Deep in the heart of Texas is...Bass Pro

We’ve determined that next time, we’ll take a couple of days to see the sights in Oklahoma, as merely passing through didn’t do it justice.

One thing that I must find out, though, is why the Oklahoma roadways have signs urging drivers “Do Not Drive Into Smoke.” What smoke? I know we never saw any, and we couldn’t help but wonder.

Toll time

Our journey took us through several toll stops, where we dutifully forked over the necessary fees. The booth clerks were kind and friendly, and I have to admit, the roads were pretty decent. I didn’t particularly enjoy paying the tolls, but it occurs to me that with the tight budget for the Missouri Department of Transportation, it may be that toll roads deserve serious consideration.

From what I can tell, it’s the tourists who pay the bulk of the fees, because there were signs that said if drivers must go through a toll, then exit to a nearby town, they can get a refund receipt and get their money back. If that’s the case, what a novel idea. Make the tourists foot the bill.

Outside the window

We stayed in Denton, Texas, where family members live. Our niece was graduating from high school, and the trip was to keep a promise we’d made to attend. But I found that Denton boasted several touches of home.

We stayed at an Excel Inn just off the highway. When we got into our room, finally, I went to look out the window and had to laugh. Right there, and plainly visible, was a Bass Pro billboard.

Granted, it was for the Bass Pro near Ft. Worth, Texas, but it was a familiar sight, and that was nice.

I thought about trying to talk my husband into driving into Ft. Worth so we could do Bass Pro tourist style, but then I figured why spend more time in the car when I can see the granddaddy of all Bass Pro stores right here at home?

Money for schools

The city of Denton is quite a bit larger than Springfield, with about three times as many people. I couldn’t help but take a look at some of the local newspapers while I was there, and what I found was that the two cities have many similarities, with one of those being a lack of money for public schools.

I was intrigued by one news story that addressed the Denton school district’s consideration of selling ad space on school buses to bring in revenue. Hmm. Well, it’s an idea that seems to be working in Springfield for the city buses, so why couldn’t it work for the schools? I’ll give the Denton district credit for thinking outside the box, anyway.

While in Denton, we frequented the Golden Triangle Mall several times, due in large part to the arcade – easy entertainment for the kids. I found out that, like Battlefield Mall, Golden Triangle is a Simon property. Many of the stores were the same, but there were also some that reflected local flavor. There were a lot of people there, and we had a good time just walking around and looking.

One thing Golden Triangle had that Battlefield Mall does not (well, not anymore) is a movie theater. It was a $2-a-seat theater at that. We found a kid-friendly movie, “The Pacifier,” and decided to take it in. That was on a Tuesday. When we stopped at the box office, we found that we’d really hit the jackpot – tickets on Tuesdays are $1.50 each, and taking into account that the 2-year-old didn’t need a ticket, all five of us enjoyed a funny movie for $6 admission.

It makes me wish that a theater (discount or otherwise) would find its way onto the tenant roster at Battlefield Mall.

It’s an oft-lamented fact that people in Springfield don’t know how to drive, but put a Springfieldian in Texas and you might begin to wonder about the merit of that statement. Traffic is busy in Denton. If I could, I would change the motto of Texas to, “Welcome to Texas, home of the optional speed limit.”

My husband, who, by the way, is an excellent driver, did his usual few miles over the posted speed limit. People were flying by. It was nuts.

High speeds make me nervous, but from what I could tell, Denton drivers are pretty relaxed about traveling at high speeds. I guess they’re used to it. I sure wasn’t, but maybe I’ll relax a little next time.

All things considered, Texas was interesting, but it’s good to be home.

Maria Hoover is Inside Business editor at Springfield Business Journal.