The following is an excerpt from my upcoming quirky travel book, Unexpected Texas: Salt Palace in Grand Saline While the French equivalent of “window shopping” translates as “window licking” this is something that literally occurs every day at the Salt Palace in Grand Saline, Texas. The unusual building, which houses a visitor center and museum for the town and the nearby Morton Salt Company mine, is built entirely out of salt crystal bricks held together by a salt/mortar mixture. This strange combination proves tempting to many visitors who satisfy their curiosity by taking a tiny lick of its walls. The…
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What is a Jackalope? Jackalopes are mythical rabbit/antelope hybrids that frequently appear in folk tales from the southwestern United States. Why is there a Jackalope in Fort Worth, Texas? In the 1980’s, Fort Worth artist Nancy Lamb was commissioned to create an eight foot tall jackalope sculpture for a garden and pottery shop. Rooftop Jackalope Address Although the Jackalope Store has since gone under, its unique mascot remains on the roof of what is now a car dealership. I always keep an eye out for it when driving through town. If you’re ever in north Texas and would like to…
Like many older graveyards, Aurora Cemetery has a Texas State Historical Marker. While pioneers, cattlemen, farmers and soldiers often figure prominently on such signs, what makes this historical marker so unusual is that it mentions a spaceship crash in 1897, and that this cemetery is where the alien’s body is buried!