- The "Daytripper" is made possible by Rudy's, real Texas barbecue.

Shipping nationwide at rudys.com.

Karbach Brewing Company from Houston, Texas, makers of Karbach Lager, a beer that is proudly partnered with Don't Mess with Texas, please dispose responsibly.

Visit Georgetown, where big ideas meet small town charm.

Georgetown, the most beautiful town square in Texas.

Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, protection and peace of mind for Texans since 1952.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick in Georgetown.

Making Texas road trips possible for over 50 years.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick, Texas True.

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Texas' local bottler providing the Lone Star state with a variety of Coca-Cola products.

(upbeat rock music) - Now, it's been said that Texas is big, Texas-sized even.

Its southern border stretches all the way to Mexico.

But what many don't realize is that near its northern border, trippers can encounter an entirely different kind of country.

♪ Oh, Canadian Wait, what are the words?

Oh, yeah.

♪ Texas' best past, present, and future ♪ National song of Canadian, I'd done studied it.

(chime rings) Canadian.

(upbeat country music) (upbeat country music continues) (upbeat country music continues) (upbeat country music continues) (laid back country music) The Panhandle is a fur piece from the rest of Texas, but near its northeastern border, you'll find the city of Canadian, not to be confused with the country of Canada, although this is a kind of country all its own.

Welcome to Canadian.

So right below us is the Canadian River, which is so far north, at least by Texas standards, that early explorers thought it went all the way to Canada.

But this area is as legendary as the Lone Star State.

They're Comanche lands, which gave way to cattle drives, which eventually gave way to the railroad.

Right now, we're walking atop the historic wagon bridge, which used to bring wagon loads full of people, right across the river and into the heart of town.

Which means, all there is for us to do today, is follow the path of history.

The Canadian River cuts all the way across the Panhandle and underneath this 100-year-old bridge, which, at over half a mile in length, is the longest of its kind in Texas.

One of the many things we'll be exploring today.

(upbeat country music) It's gonna be a lot of fun today.

There's a, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, guys.

The Canadian Mounties are out, shouldn't be a problem.

Just smile, wave, we'll breeze right through immigration.

♪ Went to the Saskatchewan - Okay, play it cool.

(playfully suspenseful music) - Come on through, come on through.

Ho, ho, whoa there, cowboy hat.

Why don't you step on over here?

What brings you around these parts, huh?

- Just tripping through, sir.

- Oh, tripping, huh?

We're gonna need to see some identification, eh?

Maybe a passport?

- Wait, but we're still in Texas.

- Well, you might be, but it's Canadian Texas.

You see, as soon as you cross that little river there, you stepped into my backyard, and I'm gonna need to see some identification.

- I didn't bring a passport.

Wait, oh, yes, here we go.

Government issue.

- This is a little funny looking.

Is this a barbecue passport?

- All the stamps, standard government issue, right there.

- Barbecue?

We barbecue moose up here, this is real funny-looking.

I'm gonna need to bring this back in to station and ask you some more... Sir, you come back here, you can't run away from a Mountie!

- It should be said that I do not condone running from law enforcement, unless it's actually yourself in a Mountie hat.

And despite its name, Canadian is 100% Texan, and known as the Oasis on the Prairie.

It's the heart of Hemphill County, and truthfully, the only remaining town in the county.

Yep, it's a vast and open land up here.

But something that unites us all, whether we're big city dwellers or just small town locals, a great cup of coffee.

(upbeat music) Welcome to Brown Bag Roasters.

And this cool cat in the suede hat, is owner, Gabriel Brown.

So I understand y'all roast all your own coffee.

- Well, we do, we do.

All of this is straight from our roaster to you.

- This brown bag is more like a suitcase.

One that went on vacation and brought back souvenirs by the cup full.

Indonesia, Honduras, Ethiopia, and they all truly taste different, which has been a brown bag revelation to the folks of Canadian.

