Texas Tidbits: An Uncertain Christmas

Santa in the Swamps

Some places are so cool they merit mentioning on a regular basis. One such place is the town of Uncertain, Texas. I have brought up that name several times on this blog. For a little background, you can go here, here, and here, plus a couple of other places.

Today, however, we are a taking a look at Uncertain in a completely different light, as in Christmas lights. What is certain is that uncertain has one of the most unique and beautiful Christmas celebrations anywhere in Texas. Or the United States, for that matter. As you'll recall, Uncertain sits on the shores of one of the beautiful and mysterious lakes in the world, pre-historic-looking Caddo Lake. What makes this Christmas celebration so neat is that the locals put on a parade of boats that file by the crowd-lined shores of Caddo Lake. Uncertain is home to only a couple of hundred people, but residents from near-by towns also participate in this annual floatilla of Christmas-themed boats.

The Floating Christmas Parade takes place each year on the third Saturday of December. This year, if my math is correct, that would be the 18th with the start time at 2:00 PM. maybe I'll hear from my blog buddy n2l today. He's chock full of information on Caddo Lake and would certainly add to the "discussion". 

I have never attended the Floating Christmas Parade, but I would love to see it, with all the decorated boats and the splendor that is Caddo Lake on display for all to see. Of that I am not Uncertain.  :)

Colorado Chronicles: Christmas at the Zoo and FREE Fishin' Tips

'Tis the season to be jolly and locations all over the USA are getting into the swing of things. One place that's really swingin' is the Pueblo Zoo in Southern Colorado. Each year, the Pueblo Zoo puts on a light show of a different stripe. It's called ElectriCritters. To see exactly what I'm talking about, click here and look at the animated wolves (or coyotes). Can you imagine lots of displays like this one and more than a quarter million other lights, too? Top that off with a great Pueblo Zoo experience observing over 140 species of animals and Christmas music playing in the background, and you've got yourself some memories that'll last a lifetime.You can get more information on dates, times and admission prices on the Pueblo Zoo's web site.

I would be remiss if I didn't include this information. If Santa is bringing you a new rod and reel for Christmas and you'll be in the Pueblo area, follow the road running beside the Arkansas River going west of town to a small town called Texas Creek. Find a safe place to park on the side of the road and get ready for some real good trout fishing. Be sure to use light line (6lb test at the most) and an in-line spinner bait like Panther-Martin or Mepps. Chunk your bait upstream into an eddy and retrieve it just a little bit faster than the flow of the river and hang on. There are some large brown trout in there. An added bonus: the last time I was there I was just across the river from a family of mountain goats stopping by for a sip of water. Don't be like me and not have a camera at the ready. You can thank me later.

Maine Minutiae: Dashing Through the Snow...

Over the last few days, we have seen some of the most incredible Christmas displays in Maine. Like this one. Or this one. Two tremendous displays, no doubt. I thought, however, that we would change gears and get into a Christmas tradition that was around waaaaaaayyyyyy before Christmas lights, yet it's not something that we typically think about during the Yuletide season. At least those of us from the South. I am talking about a good old fashion sleigh ride. With snow, horses and everything.

 My super human Google Fu again led me to the information I needed. Behold the fruits of my Google Fu labors!

•  High View Farm - High View Farm in Harrison, Maine has been in the Winslow family since 1810! That's only thirty-four years after the Declaration of Independence! To put it another way, Abe Lincoln was one year old and thirteen years before Maine became a state! Those facts alone warrant a visit to High View Farm. I am blown away by it all and my fingers are tongue-tied.
• Meadow Creek Farm - These guys give wagon rides and sleigh rides as well, with Belgian Draft Horses doing the pulling. These horses weigh about 2000 pounds each! Wow! Meadow Creek also offers youm the choice of having the rides at your location or right there on Meadow Creek Farm where your ride will be a bit more private.
• Rockin' Horse Stables - Another great choice for your sleigh or wagon ride. I noticed on their home page some testimonials from customers past. All are effusive in their praise for the crew at Rockin' Horse Stables. The guys at RHS will also be glad to host your own private event, like weddings and the like.

I want to mention up front that the sleigh and wagon rides are a bit a pricey, so click on the links above to get all the pertinent information. The cost be damned, a sleigh ride through the snow-covered Maine countryside would provide you with a lifetime of memories and something your kids or grand kids would cherish forever.


Dashing through the snow , in a one horse open sleigh....

Texas Tidbits: Prairie Lights 2010 !

Tunnel of Lights

As we continue our Christmas Tour through Texas, we are going to see what's up in Grand Prairie. The last time I was in the Metroplex was about ten years ago and I know that things are drastically different than they were back then. One thing that remains the same, however, is the undeniable Christmas Spirit that is a part of Texas and the outstanding Christamas light displays throughout the state, including the DFW area.

My Christmas Google Fu was strong this morning as I searched for just the right post to put up today. I ended up in Grand Prairie and discovered Prairie Lights 2010. This is a great Christmas light extravaganza! The display is located at Lynn Creek Park and is a drive thru kinda thing. Cutting a two mile path through the park, with over 600 lighting displays and four million lights, Prairie lights should be on the To Do List for every family within 100 miles of the park.

From Prairielights.org, we get this: "During your visit to Holiday Village take the time to experience the Holiday Magic Theater. See more than 500,000 lights dance, chase and transform from one scene to another all right before your eyes.
See more than 500,000 lights dance, chase and transform from one scene to another all right before your eyes." There's a neat video giving you a virtual tour of Prairie Lights 2010 and it's definitely worth the four minutes of your time to view it.

