East Texas: The Henley Tour - Border Members' Trips to Don's Old Stomping Grounds

Houston Baby and I decided to do a Henley version of the Elvis fan pilgrimage to Memphis. We saw a few sights and thought it would be a good idea to start a thread where people who have visited Linden and Caddo Lake, who wish to visit it, or who simply find it interesting, could post their experiences and comment on other people's. Here goes...

LINDEN
Don's hometown!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...LindenSign.jpg
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Stop #1: Music City Texas Theater
This place used to be an American Legion Hall, and still bears the seal above the door. Back in the day, Don Henley's band The Four Speeds played here, as did many other local bands. It fell into disrepair, but a few years ago was refurbished by Don's friend Richard Bowden into a music venue. They apparently give tours, although the lady who was supposed to show us around failed to arrive. We took photos outside instead!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...anLegion03.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...heaterSign.jpg

Stop #2: Linden's Courthouse
The oldest courthouse in Texas was a bit run-down until Don Henley stepped in! Here's how it looks now:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...urthouse06.jpg

Stop #3: Linden Dairy Queen
In a live version of "Talking to the Moon", Don prefaces the song by talking about how he and his friends would go hang out at the Dairy Queen parking lot on a regular basis. They'd spend hours sitting on their car hoods, drinking beers, and watching the trucks go by - "Wondering where they were going to."
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...014/46DQMe.jpg

Stop #4: Linden-Kildare High School
The football coach at this high school may have given Don a hard time, but his English teacher encouraged him and he first played drums in marching band. Go Tigers!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ghSchool01.jpg


CADDO LAKE
Don has worked hard to further efforts to conserve Caddo Lake, only a few miles away from where he grew up, and a place he often visited.

Stop #1: Potter's Point
Don stated in an interview that he and his father often fished here.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ersPoint09.jpg

And you know that on a personal level, I couldn't resist getting a photo at Soda Bluff, located in Potter's Point!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...aBluffme04.jpg


Stop #2: Caddo Lake State Park
Potter's Point above isn't actually in the park itself. In order to really enjoy the lake you have to go to the state park. This is also where Don filmed parts of his "Taking You Home" video.

It's gorgeous! HB took many photos. Here's a few:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...addoLake01.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...addoLake02.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...addoLake04.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...addoLake09.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...addoLake12.jpg

Has anyone else had the opportunity to visit the area? Does anyone perhaps know some more fun spots to see around there?

We personally had a great experience!

This was such a fun & interesting road trip! Though I am a native Texan I had never been this deep into East Texas. I now understand Don's love of Caddo Lake, it is so beautiful & peaceful. I would really like to go back there. Daylight was disappearing rapidly so we did not stay long.
I didn't take a photo but right by the Linden sign was the Fast Lane Lube & Tire. Hope they got permission!

Thanks for those pictures Soda, it is a beautiful quiet place. Would love to visit.

Awesome Soda and HB! This looks like such a fun little excursion - I so wish I could have been there to share the experience with the two of you. I had no idea how beautiful Caddo Lake is ... you can't blame Don for wanting to preserve it.

I haven't been to Texas (not counting a layover at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport this past May) for 10 years. I would love to go to Linden and Caddo Lake one day. I think its a 4 and a half hour drive to Linden from Mississippi(about 3 hours to Shreveport. Almost a straight drive until you get into Texas). One day I will get in my car and drive west.

HB and Soda, what a cool thing to do! Lovin' Don's history tour!

I've driven to Ft. Worth and Austin two or three times but didn't have time to venture off to the east! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

Thanks everyone! It was definitely a fun trip! Linden is your typical quiet little country town. Soda & I had a hard time finding anything open. Only the grocery store, a Family Dollar store, Dairy Queen, a liquor store and Uncle Juan's Mexican Restaurant were open besides the gas stations. All the businesses and stores on the courthouse square were closed on Saturday except for Uncle Juan's. We ate there Saturday night and the food was really good. My mark of a good Mexican restaurant is their guacamole and theirs was excellent!!
I thought Linden was a wonderful place to grow up especially if you were a boy. Lots of country roads, creeks, woods and lakes to explore. But as pleasant as Linden was, I can see why an ambitious and adventurous young boy such as Don was looking to escape.

Wow! What a treasure trove of photos!

That sounds like a wonderful trip, Soda and HB. Thank you for doing it vicariously for me and all Don fans!!!:thumbsup: It looks like a beautiful place, no wonder he is so poetic, surrounded by pastoral inspiration.

That trip sounds really fun. The lake is so beautiful. I would love to go there some day. A cool Eagles-related trip that I took was to Winslow, Arizona. I stood on the corner saw the flat bed ford. I also went to the store across from the corner that sells Eagles stuff and of course the music that they play in that store is all Eagles. :)

...what a neat thing to do...:thumbsup:

Fantastic. What an adventure and the pictures were great to see. Nice photography!!

Love it! Thanks for sharing.

I decided to make detour to Linden on October 28th as I was on my way to annual vacation to Branson, MO. It was a fun short trip. I was looking forward to my trip to Linden than Branson, but I was very tired from the drive.


I wish I stayed longer, but I was on my way to Branson. I had 6 more hours to drive. That drive is usually 8 hours from Mississippi, but it turned into a 10 hour drive not including the 3 hours I was in Linden.


I did get to see some of Caddo Lake in Louisiana as I was heading toward Texas and I also saw Don's old high school as I was heading to Linden. I didn't get to stop at the school. The high school is maybe 5 miles outside of Linden.