Was it sort of like a coffee desert up here in the eastern Panhandle?

- You know, the old guys who come in and they say, "I've been drinking Folgers since I was," you know, "12 years old".

And they try our coffee, and you know- - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- It's like a whole new world.

(gentle upbeat music) - A coffee drinker's eyes open when they realize it can taste wildly different, depending on its origin.

And a lot of the art of coffee happens right here in the roasting.

You're watching, you're smelling.

- You're watching, smelling.

- You're just feeling it.

- Yeah, yeah.

- It's an emotional connection.

- It is, boy, there is an emotional connection (Chet laughs) to every batch we roast, you know.

- Oh, no doubt, ooh.

- That's the scene.

- Waft it in, baby.

- Start getting the smell.

- Real rich like you're baking nut bread or something.

- Curse, curse you don't wanna say "baking", 'cause a baked flavor is a bad flavor for coffee.

- Is it?

I'm sorry I got crazy, it's not baked, no.

You wanna try a cup?

- Yes, I do.

- All right, let's do a pour over.

This is a Honduran coffee that we're gonna do.

- Okay.

- We do weigh the beans.

And our water has to be 205 degrees, a little bit off of boiling.

It's a little more complex than some people think.

- This is Science and art.

- A little bit of all of it.

- Yeah, that's awesome.

Here we go, cheers.

Oh, it's a good cup of coffee right there.

- All right.

- Definitely chocolate forward, but it's got sort of a, use a fancy word here, a bouquet.

- A bouquet, very good.

- What do they call like a coffee sommelier?

what's the word for that.

- Nerd.

- A nerd.

(Chet laughs) - When a day starts like this- - Hey, it's gonna be a good day.

- Absolutely.

Cheers to that.

- Cheers.

(upbeat country music) - You know, you come this far north, all the way to Canada-ish.

And you're still in Texas.

- Ish, ish That's just how big Texas is.

- It feels like that the drive time alone.

- (laughs) Yeah, it did feel like it.

A majority of the rest of Texas will never make it up this far.

- And that's sad, because I'm actually liking this so far.

- You know, the town feels very Norman Rockwell, yet it's full of art and creativity, and it's a modern city trapped in time.

- Art's pretty huge in this city, it's everywhere.

Sculptures, paintings, and some of these houses - Wait until the one we're about to go to, guys.

Not only is it a mansion, it's also a church and an art museum all combined into one.

- Wait, what?

(Chet mimics explosion boom) - There's only one place in Texas that fits that description.

The Citadel Art Museum, built as a Baptist church in 1910.

It was abandoned in the 70s and scheduled for demolition, that's when a young doctor named Malouf Abraham, his wife Theresa, and their three young boys, decided to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, which started a small art collection that very soon became one of the most unique menageries on earth.

- Well, welcome to the greenest room in Texas.

- (laughs) I know why.

- This is the living room, the Citadel Art Museum.

- Wow.

This is executive director, Wendy Cook.

The Abrahams moved out in 2008, taking only their clothes and memories.

So this is set up just how they lived here?

- It is.

- So they truly lived inside of an art museum?

- They truly lived inside of an art museum.

The story goes that the boys were not necessarily allowed in this space.

- This art would've had no hope in my house growing up, Not a chance - Yes, I understand that.

- In many ways, this feels like a home, but you can still feel the soul of the old church.

Of course, the pews are gone, but the baptistry is still here under this amazing painting, which is next to these ornate lamp stands, right next to this intricate bald eagle sculpture, atop this exquisite hand-stitched carpet.

I'm not sure what to look at.

Everything has a story.

- Everything has a story.

The Abraham's never chased names.

They chased things of beauty that were meaningful to them.

- And despite not chasing names, they certainly caught some big ones, including the piece that started the entire collection.

- So this was almost the cause of Malouf and Theresa's divorce.

- Okay.

- So the story goes that Theresa was at home washing cloth diapers with her three boys.

