- 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.

- West Texas.

Just the name invokes images of tumbleweeds oil, derricks and towering plateaus.

It's iconic.

It's legendary, but above all it's big.

Big spring.

Singular spring.

There's only one of 'em and we're about to trip it.

Woo.

Out west where the cotton grows, you'll find big Spring, about 40 miles east of Midland.

Today this town resides along Interstate 20.

Before that, it's set on the Texas and Pacific rail line.

But before that, well it was built around one thing, the spring.

So this is big spring, and this right here is the big spring, at least what's left of it.

But this town's history reads like an epic Texas novel, Cowboys and Indians, oil booms and busts, multi-generational ranches, surviving in a modern world.

But throughout every era, the big spring abides.

And we are gonna dive in, well, not literally, because no swimming allowed.

You see the spring is but a shadow of its former glory.

Early accounts describe it as having deep crystal clear water, an oasis in a dry land, offering life to humans and animals alike.

We have evidence that humans have used these springs for thousands of years.

The first written record we have goes back to the 15 hundreds when one Spaniard named Caza de Vaca discovered these springs as he traversed Texas going western.

His record reports that he came to these springs.

So emaciated, the local tribes saved his life to say thank you.

He threw them a festival of celebration and Thanksgiving 86 years before the other Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock.

Meaning the first Thanksgiving was actually Texan.

Texas is even cooler than I thought.

We ha take that Massachusetts.

Just kidding.

So what happened to the spring?

Well, we did pumping and drilling in the area caused the water table to drop, bringing the spring to a mere trickle, which eventually stopped completely.

The historic spring sits at the center of Comanche Trail Park, which has some great hiking and incredible panels discussing every era of Big Springs history.

But just like Cabeza de vodka got hungry heading west, I'm starving too and can really fill my own cabeza with a big old burrito served from a tiny shack that caters to Texas sized appetites every day for breakfast and lunch.

Folks line up around wood shack with cars wrapping the building even tighter than a fresh tortilla round.

A tasty burrito in big spring.

Like this is the burrito stop.

- Well, it does say it's all good.

- It's all good.

Okay.

She's humble too.

This is owner Jeannie Canales.

And if you think this place is small, well you should have seen where they started.

- My kids and my husband and I used to do festivals downtown.

Okay.

And we actually built a shack.

Oh, - Out of wood.

Yeah.

So it was a little - Taco there and it was just four little, yeah.

We'd make our money and come home.

- Only problem.

Wood Shack was so popular.

Jeannie and her husband decided to open a full-time location with more permanent walls.

- My husband says, well, what are you gonna do?

And I was like, I'm just gonna learn.

And that's what I did.

- You found a way to dial it all in.

Wood Shack turns out bag after bag of hefty burritos, homemade tortillas stuffed with favorites like Carnegie Sada, chili Verde P or in the morning hours, eggs, bacon, chorizo, torra, Las osa, dcio sauce.

But some may look at it and say, aren't those just tacos?

Alright, this is a a big question of debate.

What's the difference between a taco and a burrito?

- A burrito's roll.

The taco's folded.

- It has nothing to do with the end folding it.

It's not it.

I told you that.

What?

I told you that.

But if I order bacon, egg, and cheese, - I'm gonna give you a burrito.

Okay.

Even though you come in and say it's a taco, I'll just say, I know where you're from.

- What makes your burrito so special?

What do you think?

What is it?

- Because we're loved here.

- Okay.

All right.

Yeah.

So you think you can taste the love - In the food?

Oh yeah.

Definitely.

- The menu is packed with classics.

But I always love a good secret menu item.

I want the wood shack experience.

- No.

You know what, we have a Sandra special, that one's like super good.

It has chorizo beans, spam.

Oh.

- Oh, - Alright.

Cheese and potatoes.

- Let me get one of those.

Okay.

And an asado and rice.

Okay.

All right.

Well I'm hungry.

- All right, we'll get it done.

- Alright, I'm hungry.

Here we go.

We got ais, sodo, and rice.

And notice it is indeed rolled, not folded.

