The Cornbread Sandwich Started Here, in Jefferson, Texas.

Don't be mislead by the title on the sign outside. The sign may announce this is the "House of Pies." But in so many ways, it's the house of cornbread.

Don't hurt Santa.

I'm not certain what brought Santa to Marshall, Texas, but apparently he's had a bad time.


At least someone cares enough to give a little better direction after whatever incident befell St. Nick.

Near Lamar, MS.

Okay, what's wrong with this picture?

Hint -- check out the sticker.



That's Donnie Bellew. He's an Arkansas State Trooper, nice guy, too. Not sure what he's doing moonlighting on a gas pump in Mississippi, but there you go.

Hunting foxes.

I found this critter perched on a chair inside a furniture store in Marshall, Texas. I have no idea what in the world they were thinking, but knowing the history of fox hunting and horns the way I do, this seems wildly inappropriate.

Probably just me, though.

Small ship, long journey - the Nina docks at Memphis.

The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria all sailed the ocean blue in 1492 with Christopher Columbus, as we're all taught in elementary school.

Today, you too can board the Nina and marvel at the little ship that traversed an ocean to bring the explorer to the New World.

Repurposed service station in Carlisle.

This restaurant closed in 2013.

The Esso Espresso is a lovely little coffeeshop in a repurposed Esso gas station along US Highway 70 in Carlisle, Arkansas. I need to stop in here one day.

Zounds! It's My Wish List!

There are some things you need when traveling... and some things you just want. So far, I've been able to manage with what I've had. But if I could choose anything I wanted to help complete my job, I think I'd ask for these things.

A matter of trust and honey.

For years, I've passed through Damascus on US 65, on my way to points north. I've often wondered at the honey stand on the side of the road.

I used to just glance up the hill at the little stand in passing, the stand and the house behind it a blur.

It took me some time to realize that there was no one there.

Pizza... now with ribs!

Seen in Mountain View...


I don't know how that''s going to go down. Stiffly, I'd suspect.

Dropping in at The Dock in Providence, Louisiana.

When we make our trips south to New Orleans, Jackson or anywhere in that region of the nation, we usually find ourselves hungry about three hours from home. Fortunately, there's Lake Providence, and there's The Dock.

Peppery Barbecue in the Backwoods.

This restaurant has closed.

It was a dark and stormy night when my traveling companion of the day and I pulled up to Backwoods Barbeque in Greenbrier. We had planned to stop at Roper’s down the road, but when we pulled up there we were told they’d already closed down early -- because they didn’t have many customers.

Saving the Transylvania Burger.

An updated version of this story appears here.

This restaurant has closed.

For years, travelers along US 65 heading south to Tallulah have passed by the tiny burg of Transylvania. Truthfully, there's not much to Transylvania -- just an empty elementary school, a nearby prison, a cotton gin, a small community and the Transylvania General Store. Many have stopped in at the General Store for gas or a cold drink under the bat adorned water tower -- and they've discovered a cultural rarity.

They've discovered where baby bats live.

Beans and Cornbread and so much more at War Eagle Mill.

Updated versions of this story:
The War to Road Eagle
Floating Away: the flood and War Eagle Mill
Green from the Get-Go
An Arkansas Thanksgiving Dinner
Everyone Has a Cornbread Recipe

War Eagle Mill is known for a lot of things. It's a great, honest-to-goodness real water-powered grist mill. You can purchase all sorts of neat staples like ground cornmeal, thick cut oats, and organic ground whole wheat.

A Temple To Comfort Food - Anne's Country Cafe in Pine Bluff.

There are some restaurants that have kitchy relics of the past plastered on the walls. There are some that claim to have good Southern food. There are even those that claim they’re down home good.

Ann’s Country Café doesn’t say any of that. It doesn’t have to.

Between Pine Bluff and Sulphur Springs.

I'm not certain if this says "60 like cake" or "go like cake" but either way, what?

Hillbilly Aesthetics.

Part of growing up in Arkansas and going places was souvenirs. Those souvenirs back in the 70s and 80s tended to be hillbilly-ish in nature, from the "chicken dinner" that was a wooden box with a couple of pieces of corn glued to the bottom of it to the wooden tooth shaped brush that was supposedly a "tooth brush."

This sign inside Backwoods BBQ in Greenbrier quite succinctly captures that aesthetic.

Ghosts of Booger Hollow.

Back in the days when Arkansas was known more for the concept of hillbillies than Wal-Mart, back when the population was under a million people and Dogpatch USA was our big northwest Arkansas attraction, there was Booger Hollow.

Seen in Dardanelle...

UPDATE 1/1/17.  When I started Tie Dye Travels, I wasn't certain what it was going to be. The idea of an article clearinghouse drove my initial instinct, but as those first weeks passed I really wasn't sure I could make that stick. The internet was a different place, and there were a lot of blogs out there that just posted photos, so I thought I'd give it a try. These days we have Instagram for this sort of thing.

West Plains Time Warp at the Suds N'.

This restaurant has closed.

A short distance across the border from Mammoth Spring, you'll find the town of West Plains, MO -- home of the Zizzers. This small metropolis is home to many wonders -- but none that surprised me more than the Suds 'N'.

Cracker Crust Pizza & Armadillo Eggs at Main Street Pizza in El Dorado.

El Dorado is known as Boomtown, from the big oil boom down there around the turn of the century. In the past ten years or so, it's picked up the title again and ran with it -- with the rejuvenation and promotion of a fabulous downtown. There are all sorts of great shops and places to stay, and unusual sights, too -- like those neat red phone booths you see in England and sometimes even horses and carriages.

But there's a treasure you might not know about -- just because you can't see it from the town square. And if you don't know about it, that's a real shame.

Whatta-Memory - A Tech Grad's Look Back at Feltner's Whatta-Burger.

An updated version of this story appears here.

In almost every city or town in America, there is one local hangout that's been around for ages and ages... the place you send out-of-towners to when you want to share a bit of your roots and culture.

Rail History, Gimmick Free Aboard the Branson Scenic Railway.

The Branson Scenic Railroad is something you might not expect in Branson -- something that is completely historical and not the least bit gimmicky.

That's not to say that there aren't gimmicks to get you to go. You can find the flyers and schedules right along with the show pamphlets and attraction brochures wherever you find Branson information. It's just as glossy as any of the other ads you'll see.

Bridges and Strings - A Chat with Violet Hensley.

Violet Hensley plays the fiddle. She makes fiddles. You could say she’s spent a lifetime, fiddling around.

And what a remarkable woman she is.

But this particular Friday morning, there was a nip in the air. A cup of cider would have been nice, but instead Violet kept her eyes to her work.

Oh, gee, the Duttons aren't just talented...

they're one heck of a funny family.

This is the very first story I wrote for Tie Dye Travels, on September 10th, 2007. They've come a long way. Check the postscript at the end of this article. ~ Kat

Went to the show the night of Monday, September 10th -- a dark and rainy night, when the clouds hung in the air like thugs outside a movie theater in a seedy neighborhood.

But inside this Branson theater is a good natured family of interesting and talented people who just happen to be related to each other.

Kat's photo gallery

Here is a selection of random pictures not included in Tie Dye Travels, but that still deserve a viewing. I'm just a hobbyist when it comes to photography, but I'd love your comments. And, if you'd like to use any of these images, please contact me.

A church in El Dorado, AR, about a block from Main Street Pizza. This was taken on an August afternoon when the air was almost perfectly still.