also why we’ve chosen UNSCHOOLING for our children… Which I’ll save for another topic as well.)
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In our love of taking all sorts of trips, the bulk of our family excursions are close enough to be done in a one day turnaround. We may be driving for six or seven hours out of that day, but the day trips we take never fail to disappoint us! (Look up online the term: MICROADVENTURE.)
And here’s where it gets really fun… Something we ALWAYS do when we venture somewhere – and this is of utmost importance, is…
TAKE THE BACKROADS!!!
It’s easy… you just find the smaller highways on the map that run in the same direction as the closest, main interstate; and take those byways instead.
What this does is show you the state you’re traveling in… Show you what you’ll NEVER see from the interstate. Just budget in a little extra time for doing this – which will transform your adventure into something with a lot more excitement!
And we do this in any state we are in… Rarely do our wheels touch down on an interstate, if given the choice.
What’s so wonderful about doing this… is oftentimes the alternative roads will take you through cute small towns, knockabout (blink and you’ll miss it) towns, and town squares – where many-a-famous “Texas Courthouse” can be seen. (Texas is known for it’s courthouses).
We have also discovered some of the most charming country churches and cemeteries along the back roads… which are two of my very favorite things!
To me, they are both synonymous with genuine soul peace.
Stop in, visit the beautiful old graves. Talk about what life might have been like for those who lived a hundred years before us. Reflect on the afterlife. Talk about Jesus. Have a picnic on the grounds… It’s quite a lovely thing to do.
(One day I hope to compile the many photographs of these quiet, places of old that I’ve taken, into a picture book!) #Goals 🙂
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When we travel anywhere, I’ve also learned, if you see or pass by something of interest… don’t hesitate. PULL OVER and see it, do it!
We’ve missed too many good opportunities to explore something, thinking we’d get back to it on the way home. Yet too many times we don’t go back the same way we came, and we miss out completely and later forget where it was! Some examples we missed out on, were arrow signs pointing the way to historical markers and cemeteries; and incredibly inviting, 2-wheel path dirt roads… so make the stop when you see something of interest!
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Next… If you love small towns and small town cafes, keep an eye out! We don’t typically dine at chain restaurants, but instead we hold out for some rural cafe with lots of cars out front… especially the hole in the walls! So many fond memories, just in our dining discoveries alone.
Plus, small towns have lots of old people… And I adore old people. I adore old people in small town country cafes sitting next to us! (To which, I do tend to stare and gawk at them too much.)🥰
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Texas offers a gazillion unique and memorable things to do for family fun! For example, we just found out there are “chuck wagon races” coming up in Palestine, which is an event that’ll be right up our alley. It’s this type of stuff we like to do, that we know will leave an impact of memories on our children. Or how ‘bout the Hog Festival in Ben Wheeler? That’s a good one!
We LOVE festivals. Festivals just smell good!😋 And there are websites devoted to listing all the festivals in your state that year. Easy internet search! Mark your calendar with the ones you’re interested in, so you won’t forget. I add the festivals we are interested in, on my list of things to do.
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Next up… EXPLORING. This is also something we love… and it’s something I grew up doing in the woods near my childhood home in Florida. Finding the abandoned. It’s probably my favorite thing to do in this life! Finding abandoned places and going into them… which offers a thrill like no other.😬
I rarely pass up an opportunity to go inside the abandoned buildings and farm houses we find… and I influence my children to do the same. I don’t let worry kill a chance for discovery, but I encourage it! And I tell them that each abandoned place has a treasure to be found if we search for it.
It’s the smallest and simplest of finds we consider “treasures.” Some items we’ve found include: a 1910 Oliver typewriter; a bunch of 1960’s fabrics (they washed up perfectly, and now folded are like brand new); a vintage Folgers coffee kids coloring piece that was under the lid of an old coffee can; a vintage cookbook; old pumpkin string lights; a shabby garden gnome; to name just a few. The item may not be much, but the thrill of the hunt and the find, IS!😀
(And for the record… we don’t go into places marked “no trespassing”, that look like it’ll cave in, and only take items if the place is CLEARLY abandoned and already trashed out.)
My children were taught two things about this type of exploring… 1) Never enter if it’s marked “no trespassing.” They must be law-abiding citizens! And 2) Learn to listen to that ‘still small voice’ that may warn if the place doesn’t “seem” safe. We don’t ever ignore it.
Exploring is “mysterious”… And we are in love with mysteries… always in search of a new one! (We even keep small “mystery flashlights” in our bags, JIC.)😬
Many a creative conversation on the possible history – or our own version of what went down in some of these places has taken place. Creative story prompts!
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So back to the shows… here are some of our favorite ones that are sure to inspire Texas travels and new adventures:
Texas Country Reporter
The Daytripper (our fave!)
Expedition Texas
The Texas Bucket List
Another show I, personally adore that’s not specific to Texas (but to the American West – which includes Texas) that’s worth watching, is BRONCO ROADS with Stacy Dean Campbell. He’s a musician, and this show has a traveling poet’s flair.❤️
Then a channel that’s great for homesteading inspiration, is the RFD-TV channel. It has a little bit of everything… from current American farming news (educational – important actually, and homeschool worthy); to musical programs (including the Gaither’s Gospel Hour and Bluegrass music); to homesteading how-to’s and traveling programs.
(We are currently enjoying Coop Dreams, and Where the Food Comes From… and yes, we “make” our kiddos sit through them with us also. They gotta learn things too!🙂)
Then to further our virtual travel locations, we enjoy the following channels as well:
Travel Channel/Destinations
The Explorer Channel (PBS)
Destination America
Tennessee Crossroads
Exploring North Carolina
Bluegrass and Backroads (Kentucky State)
And my FAVORITE online source for the dreamiest location (mostly European) short videos is the “Aurora Borealis Observatory” page on FB. Oh myyy!😍
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Lastly, something that’s been quite helpful in planning our adventures, is I keep a travel binder with a section just for Texas, and then one section for other states. I keep a running list of ideas for new places I want to visit. I also follow all the travel shows pages on FB, which is a good way to get reminders for upcoming events. Texas Monthly (magazine) is also an informative one to follow.
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Anyways… I’ve never loved Texas so much until I started watching these programs, and finding out about so many charming towns and historic places I’ve gotten to enjoy seeing! And it may have taken many years to build up our experiences, and watching the programs that have inspired much of our journeys.. but now I’m literally a die-hard “Texan,” and lover of all thing Texas (except the August weather!😅), because of our many experiences!
I hope this will inspire some family togetherness for your family too, through much exploring and many new adventures!💗
Life is short… Happy travels, my friends!
~Colleen Farris
PS—
If you’re anything like me, you carry within you an old soul… and my old soul LOVES hearing hymns, church choir, and some good ole preachin’ during our travels. Just log on to BBN (Bible Broadcasting Network) to meet these old-school, churchy needs!😊
#UnschoolingHearts
#RaiseEmWildAndFree
#ExplorersHearts
#AdventureAwaits
#ForTheLoveOfTheAbandoned
#MysteryHunters
#LearnHistoryThruDiscovery
#FarrisDayTrippin
Colleen Farris 