Half way through the drive through Holiday Village, you can stop and grab hot dog and a soft drink AND get pictures of your kids with Santa!! The best part of this Christmas light magic is that it takes place on the shores of Joe Pool Lake!

After reading this post and looking at some photos and videos from the Prairie Lights 2010 web site, how can you not make plans to experience this magnificent Christmas celebration in lights?

Colorado Chronicles: The Greeley Grizwalds

Grizwald's Light Show

You know that movie "Christmas Vacation" or whatever the hell it is, with Chevy Chase? He tries like crazy to get his Christmas lights going and hilarity ensues? Well, there's a guy up in Greeley, Colorado that is a real life "Grizwald" without any of the technical snafus and Cousin Eddies to frak things up. I mean this guy, Mike, has it down like James Brown. There are several videos of Mike's handiwork here. I need to give you a little notice that Mike must live out in the country as there are no city lights or artificial light of any kind to get in the way of his light show. The lights are synced to music, so at times things will be dark for a few seconds or only a few lights will "dance" to the music. Just stick with the video. When the music revs up so do the lights. Please keep that in mind as you view the videos. You won't be sorry.

On this page of Mike's web site, you'll find out some really cool information about his Christmas lights display, such ass, there are over 108,000 (!) lights in the display. You'll also find out that Mike has won numerous awards as well. Click the link above and check out the rest of the facts about the show. It's very impressive.

Christmas is a joyous and happy time of year, and it's guys like Mike and the Picketts, who we featured yesterday, that take the joy and happiness of the yuletide season to new levels. Their hard work and attention to detail are overlooked most of the time, but the smiles they put on children's faces when the kids see the fantastic display of lights Mike and the Picketts have labored over, make all the time and labor spent each Christmas season on getting the show together well worth it all. Thanks, Mike and thank you Kevin and Linda. You are truly filled with the Spirit of Christmas.

Maine Minutiae: Christmas By the Sea

Having been in Maine for nearly five years, I'd like to think that I know a little more about the state than when I got here. And I do. But, since starting this blog nearly six months ago, I have learned so much more about Maine, its people and its traditions - including Christmas traditions. Part of the joy of doing a blog is to be able to share what I have learned /am learning with people all over the world.

Maine has about seven bazillion miles of coastline, so it should come as no surprise that many holiday traditions are centered on the ocean, boats and other maritime pursuits. This post is one of those.

Christmas by the Sea in Camden, Rockport and Lincolnville is a prime example of Mainers celebrating Christmas and at the same time, celebrating their heritage which is linked to the sea. Christmas by the Sea takes place this weekend, December 3-5, so you still have a bit of time to insert a visit to Camden, Rockport and/or Lincolnvillle into your schedule. According to the Christmas by the Sea web site, "The Christmas season arrives in Maine’s Midcoast during the first weekend in December, when Santa chugs into the harbor by boat, a parade makes its way down the street, and unique local traditions hit their stride." I just wonder if the boat on which Santa arrives has a big red light on the front of it, like Rudolph's nose.

More from the festival web site:

•  Trish Moroz–-known locally as the “gingerbread lady”--will transport nearly 130 elaborate gingerbread houses that she has been crafting in her Rockport kitchen since last February from her basement to the holiday fair.
• Retired firefighter Bob Oxton will make his trek up Mount Battie to light the holiday star that can be seen for miles, as he has for four decades.
• Carolers and horse-drawn wagons will wind through historic downtown Camden, where the mountains meet the sea, and local shops will offer special items that you won’t find at the mall.

 What a great way to combine the celebration of Christmas with local customs and traditions! I appreciate the symbolism of celebrating Christ's birth and the traditions of the locals and the sea. Somewhere in the Good Book it says something like this: Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Christmas by the Sea not only feeds a man for a day, it also nourishes a man's soul for a lifetime.

Texas Tidbits: Rudolph the Roughneck

Rudolph

To truly celebrate Christmas the Texas Way, you have to come up with an idea that represents Texas in a unique way then "Christmas-fy" it. The crew at Lufkin Industries came up with just such an idea many years ago, thanks to L.I. employee, Guy Croom. Croom heard the Christmas classic "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" by fellow Texan, Gene Autry. Croom's idea was to take one of Lufkin Industries' most common products which just happens to represent a part of Texas history and merge it with Christmas to create a Yuletide symbol for the ages. The Lufkin Industries product that Guy Croom "Christmas-fied" was an oil pumping unit, one of the most recognized icons in Texas.

Texasescapes.com  fills us in, "For about four days before Thanksgiving, an electrician installs 1,000 seven-watt light on a selected unit. Another work crew spends another two and a half days putting Rudolph together at his holiday home on the parking lot of Lufkin Mall beside Loop 287 and U.S. 59. Rudolph is actually a fully-operational Lufkin Mark 640 oilfield pump painted red for the season. At his holiday home, he is pulling a 38-foot dump trailer, also made by Lufkin Industries, carrying Santa Claus and a pile of Christmas gifts.Rudolph, naturally, sports lighted antlers and a red nose. The rest of Rudolph's story can be found here. Hence, a star, a Lone Star as it were, is born. Truly unique and truly Texas. Wanna take a peek? There are a number videos starring Rudolph on You Tube. Rudolph lights up the night skies in Lufkin. Here is a compilation of videos showing Rudolph at work.

I hope that Lukin Industires gave Guy Croom a nice Christmas bonus for creating something that combines the celebration of Christmas and an icon of Texas history into a memorable and long-lasting gift to the people of Texas. I think I can speak for Guy Crooms and Lufkin Industries when I say, Merry Christmas, y'all.