Travel the big state of Texas with Dale Johnson from your comfortable seat in the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center Mainstage at on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m.
From east to west Texas, there is a lot to explore in a state where many of the locations are closer to Mexico than to other Texas or U.S. cities. Texas was once part of Mexico and there are many strong ties within the culture and people. As the second most populace state with over 24 million people, less than half of the population of Texas is Caucasian.
Dale Johnson will present many unique natural attractions and highlight the very individualized and energetic major cities in Texas where football is the state religion; oil is the lymph gland; and cotton, peanuts and cattle are the foundation.
A fact that is not well-known is that Texas is home to the second largest canyon in the U.S., Palo Duro. It was the site of the last war fought with the Indians of the western plains as the U.S. Army subjugated the aboriginals to reservations.
Texas has long been associated with longhorn cattle and Johnson includes the chaotic activity of a longhorn roundup that covers over a quarter of million acres. A feature often not associated with Texas is the 20 million bats that emerge from Bracken Cave near San Antonio every night.
West Texas is home to both the scientific McDonald Observatory with its four telescopes to contemplate the vastness of the Cosmos and the pseudoscientific, and the Marfa Lights, which were first observed in 1883 by ranchers in the area.
Johnson’s tour takes in the highlights of the major cities in Texas including El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas and Ft. Worth.
Of course no trip to Texas would be complete without a visit to the Alamo, the spirit of Texas, and where the battle is re-enacted every year. Or to the Rio Grand Valley to see the security fence that divides the U.S. and Mico.
Tickets for The Travel and Adventure Film Series “Texas: Byways and Highways” presentation by Dale Johnson at the Mendel Center Mainstage are available by calling (269) 927-1221 or visiting www.lmcmainstage.org. Students (kindergarten through college) and seniors (60 and older) receive 10 percent off single-ticket prices. Groups of 20 or more receive a 15 percent savings on ticket prices. For further information about group rates and special arrangements, call the group coordinator at (269) 927-8109 or email questions to groups@lakemichigancollege.edu.