Boot scootin’. Two stepping. Texas brews, views, and crews. This day couldn’t be more Texan if I tried.
Day 28 – August 6
Rising early and leaving Houston in my rear view mirror, I headed Northwest hitting La Grange, Smithville, and Bastrop en route to my good friend and collaborator’s ranch in Rosanky. Before completing my journey, I stopped off at one of the 37 Buc-ee’s locations. Buc-ee’s has become something of a Texas road trip institution. Most of them are sprawling convenience stores that are bigger than most small town grocery stores. Inside you’ll find a jerky bar, hot BBQ sandwiches, plenty of Buc-ee beaver (yup) merchandise, and oh so much Texas gift shop crap. All in all, you have to stop at one just for the experience. I highly recommend the turkey jerky; it’s outstanding.
I passed on food at Buc-ee’s so that I could pick up breakfast tacos from Taco Cabana, a 24/7 fast food Tex-Mex chain. It’s nothing to write home about, but I can’t not go. I brought a dozen tacos, a six pack of Berliner weisse from local brewer Real Ale, and my excited self to the Protest Ranch in Rosanky. Owned and operated by local…uhm, eccentric/liberal/Texan/filmmaker/great guy Erik McCowan.
Erik and I serendipitously met while volunteering at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT. I wore a shirt with Texas on the sleeve, he questioned me about it, we went to a midnight screening of “Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil,” and the rest is legend. Other memorable moments in our history include:
- hanging out for the first time in Texas at his ranch for a “Super Bowl shootout and crawfish boil.”
- enjoyed his historically epic “Summer Sandblast” parties where he would truck in sand, creating a beach on his ranch. Much drinking and merriment ensued.
- several Christmas Days were spent together shooting and hanging out with Rosanky locals.
- we drove to Sundance in 2011, surviving two blizzards. We swore to never return until we get a film screened there.
- we’ve been working on a historic Texas dance hall documentary for the past few years.
In short, we’re great friends and I wish we still lived near each other.
I’ve been teasing what August 6th held for us. I had to rush through the south to get to Erik on time, so what the heck was so important? Four words: Dance Hall Road Trip.
In order to raise some capital and spread dance hall awareness and preservation, Erik had been renting a shuttle and a driver, getting sponsors, coordinating with heads of hill country dance halls, and planning trips across Texas, each culminating in a dance at the end of the day. On this particular trip we’d be visiting Fischer Hall, Anhalt Hall, Luckenbach, Albert Hall, and Twin Sisters. Five dance halls, one day. Ambitious and sure to be a blast, we headed to west Austin to meet the shuttle and her 26 passengers.
In addition to the bevy of dance hall enthusiasts, Steve Dean, dance hall expert, author, and storyteller extraordinaire was joining us to teach the history and cultural significance of each venue we’d be visiting. To give you a clue into Mr. Dean, here’s a photo of him from one of our shoots:
First up on the trip was Fischer Hall near Blanco, TX, which is unique as next door to the hall is an incredible nine-pin bowling venue. Nothing is automated in here; there’s still a teen who works in the back area, setting up the pins and sending bowling balls back the the bowlers. It’s a calm environment with some great local charm and characters. I’ll have to return some day to play a round.
I’ve become familiar with our next stop, Anhalt Hall, as we’ve been there several times for documentary shoot days and interviews, but it’s always nice to go back to a place I have fond memories of.
Let me just take a moment to say how proud of Erik I am. The trip was running smoothly, on time, and already a ton of fun. The group of strangers who had assembled were having a blast and everyone had stories to share. And also shout out to Huff Brewing Co. for supplying us with a cooler of beer. Huff: y’all made a lot of folks very happy that day, myself included.
If you haven’t heard the song “Luckenbach, TX (Back to the Basics of Love),” then this next stop won’t mean that much to you (maybe). Give it a listen to get an idea of where my mind was throughout this stop.
Luckenbach isn’t really a town. It’s a cozy little spot with a music venue/dance hall, bar, post office (now a gift shop), blacksmith workshop, and cotton gin. While no one was performing in the venue, I tried imagining Gary P. Nunn and Jerry Jeff Walker recording “London Homesick Blues” while the crowd drunkenly sang along, praising Texas for its attractive women, friendly people, and good music. A simple song, but a memorable one for sure.
It’s a nice spot to grab a beer, eat a Frito pie served in the chip bag, and enjoy some tunes by whatever troubadour has dropped in to serenade the crowd (and rooster). Be sure to note the harmonica accompaniment from within the post office by one of the bartenders.
Departing Luckenbach, we made way for Albert Ice House. Though technically classified as a ghost town, a fine group of folks keep the ice house and dance hall alive, hosting bands and visitors from Wednesday through Sunday. There’s even a cool little food truck called The Pig Pen that slings BBQ and fries. The people are kind and knowledgable, the beer is cold and plentiful, and the trees provide great shade on the outdoor patio to sit a spell and enjoy the scenery.
As the sun set, we reached our final stop for the day: Twin Sisters Dance Hall, one of, if not the actual, oldest dance halls in the Lone Star State. Now, there’s some folks who will tell you the Gruene Hall, but they’re a bit snooty there and no one treats you like the folks at Twin Sisters. Solid music, great dancing space (I learned to two step…FINALLY), and a crowd of fine folks from near and far made this an incredible night. Twin Sisters: never stop being amazing.
The drive back was quiet and understandably so, it had been quite the adventure. Erik promised big things and he delivered. I could not have been happier with the outcome of the trip.
Now back in west Austin, we were dropped off at Dance Across Texas, a bizarro modern nega-dance hall that features bright neon lights in a stranger Western/farm/ranch setting. We stayed for a bit then made our way back to Rosanky to end our epic day.
Day 27 Stats:
Miles traveled: — 146 (in my car, not counting the dance hall trip)
Miles traveled so far: 5,958
States visited:
- Texas
Two Month Weekend 