The Red River (also known as the Red River of the South) is the longest river in the U.S. that does not begin from snowmelt. This confounded many 18th & 19th century explorers who thought the river sourced in the Rocky Mountains. About six weeks ago, the headwaters of the Red, flowing through the Llano Estacado and Rolling Plains, lived up to their name--sending a huge pulse of water down the tributaries of Tierra Blanca Creek, the North Fork, Prairie Dog and Salt Forks of the Red, the Pease, and Wichita!
The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day:
Texas history stares you right in the face. If you walk or drive past 33 N. Main Street in Salado you'll see the "Salado Saloon" building, shown in the Google street view below. It was built some time after 1860 but before 1882 (I THINK that's correct). In 1882, the building was leased with the intention of turning it into a saloon. When the pious ladies of Salado found out about this, they feared that the moral virtues of Salado were endangered. Of course, their menfolk didn't see it that way. The ladies devised a strategy whereby two of them would sit outside the saloon and knit all day, resulting in very few men visiting the saloon. The new owner got so mad he up and moved his saloon just down the road to the town of Holland, Texas where he mockingly called his new place the Salado Saloon.