And Malouf decided to go to New York and ran across this piece of art.

(Chet laughs) He had to borrow money from his brother.

Well, he called Theresa, she was furious, and sure enough, it turned out to be a lost Norman Rockwell.

- What?

- Somebody forgave somebody and it was the beginning of a wonderful collection here.

- Pretty good start, I'd say.

This entire collection is wild.

There's this Rolls Royce chair that's one of only six ever made.

Then there's a 200 year old Broadwood piano, identical to the one Beethoven composed on.

- The bass sound is very robust.

Higher sounds are much more tinny.

If you listen to Beethoven's music, he has very deep- - Bah, bah, bah, yeah.

- Wonderful bass qualities.

And so I think that's probably why he liked to use these pianos.

- He played to his instrument.

But my favorite piece is this painting, created by one of America's greatest illustrators, J.C.

Leyendecker.

- You'll see that the male there, only has four things painted, and there are no stairs and no tuxedo jacket painted.

- I didn't notice that until I'm looking directly at it, but he completely blends in with the background.

- Yes.

This is the quintessential Leyendecker.

It's very famous for many reasons.

And- - It's here in a house in Canadian.

- That's right.

- That makes perfect sense to me.

- That's right.

- Leyendecker was a master.

Sometimes it's not just what you paint, but what you don't.

The Abraham family originally moved to Canadian in the 1800s from Lebanon, becoming dry goods merchants and seeking to establish a legacy of their own in this community.

When Malouf and Theresa donated this home, well, they gave us all a gift that's making an impact much bigger than Canadian.

And I understand like the Citadel is essentially the art classroom for all of Canadian?

- It is.

Our service area for our education programs is 26,000 square miles.

- (gobbles) What?

- The Abrahams knew that turning this into an art museum was an opportunity to really tell the children in our region.

You don't have to be a sports kid, you don't have to be a ranch kid to really have a place to fit in rural Texas.

- Ah... - And so this gives an opportunity for all of our kids to experience something different and creative, and so we're grateful to be able to do that.

- That's amazing.

I believe God gives us all passions and interests, and when we turn those over to share with others, that's when amazing things happen.

Well, we had our morning coffee and education, but now it's time for a proper lunch.

And today's come served with a side of history as we head to The Cattle Exchange.

But hopefully, the only beef I'm buying today comes either grilled or fried.

- Well, Chet, welcome to The Cattle Exchange.

- Good to be here.

- What do we have here?

- Well, this is one of our bestselling appetizers, and it's actually mountain oysters or calf fries, but we sell a lot of 'em.

- Oh, my gosh, hey.

You know at a place called The Cattle Exchange, only appropriate.

For those that don't know what a Rocky Mountain Oyster is, I'll let you Google that one.

But like a true oyster, these are not served with ranch, but cocktail sauce.

- That's good.

- Pretty tasty, right?

- I mean, the texture is like an oyster.

- It is.

- Turning bulls into steers here at The Cattle Exchange.

Cheers to steers.

(whimsical music) - So a little history on our establishment here.

- Mm-hmm.

- The building was built in 1910, and it was the Moody Hotel.

- Okay.

- [Cattle Exchange Owner] It was the first fireproof hotel in the Panhandle.

- I mean, in that era, this would've been a fancy, fancy place.

- Oh, exactly, exactly.

So the cattle buyers would come in, and walk up the street, and they would make cattle deals, and most of them were done with a handshake.

- Sure.

- And we decided, hey, what better way to capture the history of Canadian than a steakhouse made on a handshake- - Handshake deal.

You ended up here on a handshake?

I'll take it.

- We did.

- Oh, that's awesome.

- Absolutely.

- It's the Texan way.

The walls are covered in paintings and brands honoring Canadians' deep ranching heritage.

But my favorite way to honor all those hardworking cowboys is to eat the fruits of their labor.

I mean, every now and then, that fire flaring up over there catches my eye.