You know, honestly, at the end of the day, I don't care 'cause it's all going in the same spot.

Oh, that's great.

That homemade tortilla.

It's a little blanket of heaven.

Here we are.

The Sandra Special.

What I'm most excited about?

Spam.

Oh man, I gotta say I love a place like Wood Shack.

You don't have to have a massive building, a massive operation.

You know, figure out a way to keep as many people happy as you can.

And that's the secret to success.

Oh, you have to have absolutely delicious burritos.

Ooh, that's lovely.

Okay, let's settle.

This debate is what we ate a taco or burrito.

We - Have this conversation so many times and she proved exactly what I - Said.

I just don't know if I buy her theory.

- I tend to think tacos are generally shorter.

Okay.

Another good gauge is light stick - Capacity.

The carrying load, right?

- Yeah, exactly.

The giness.

- Okay.

This right here.

What is that in taco?

That's - A taco - I think.

Same exact thing.

And do this - Taco still a taco?

- That is now a burrito.

- Get that outta my face.

No it's not.

- Is it egg roll a burrito.

- Where have we gone with this - Conversation at chilies It is right?

Oh yeah.

- The debate will rage on.

But now with the stomach full, I am ready for some history.

So let's head to the Heritage Museum of Big Spring.

This expansive museum springs with enough knowledge to fill every empty well of your mind.

This is director Tammy Sheen ghost and no better place to start than this spring.

- This was the beginning of Big Spring.

- Looks very similar to how it looks - Today.

It does.

The difference were they were comanches camping out there.

Wow.

And later the first big spring pioneers.

- I mean, water would've been the meeting place for the animals, the natives.

It would've pulled together every form of life.

So it makes sense because of thousands of years of consistent use.

The land surrounding the spring has been a treasure trove of points and artifacts.

This bison head is enormous.

It - Is in the beginning of Big Springs, as far as I could see were bison.

- Unbelievable.

The - Buffalo hunters, when they weren't hunting, they were in the saloons.

- Ah, that would be this right here.

- Yes.

So we come on in.

Yo, welcome to the saloon.

- You just couldn't resist.

- In those days, there were 13 saloons in this small wild west town and they were truly wild.

- The cowboys would come in there and have poker games.

Yeah.

Have thoughts cussing, throwing things, breaking bottles.

- I say to myself, maybe I would've liked to have seen what it was like back then, but I don't know.

When you walk into a bar and everybody's got guns and a little bit of whiskey in them, I don't know if you're gonna walk outta that bar.

- Sometimes you didn't.

- Yeah, the Wild West gave way to the era of the railroad and all of Texas started to change.

Big Spring included.

So this bell used to be on the front of an old steam engine.

You might want to through here.

Ow.

Oh, I expected it to be loud.

Not that loud.

Come with us.

Come with us with this.

What?

Think with this.

Anybody have some smelling salts?

And soon after that came the days of the oil boom.

Texas tea.

I guess even to this day, we're sitting in the middle of an oil field.

- We are.

And one of the biggest assets of Big Spring was the refinery - Still employs lots of big springers.

It does.

Is that what you call yourself Big Springers?

Yes.

Okay, cool.

- Cool.

We'll go with that.

- Springers have made quite the impact on the world.

One in particular.

Who needs her own movie?

- Marette.

Lemme tell you about the most popular thing in this museum.

Patricia McCormick.

Lady Bullfighter.

She was the first North American female bullfighter.

She was queen of the border for over 10 years in the fifties, - Historian and big spring native James Johnson has become an expert on Patricia's life.

And boy was it a crazy one.

- She got go six times.

Ooh.

One of 'em was so bad that they thought she was gonna die and they drug her back across the border when she got out two months later she was back in the ring.

- Wow.

Just absolutely fearless.

- Fearless.

- Patricia fought bulls all over the world and deserves to be remembered as a strong Texas woman willing to risk it all to chase her dreams.

But there is one set of horns in here.

I think even Patricia might be scared of.

Alright, so this is the hall of horns.

They got over 50 different sets of Longhorn horns in here.

