Sarah Thurmond

Austin

Editor and Writer at Freelance

Freelance editor & writer. Texas Highways Events Calendar & web editor. Formerly at Austin Monthly, Tennis, and Sports Illustrated. Born/raised on TX border.

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Articles

There's More to Brenham Than Blue Bell

3 weeks ago | texashighways.com | Rebecca Deurlein |Sarah Thurmond

One of the signs that spring is, well, springing in East Central Texas is the annual pilgrimage to the Round Top Antiques Show, which dominates the landscape this time of year. Known as “The Show,” it brings crowds, adrenaline, and some hefty price tags to Round Top, along with Burton, Warrenton, and Blue Hills—all within an 11-mile radius and offering antiques shopping of their own.
2025 Texas Wildflowers Forecast: Year of the Late Bloomers

1 month ago | texashighways.com | Asher Elbein |Sarah Thurmond

Every spring, colorful carpets of wildflowers appear in fields and roadsides across the state. But this year may not yield quite as many bouquets as usual. The tumultuous weather of 2024—particularly the lack of fall rains—is likely to yield a distinctly patchy season for blooms, says Andrea DeLong-Amaya, director of horticulture at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin.
Inside the World's Largest Sea Turtle Hospital

1 month ago | texashighways.com | Amanda Ogle |Sarah Thurmond

Green sea turtles love to feed and nest in the shallow waters of Laguna Madre, a hypersaline lagoon and one of the seven major estuaries along the Texas coast from near Corpus Christi to South Padre Island. But during cold snaps, shallow waters mean water temperatures drop faster, causing sea turtles to become stunned in a hurry. Such an event took place in February 2021, when the severe cold front that rattled Texas caused the largest cold stunning of sea turtles in ever recorded worldwide.
You searched for college

2 months ago | texashighways.com | Danielle Lopez |Tyson Bird |Sarah Thurmond |Art Williams
All Aboard Boxcar, Dallas' Tiny New Bar

2 months ago | texashighways.com | Andrea Luttrell |Sarah Thurmond

Nothing says romance like cuddling up with your boo over a tasty cocktail while outside snow slowly falls, blurring the mountains in the distance. Though it’s a scene rarely found in Texas, you can still engage in the Danish concept of hygge with your sweetheart courtesy of the Boxcar in central Dallas. Co-owners Patrick Gorman, Jordan Carson, Carlos Angel, and Allen Scott opened the bar, located just a mile away from the heart of Southern Methodist University, in October.
Plant Your Own Texas Wildflowers

Nov 15, 2024 | texashighways.com | Sarah Thurmond |Danielle Lopez

It’s an overcast day in November, and Amy Medley, a lead horticulturalist at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, stands on what appears to be a bare patch of decomposed granite at the center’s 300-acre property in South Austin. Medley’s work at the center varies daily but focuses on taking care of gardens and educating guests about native plants. Raised in a town near New Orleans, she received her degree in horticulture at Louisiana State University and has worked at the center for five years.
Are Grackles in Trouble in Texas?

Nov 8, 2024 | texashighways.com | Asher Elbein |Sarah Thurmond

Texans—especially urban Texans—are intimately familiar with grackles. The chattering, swaggering great-tailed grackle is a common sight in urban areas, with numbers that have boomed to 4.8 million in Texas, the largest state population for the species. Great-tailed grackles are everywhere: roosting on power lines, stalking parking lots, and loitering around outdoor restaurants in hopes of snatching a tasty morsel.
A First-Timer's Guide to Wurstfest

Oct 28, 2024 | texashighways.com | Omar Gallaga |Sarah Thurmond

The oompah of booming brass musical instruments, the rich smell of roasted meats, and the cheerful cries of “Prost!” over pitchers of caramel-colored Dunkel beers means it’s November in New Braunfels and Wurstfest is here. What began in 1961 as a modest festival created by city meat inspector Ed Grist to celebrate sausage with about 2,000 attendees is now a sprawling, 10-day annual party attracting more than 240,000 revelers to the Central Texas German town in 2023.
The Gift of New Braunfels' Deaf Santa Claus

Oct 23, 2024 | texashighways.com | Marisa Charpentier |Sarah Thurmond

The first time Charles Graves tried on a Santa suit, a magical feeling came over him. “I felt it flowing through me,” he says. “A tingle throughout my entire body.”With or without the red hat and coat, the 54-year-old New Braunfels resident looks the part. A mane of white hair flows from his head, and he sports a fluffy beard of the same color year-round. A pair of tiny round spectacles frames his eyes, which crinkle when he smiles.
The Most Haunted Roads in Texas

Oct 18, 2024 | texashighways.com | Layne Van Vranken |Sarah Thurmond

Who hasn’t stumbled upon a quiet stretch of road in the dark of night and wondered what awaits them around the corner? Well, in Texas, you might just find yourself face-to-face with headless ghosts; part-man, part-animal apparitions; orbs of dancing bright light; and other paranormal entities when you drive down the state’s most haunted routes.