- Yes.

- The fact that y'all have a fire like that in the kitchen gets me excited.

You know, sometimes it don't get much better than a simple mesquite fired steak.

That is, unless you're talking about one of Milton's specialties, the Steak Relleno.

- I was making chili rellenos in the kitchen.

So I thought, you know, might be interesting if we took the pepper and the cheese and put it inside the steak.

- Yeah (chuckles).

- So I got to playing around with this.

- Sounds awesome.

- And that's what we wound up doing.

Put a little queso over the top.

And it's actually become our number one selling item.

- All right, I'm, I'm gonna need one of those.

(upbeat music) Oh, yeah, look at this.

You're at a place called The Cattle Exchange, you're going to eat some beef.

(savors) Mmm, oh, that was really good.

It's essentially like the best parts of a steakhouse and a Tex-Mex restaurant combined.

You know, you definitely don't expect food like this in a town like Canadian.

But you know, every town, especially one like Canadian with a deep cattle ranching history, you gotta have a place to go have a business lunch, you know.

By the end of this, I might end up buying some cows, - But where are you gonna have them herd?

- I have no idea, Daniel, but I'm in the mood to make some handshake deals in The Cattle Exchange, okay.

Well, I'm gonna be as big as a cow if I sit around here too long.

So I think it's time to head out into Canadian country.

- Hey, I have a question.

What do you call a Canadian?

(Chet laughs) Because Canadian is the city, so are they a Canadianin?

- That's a great question.

- Canadianites.

- Canadainer.

- It's the Canadianites.

- Oh man, this is a tough one, you're right.

I just can't believe how pretty it is out here.

I think it just, it would surprise everybody.

- Check this out, there is a dinosaur on top of this hill.

- Dinosaur sighting!

- Is that real?

- Totally.

- Oh, yeah, absolutely.

- It may not be real, but it certainly is odd.

In fact, that's its name, given by local artist Gene Cockrell to honor his wife Audrey.

Gene Perched Odd here on this cliff, just south of town, so the children would know when they were almost back home.

And sadly, Gene passed away in 2013, but he left behind a yard filled with his art that continues to inspire and amuse anyone that passes by.

So I told you there was a lot of wide open land in Hemphill County.

Well, there are things you can do in this big country that you just can't do near any big city, especially when you have a ranch that spans 40 square miles.

(upbeat music) Jason.

- Chet, man.

Welcome to the Mendota Ranch.

- Glad to be here.

This is Jason Abraham, owner of the Mendota Ranch, pilot, inventor, and one of the three young boys that grew up in the Citadel.

But as you'll see, he was more suited for the country life.

- What I'm gonna take you on the day is the same course that I do with my military guys.

I'm a DOD contracted operation.

- I mean the highest levels of the military.

- Yup.

- Green beret, seals, that kind of stuff.

- Yeah, they're all tier one guys, yeah.

Hey, you didn't eat a big lunch, did you?

- Uh... - I know how you are... - No comment.

- Rotor Recoil is the country's best training ground for military helicopter target practice.

This is amazing.

- You haven't even gotten up yet.

- I know, I'm already pumped, this is so good.

- Today, you're gonna be shooting a 9mm carbine.

Now, you got 300 rounds, and you've got over a hundred still targets, you're going to be pinging.

I hope you ping a few of you.

(Chet chuckles) - We can have the sound effect, right.

- Yeah (chuckles).

- Ping!

Ping!

Hopefully we won't need that sound effect.

Now, this operation is safety first, always.

With a few key rules: Don't shoot the helicopter.

Don't drop the gun.

And don't throw up in the helicopter.

So far so good.

- All right, here we go.

I'm gonna take the helicopter sideways.

(gun blasts) (helicopter buzzes) - Did I get one?

- No.

- Oh, come on.

- Come on.

Oh, come a little left here.

Attaboy, there we go.