But these are the most impressive because at one point these were the longest Longhorn horns on earth from tip to tip.

They measure over 10 and a half feet.

All I gotta say is hook 'em.

They call this the Museum of Legends and Legacies and I can't disagree.

Now.

Big Spring has had a few boom bust cycles over the years and one of its biggest booms literally happened during World War II with the opening of a US Bombardier school right here in town Today the Hangar 25 Museum keeps its story alive.

This is museum administrator Amber Stokes.

- It is kind of confusing where people think we were training pilots here.

We did not train pilots here in Big Spring.

We trained Bombardiers.

- Alright.

And so these men would've then been sent into the European theater, the Pacific Theater.

Yes.

- And go fight a war.

- Wow.

And this specialized Bombardier training was reserved for only the smartest airmen who could be trusted with one of our most top secret instruments.

The Norden bomb site.

- They're navigating longitude latitude of where this bomb is going to be dropped.

- Air speed, wind speed.

- All by - Yourself.

So these are the smart kids.

Yes.

Got sent to run these.

The Nazis couldn't figure out how our bombing was so accurate.

- Correct.

Because there's a mechanism in the Norton bomb site that once you touch it, the whole thing just falls apart.

- Truly a top secret mission that was run out of this yes hanger.

Yes.

Not only did you have to do math, you had to do it in the nose of a plane with people shooting at you.

- This is our at 11.

It's the crown jewel for this building because it's what belongs in this building.

So - Can you go in?

Yes.

Really?

Yes.

Standby.

Wow.

So this would've been just like a Airbus for students.

Can you just imagine this whole thing rattling in the sky and you've got one job, which is to keep your focus on this bomb site.

I don't think I could do it.

That's why they're known as the greatest generation.

After World War ii, this facility became the Webb Air Force Base training fighter, pilots and jets like this.

T 38 talent.

This museum is a dream stop for lovers of aviation and military history.

For guys like me, it's also a chance to get up close and personal with planes I've never seen in real life, including a B 52 Strato fortress.

So you only got the cockpit because I mean, would it even fit in the building?

It would not - Fit in this building.

The wings would just slice through this building.

- That's nuts.

When you stand next to one of these, you realize how monstrous it is.

Yes, it is huge.

Let's go crew.

Like I said, up close and personal.

So you got your pilot and copilot up here and then there's two more seats facing back.

Look how many buttons.

Oh my gosh.

Too many.

Ah, there's a whole nother panel of buttons.

What?

I've been waiting for this for a long time.

Boys, it's time for us to fly our first mission.

I'll be the pilot.

Greg.

Electronic warfare Officer.

Luke, you're gonna be the rear gunner.

Where is the gun?

Drew Navigator.

Hey.

Yes sir.

And Daniel.

Yeah, you're gonna be our bombardier.

What?

We're all relying on you.

It all comes down to this moment.

Navigator.

How far to target destination?

I can literally see nothing here.

Ah, electronic warfare officer, how are the electronics?

There's two of everything sir.

Very good.

Rear gunner.

Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew.

Bombardier.

It is time to drop the payload.

Daniel's not in his seat sir.

What?

Where did Daniel go?

Mission accomplished sir.

When the burritos hit, dang it, they really hit.

Now we've been indoors for a bit.

I think it's time for a walk in the park.

A very special park that folks out here have been enjoying for generations to get the best views of town.

Arlene Martinez is park superintendent out here overseeing 382 acres of wild Texas land.

- This area was really special to the people of Big Spring.

Long before it was State park.

The land was donated in the twenties and it wasn't until the thirties that it was able to be developed.

- So we're sort of walking a very historic path here.

- Yes.

- Early pioneers gathered up here and before that, local Indian tribes who needed a vantage point like this.

Oh yeah.

Now I see why they call it Scenic Mountain.

- Something special about Howard County is that three eco regions merge here in this location to the north and east are the western rolling plains.

Okay.

To the west is the southern high plains.

And to the south it's the Edwards Plateau.

And so that Edwards plateau is what's giving us this elevation, kind of compared to everything else around us.

