Road to Somewhere

July 13, 2008 7:25 PM

What's between Dallas and Houston?

I am driving in August from Houston to Dallas, with my boyfriend who's from Dallas... He tells me there's nothing to see between these two sprawling cities. I can't believe this!

I've also been warned by other native Texans, that there is nothing to see between Houston and Dallas. How can this be? Not even a tiny ghost town?

posted by octomato to travel & transportation (23 comments total)

There's nothing directly on I-45 worth mentioning. There are some nice state parks within 30 minutes drive from the highway on the way. Other than a few well maintained rest stops, a big convenience store or two with homemade jerky, and some hills and trees, you're not going to find much directly en route.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:36 PM on July 13

(made the drive more times than I care to admit. Be wary of speed traps as you approach Dallas.)
posted by Burhanistan at 7:37 PM on July 13

There's stuff, but not anything most people would want to stop and see. The most noteworthy thing I can think of is the giant statue of Sam Houston, hero of the Texas Revolution, along 45 near Huntsville. IIRC, there's also a prison museum in Huntsville.
posted by donajo at 7:39 PM on July 13

If you travel on a weekend and stop near Huntsville, you'll see lots of people traveling to see their people at the prison. It's actually really interesting/poignant to hang out at the Dairy Queen and eavesdrop on their stories.
posted by pomegranate at 7:52 PM on July 13

There's Old Town Spring and Conroe with its lake on the Houston end of things. Closer to Dallas there's Corsicana with the world's best fruit cakes and a charming downtown. In between there's beautiful piney woods and wide, smooth interstate.
posted by katemonster at 8:10 PM on July 13

If you take I-35, I'd suggest the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco. They used to exclusively sell special Dr. Pepper made using pure cane sugar --- it was delicious!
posted by polyester.lumberjack at 8:11 PM on July 13

You can buy beef jerky and porn in the same store in a couple of places, that's about as fascinating as it gets.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 8:15 PM on July 13

Who can think of I-45 without thinking of the massive Sam Houston statue? It's right along the I-45 service road south of Huntsville. The pale white statue among the dark pine forest is comically out of place, but it is an amazing creation.

Yeah, and watch out for the fuzz in Ennis (about 40 miles SE of Dallas) -- that place is crawling with speed traps.
posted by tinkertown at 8:25 PM on July 13

(and in Ferris too)
posted by tinkertown at 8:28 PM on July 13

A not-so-quick jog to the east will land you in College Station, which has Texas A&M University, the George Bush Senior Presidential museum and a lot of bars. Not worth it? Didn't think so. ;)
posted by SpecialK at 9:04 PM on July 13

Texas has a vast amount of space that is barely used and very boring. The trip between Houston and Dallas is an example of that space.
posted by lullaby at 9:23 PM on July 13

Texas Prison Museum

You could cut over to Waxahachie as you approach Dallas.
posted by lukemeister at 9:48 PM on July 13

I thought the Texas State Prison Museum in Huntsville was pretty interesting. A lot of information on prison life, prison rodeos, escape methods and it has a used electric chair. I think you could sit in it, but I'm not positive. Also, Sam Houston's grave is in Huntsville.
posted by hootch at 9:49 PM on July 13

There's a Russell Stover outlet store in Corsicana.
posted by king walnut at 10:07 PM on July 13

15 years ago there was a decent barbecue stand in Centerville. No idea if it's still there now.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 10:24 PM on July 13

He tells me there's nothing to see between these two sprawling cities. I can't believe this!
Believe him. It is one of the least interesting drives in Texas, in my experience.
posted by dancestoblue at 10:36 PM on July 13

Exit in Fairfield (Hwy 84 is the cross-street, I believe) and stop at the Texaco station on the right side of the interstate (as you're facing north). Cooper's Farm sets up a fruit stand there every summer and they have the BEST peaches in the entire world, including Georgia and Alabama. My parents live in Dallas and my granparents live in Houston, so I've made this trip more times than I can count. We always stop for the peaches, and they're worth it.

I've heard that the Dr Pepper museum and the Texas Ranger Museum, both in Waco, are worth a visit.

But otherwise, it's pretty much a wasteland. Definitely bring your ipod.
posted by orrnyereg at 5:00 AM on July 14

Oh, those Cooper's Farm peaches. I can get them here in Dallas sometimes - stop at the source, I bet they're even better.

And...yeah, that's about it. Huntsville, and peaches. And speed traps, the whole way. Set the cruise and don't push it.

It's a great drive for audiobooks. You can actually "rent" them from Cracker Barrel restaurant stores, if you don't have another means to get them. You put down a deposit for the purchase price at one store, take it back to any store when you're done with the receipt and they'll credit you back. I'm pretty sure there's a fair number of CBs on 45, and they've got a store locater/trip planner on their website.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:25 AM on July 14

If you've got the patience, Roadside America lists a huge number of roadside attractions of modest interest. Unfortunately, it searches based on a radius around a city, not a route, but if you enter Corsicana, Bryant, Huntsville, etc, you'll get an idea what's there. This is " world's largest wad of tinfoil" type attractions.

I have not done this drive myself, but it's true that there's a whole lot of nothing in between many cities in Texas.
posted by adamrice at 6:39 AM on July 14

That said, it is fairly Pretty nothing. Some hills, lots of forest, and plenty of time to listen to those downloads of Selected Shorts or This American Life.
posted by pomegranate at 7:22 AM on July 14

Thanks!
posted by octomato at 7:46 AM on July 14

It is one of the lesser interesting drives in Tejas. The husband and I stopped at the Casita factory on I-45 once. They were really nice to us. We were just looking - not interested in buying and they were still really cool to us. It was a fun stop.

Right around there on the West side of the highway is this curious religious sign park. I don't know what the story is but there's all these strange long narrow signs about God and stuff.

My dad loves the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, also on I-45.

Texas rest stops are getting pretty spiffy. There's one north of Huntsville that new and worth a stop. Nice bathrooms, regional history and brochures galore! Seriously - stop at them. They are so nice. All the rest stops have free wifi.

If you stop at the Sam Houston statue, you should check out the president heads (self flickr link) in Houston by the same artist. Very funny. Next to the Target on 1-10 @ Sawyer. MeFi mail me if you want more specific directions. Enjoy your trip!
posted by dog food sugar at 7:38 PM on July 14

Darn, someone already mentioned the Sam Houston statue.

When we were driving up to Oklahoma a couple months ago, I did a "WTF is THAT?" as we passed it and managed to get a great picture of it through the car window with the iPhone at 75mph.
posted by mrbill at 10:39 PM on July 19