- Got one on the first try (laughs).

- You got one.

- Obviously this is wildly different.

You have to shoot behind the target to let the bullet drift in.

- Attaboy, good job.

- Jason not only trains gunners, but also military pilots.

- There you go.

Look here.

- Wow.

- 12 o'clock.

- Because a good pilot can make a bad gunner much better than he actually is.

Ah, I missed that last one.

- Man, you just left one standing, that was good.

- Dang it.

- That brass catcher, flip that top up, there you go.

- Like that.

- Yeah.

- That was what it was.

- Yeah.

- That was what was causing me to miss those.

- Yeah, yeah, you know exactly what I was thinking.

(gun bangs) - Ah... - Ah, so close.

- Come on.

- A little left.

Attaboy, double hitter there.

- This might be the coolest thing I've ever done.

Look at that, look at the scenery.

This land is so incredible.

I'd be happy just flying around without the guns, and the history here is something else.

- So Wyatt Earp's nephew lived here, he was a goat farmer.

- You're kidding me.

- Uh-uh.

There's a bunch of history here, but one of 'em is a, there's a wagon trail, so see right here, see, it's a wagon trail.

- Oh, wow.

Soon we're getting into the scenario targets, vehicles full of good guys and bad guys.

- All right, so now we're going to be on the car and the pickup.

- Okay.

(gun blasts) - There you go.

There you go, good hit.

(gun bangs) - I think I might have killed all the hostages.

Ah, got them, that was hard enough, and they're not even shooting back at me.

All right, get em, get em down.

(gun bangs) Attaboy, unload, hurry, hurry.

Attaboy, get that driver, get that driver.

Good job.

Good job.

Woo, yeah, that's it.

I'm getting scouted, aren't I?

- Yeah, that's it.

- Maybe if I stick to non hostage situations.

You do get better at it, but I gotta know what you're doing.

- Well, what I'm doing, is I'm seeing you're aiming wrong, so I'm moving the helicopter, (team members laugh) so that you actually hit something today.

- Oh, thank you.

- All right, hit that one.

There you go, good hit Hit one more.

- Oh, wow.

- Okay.

- I got all three of them.

- Good job.

- Took about six bullets.

Six?

Sorry, Chet, more like 16.

Hey, you can't deny the video evidence, but I am improving.

- Good hit.

That was luck, we're coming back around.

- But we do need to land quickly to swap out our ammo and our guns.

And this time we're going for actual kills.

All right, Jason, this looks like a little bit of a different kind of gun here.

- Yeah, yeah, so this is the brush bullet gun.

This is one of my inventions.

These are blueberry junipers, and these are some dirty little dudes.

They'll drink 30 gallons of water.

You can burn 'em, stomp 'em, and they just come right back.

And we've got no solution for 'em, until now.

- Juniper cedars, public enemy number one.

I hate cedars.

Jason's invention delivers an herbicide that can safely kill even the biggest trees.

Woo, hoo, hoo, I cannot believe that you could do something like this as a civilian, as a person who never had the honor of serving in the military.

You get so much more respect for the men and women in the field of battle.

You're thankful that you live in such a great country, that you got professionals who are much better at this than I am out there keeping us safe.

- You know what they all say?

- What's that?

- You can only do this in Texas.

- Something like this?

- Something like this?

- Absolutely.

- Only in Texas.

(upbeat music) - Oh, my gosh.

- Ah, you were just hanging out of a helicopter.

- Like, I wasn't sitting in it, I was hanging out of it.

- Hanging out of a helicopter.

- That was cool.

- The Day Tripper meets Magnum PI, like coolest things you can do in in life ever.

- Ever.

- Yeah.

- Who would've thought Chet was a pretty good shot after all that?

Is that how you wanted me to say it?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, thanks.

- But Jason was an incredible pilot.

- Oh, he was.

- Dude, that guy.

- Amazing.

- And none of us barfed.