- I could see why folks have been doing this for so long.

- Let me show you just how long - The guest book up here is carved in stone.

I guess when graffiti gets old, they call it historic, but back then folks had enough free time to do it right.

Hey, spray paint is for lazy people - Right here.

This one says Alf Anderson.

And this is one of the oldest dated carvings in the park.

It says 1888.

- 1888.

- We call this one the lovely lady and we think it may have been carved in the thirties possibly by a C, C, C.

- Yeah.

Her feet are down here.

Maybe a dress shoulders.

Shit.

I'm kind of seeing an alien.

I mean it could, it could be that the other one did say ow.

But regardless of who carved those, we're pretty sure this one was carved by Native Indians long ago.

- We call this one the horned head.

And so it could have been depicting a mask that they made or a bison or something of that sort.

- This could be hundreds and hundreds of years old.

Yes.

By just coming up here and enjoying the views and sort of taking quiet moment.

You're participating in a very old Texas tradition.

- Absolutely.

- Unlike other state parks, this one is day use only and free.

So follow the path of history y'all.

And take in the historic views.

One of my favorite things to do after a hike, go swimming.

Ah, but alas, before I knew anything about this town and I thought we're gonna do an episode in Big Spring.

Awesome.

There'll be a super rad swimming hole there.

I can't wait.

There is a big hole.

There's a town called like mountain view.

What?

What?

What do I wanna do?

I wanna a stay on the mountain mountain and I want to have a view.

Although I am from Beaumont means beautiful mountain mountain.

And there is no beautiful mountain.

No, there's no mountains in Texas.

Hey now come on.

I know.

Fighting words.

Kick him outta this truck.

We stood on one with the scenic view.

I would say difference between a hill and a mountain.

You fall off a mountain, you roll off a hill, you push your friend and they did they fall or did?

Did they roll?

They fall or roll, whatever it was.

We are down now and headed downtown.

Big Spring is full of grand buildings.

Sadly, many of them are just echoes of oil booms past.

However, there is one that stands tall, a literal beacon of hope for all of West Texas.

Its hotel settles and inside its ordinate lobby is a reminder of glory days past and a look forward to a world of endless possibilities.

You might not believe me, but not too long ago, this hotel lobby looked like a war zone that isn't until Big spring Native Brent Ryan decided to help it rise from the ashes.

- Welcome to Hotel Settles.

- Oh man, it is just so stunning walking into - This lobby.

Why don't we grab a seat and I'll tell you all about it.

I love that idea.

Awesome.

- Cheers.

- When I was growing up, this was kind of a monument to disaster.

It had been opened in 1930.

Okay.

It was a, the first oil boom hotel.

It had a $500,000 purchase price with about $200,000 of furniture and fixtures, which is an exorbitant sum of money back in those days.

It - Had a good run hosting dignitaries like President Herbert Hoover and celebrities like Lawrence.

Well and even Elvis, - The hotel had many, many different owners, but we didn't have too many that invested in it.

So it was on a slow decline.

- And in the 1980s it was officially closed.

However, Brent remembered walking into the lobby with his grandfather as a young boy.

And when the city sought his advice about renovating downtown, well he had a suggestion, - Why not do the hotel?

Yeah.

And they're like, Brent, nobody can do the hotel.

That's crazy.

- The craziest money pit.

Well - That's just exactly the wrong thing to say to me.

- $31 million later.

And the comeback was complete.

You step in here, you really are seeing a hotel built in the thirties in its glory days.

You've done that for us.

- You are going back in time.

Yeah.

When you step into the lobby, there's - No doubt about - That.

And and that's one of the most rewarding things for me personally.

It's become a destination.

Yeah.

- This project is now the poster child for historic preservation in the country.

Because when a grand ballroom can go from this to this, well you know they're doing something right.

- You might ask, okay, how did you pick this fantastic p green color?

Sure.

We actually had consultants that came out and scraped away all the layers of the paint.

This was the original color when it opened in 1930.

- Okay.

Brent and his team had to painstakingly recreate all the plaster, all the fixtures, and the same work went into many of the rooms.