(team members laugh) A monumental accomplishment, no doubt.

And as you can tell, we're still a bit giddy from the experience, but I know the perfect spot to kick back and unwind after what has been a very good day.

This is the Stumbling Goat, local watering hole, live music venue, and family friendly restaurant that has a chair with my name on it.

Okay, not literally.

Those are only reserved for the true locals, but if you start looking for names in here, you'll find plenty you'll recognize.

All right, so they got a cool tradition here.

Every artist that plays that stage gets to decorate a board.

And so this wall is sort of like a scrapbook.

Some big Texas names.

We got Cody Canada right here.

Gary P. Nunn, Ray Wiley Hubbard.

Flatland Cavalry.

One of my favorites, Shane Smith and the Saints.

They're selling out enormous venues now.

This is amazing.

This building used to be a Pontiac dealership and then a Phillips 66 station, but now it's a tribute to all the businesses of Canadian's past, and some of its most beloved past residents, including Bo the Goat.

Oh, no, this is Bo bottle opener goat.

This just feels so wrong, I can't watch.

Did it go?

There it is.

Okay, I'm sorry, buddy, didn't mean to do that.

I'm having a lot of firsts today.

I don't know what just happened, but I feel like I might need to wash my hands.

This is long time goat roper, Alicia Conway.

So Canadian is one of those parts of Texas, not many people ever make it out.

- No, but it's a hidden gem.

And it's such a beautiful place.

But we do get a lot of travelers too.

But most of the all, actually, all these people live here.

I know 'em all.

- Okay.

(chuckles) - So, yeah, they all live here.

- Well then it's that kind of place, right?

- Yeah, definitely.

We're known for our barbecue.

The sausage is the best sausage you'll ever eat in your life.

The ribs just fall off the bone.

- Okay.

Milton's pretty- - Keep talking, keep talking.

- Genius.

- Wait, Milton?

Yep, you heard it right?

Hey, it's a small town.

And when you're a great restaurateur, you own the great restaurants.

This one turns out everything from wood-fired pizza to smoked brisket, loaded mac and cheese, to hand battered onion rings.

But the dish that has me most intrigued, their goat sliders.

- It's not really goat, but they are so delicious and they have goat cheese on them.

- Wait, okay.

- They're very delicious.

- Well, I love goat meat, I love goat cheese.

I love all things goat.

This truly gets my goat in the best of ways.

Woo, all right, here we go.

Just look at it, we got hand formed patties and the magic's on the inside, guys.

Onion, some bacon, some mushrooms, goat cheese, little grease.

Hmm, mwah.

Oh, that's good.

- Chet, now that you've finished your appetizer, we've got the main course.

- No, no, no Milton.

Thank you, this is fantastic.

These ribs look amazing.

Oh, they are, man.

♪ Oh, Canadian And while it may feel like an entire country's distance away, it's worth the trip.

To stroll through history, and even taste it.

To be inspired to seek out the beautiful things in life along with the odd.

And to take aim at a day trip that will leave you more excited than a guy hanging out the side of a chopper.

(bell chimes) (Chet sighs) You know I can't pass up complimentary banana pudding, so I will see you y'all out on the road.

(Chet gasps) (whimsical music) He found us.

Vaya con dios, amigos.

- Hey, you, there you are.

You come back here, eh!

You know.

- The "Daytripper" is made possible by Rudy's, real Texas barbecue.

Shipping nationwide at rudys.com.

Karbach Brewing Company from Houston, Texas, makers of Karbach Lager, a beer that is proudly partnered with Don't Mess with Texas, please dispose responsibly.

Visit Georgetown, where big ideas meet small town charm.

Georgetown, the most beautiful town square in Texas.

Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, protection and peace of mind for Texans since 1952.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick in Georgetown.

Making Texas road trips possible for over 50 years.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick, Texas True.

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Texas' local bottler providing the Lone Star state with a variety of Coca-Cola products.