- We preserved one floor of the hotel just like it was in 1930.

Okay.

So much smaller rooms Yeah.

Than the rest of the hotel.

Very historic.

- If you walked into a nice hotel room nowadays and this is how big it was, you think, wow, they put me in the closet.

- That's right.

But I'll tell you, it was grand in its day.

- It even had indoor plumbing.

But because our tastes are a little bougie these days, Brent blew out walls on other floors turning the hotel's original 150 rooms into just 65.

But Bri saved his best work for the top.

- Welcome to the penthouse of the hotel.

Settles.

My wife designed this so that when we're in residence, all of the three suites connect together.

So you get the - The - Whole floor.

It is the most impressive.

And by the way, most expensive inhouse suite anywhere in all of West Texas.

- Here we go.

We got two beds in here.

Chase Lounge.

I can put one of my kids on that.

We have another bedroom here.

Are we in Labyrinth?

What?

There's another living room.

I'm not sure we're ever gonna get out of this place.

Which way did I turn?

Did we turn that way?

Oh yeah, of course.

Another bedroom back here.

But y'all outdid yourself with this.

- You haven't seen the crown jewel yet?

- Oh, - We have the T for two tub.

You'll see TVs on both sides of the tub.

- I've been to some hotels, you know, in some of the big fancy cities of Texas.

Yep.

None of them rivaled this.

But wait, there's more.

Above us - There's a 15th floor.

It's the bonus floor.

It's a bespoke request.

- Okay.

Are you sure you'll put this on tv?

You know this is a TV show.

- Well that'd be great 'cause it does command a pretty high rate.

Oh, - Okay.

You wouldn't mind it if somebody like - That?

No, no.

It'd be, it'd be great - If your living room needs a living room.

This is your floor.

But wait, there's more.

- When I started this project, I had some self doubts when I saw this, it was game over.

- Wow.

I didn't even know you could come up here.

This - Is our version of the Empire State Building for Big Spring, Texas.

I lived here my whole life.

I've never seen this view.

Yeah.

And I'm just like, oh my goodness, we have to restore this.

- Yeah.

Now you have a way to share it with other people.

That's - Right.

And of course now if you're here at dusk - Yeah.

- It glows red because of the sign above us.

- Oh, - When we opened.

Yeah.

And we turned it on.

You could hear cars honking all over town because people saw it for the first time in decades and many of those people saw it for the first time ever.

- That's a big shining beacon of hope.

Back to the city.

That right.

Of big spring.

Right.

Hey, thank you so much.

- Thank you Chad.

So how about we get something to eat?

- Perfect.

Alright.

From the first day it Open Hotel Settles had a restaurant in its lobby to feed its guests and any travelers passing by on the Bankhead Highway.

And as with everything here, the team has certainly upped the ante on quality fire, grilled steaks, roasted salmon.

They make a great chicken fried.

But as per usual, I'm going for something a little different.

It's a New York strip crusted with jack cheese topped with a fried egg and chimi chewy.

Here we go.

My friends, this might be the first time I have ever had an egg on a steak.

I've had steak and eggs.

But I feel like that's a different thing.

Oh, not only is it like a perfectly seasoned seared steak, but then this egg, it is just like yoki gravy.

And the chimichurri adds sort of a, a nice little pop of herbs.

And I guarantee you this is not the kind of food they were serving in the 1930s in, in this building.

The things they have done to bring this hotel back to life and to elevate the experience are, are just topnotch.

They, they could not have been done better.

This is just some darn good eating right here.

The word big only scratches the surface of how big things truly are out here.

From big burritos to big views and from big horns to really big planes.

And the springs may be down a bit, but the city is still flowing strong.

Alright, so there is one final cowboy tradition I need to participate in here in Big Spring taking all my friend's money at the poker table.

So I will see all y'all out on the road via con Dio amigos.

I'm about to via Con Dios.

Saw my amigos Dero, if you know what I'm talking about.

All right.

Deal me in.

Well, you're all in already.

All in.

And I'm putting Greg's money in too.

- 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.