I had my personal tour guide while in Linden. We've been corresponding by PM'd on Facebook. I did see Diary Queen. That's where we actually met. By the Linden Fuel Center and Diary Queen.



Speaking of Linden Fuel Center. I stopped at Don's favorite food place at the Linden Fuel Center. Their hamburger was soo good. I took a picture of the display of Don's stuff. I enjoyed going to another southern state and not get that crazy look when you say, "ya'll". LOL


I also went inside Music City Texas Theater.



I recommend everybody to visit Don's hometown. Its a nice place and the people there were soo nice.


Here are some pictures from my trip. I hope its ok to post this.



1. Yehaw. Almost there.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...x/IMG_0182.jpg

2. First stop. Music City Texas Theater(formerly the American Legion)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...x/IMG_0678.jpg
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Listening about the history of the Music City Texas Theater.
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3. Second stop, the Courthouse. The oldest running courthouse in Texas. Its very nice. I loved the vault. I wish I took a picture of it and then the long winding staircase.

There's my car in the background.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...x/IMG_0690.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...x/IMG_0699.jpg

The plaque about Don contributing into restoring the Courthouse.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...x/IMG_0693.jpg
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4. Third stop. The famous water tower.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...x/IMG_0691.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...6697fb494e.jpg
The famous pose in front of the shed. I was looking the wrong way.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...15126488_n.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...78889756_n.jpg

5. Fourth stop. Linden Fuel Center. There's a small restaurant in the gas station. Its one of Don's favorite places to eat when he's in town. Their hamburger was soo good. Here's a display on Don's stuff.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...x/IMG_0183.jpg
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6. Last stop before leaving Linden for Branson, MO, The billboard that Don's hometown put up in his honor.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...0ec2aeb590.jpg

It appears that you had a great time in Linden, Shun. That big smile on your face says it all! Thanks for sharing this with the board. I enjoyed seeing all of your photos. :smile:

How fun! Love the "Don" poses. Thanks for sharing these!

Sounds like you really enjoyed yourself, Shun. :). Thanks for sharing. I'm sure that 3 hours wasn't enough, right?

You look like you had so much fun !! How awesome for you !!

Love the photos Shun. Glad you had a great time :smile:

That's so cool Shun!

Shun, thanks so much for sharing your trip to Linden with us! Love your photos! :cool:

Very jealous, Shun - would love to do that trip :weep:

Thanks! I admire any Eagles fan, especially one who explores life a bit further :)

Sorry I'm so late here, shun. But, thank you for sharing your trip to Linden with us. I'm so glad for you - you look like you were really having a great time. Nothing like some adventurous exploration when it comes to our guys! :grouphug:

I took Shun's and Soda's suggestions and visited Don's hometown of Linden this past Saturday. I live about 2 hours west of there. Thanks to you both for your trip suggestions and pictures, we were able to see all the sites you mentioned. We did run out of time to visit Caddo Lake properly, will have to go back there. But the coolest thing was that when we were entering the city limits of Linden "Boys Of Summer" came on the radio, we took that as a really good sign!!

Does Linden have anything about Don on its welcome sign, like "Birthplace of Don Henley"? The plaque on the courthouse is nice.

Only that billboard that said, "Welcome to Cass County, Home of Don Henley" which was put up for the Cass County album. That's the only thing that tells you that was Don's hometown. Well actually the county Don is from. You will see that billboard before you need into the town. That billboard is on the main highway while the city is off the highway, but maybe a 2 minute drive. Its by the Shell gas station(I might got that gas station wrong). Down the street from Dairy Queen and Don's favorite place to eat. Don's old school is like 6 miles from Linden.

There's another one, but I didn't see that one, and I forgot where that one is.

Thank you, Shun. Don Henley's favorite place to eat is located in a gas station?! Don't order the sushi, Don! :)

Yep. The locals even told me that. So that's not a rumor. Gas station restaurant food can actually be pretty good.

Shun, what was the vibe like? Were people friendly? It looks like kind of a lonesome town.

They were very friendly. Being a southerner myself, I felt so at home.

They didn't mind talking about Linden or even a little story about Don. I would run into people who went to school with Don. You either went to school with Don, Don's mother was your teacher or you knew his mother.

A nice lady who I met on Facebook was my tour guide. She showed me everything. The water tower, Music City Theatre, the Courthouse, stores that Don owned. Everything. She was soo nice and she's always up to showing anybody around town. She has her own shop now and she's a photographer.

I didn't they mind us fans coming to their small town. They knew we were there because of their famous son and Don naming his solo album after Cass County. I think I heard for a while that Don didn't want anything around town to say he's from there, but I guess he changed his mind for them to put up the two billboards on the highway to promote Cass County. Like Don said in one of his interviews from last year, they have a way highway that bypass Linden. So if you know about Linden, people are not going to go through the town since its off the highway.

Oh, that's good to know. Sometimes in kind of an isolated place like that, people can be funny about "outsiders." Or maybe I've just seen too many bad movies... :)

I think they are trying to bring the town back to life. With Don's current album out, its going to help their town when visitors come to see the place where Don lives.

As I was in Linden, they were talking about fixing up old historical landmark. A few months before I went to Linden, the water tower was on the verge of being tore down, but if it wasn't for Don paying to have people do a survey on the tower and the people of Linden rallying together to save it, it would had been tore down. So a foundation in Linden is doing everything to try to fix old historic building. The water tower and the old fire station in front of the tower is being fixed up. When I was there, they were starting work on fixing up the water tower.

Shun, I need to get in touch with your tour guide. When I went down there Saturday everyone had pretty much "closed up shop". Of course that might be because it was Saturday. But I would like to return and have a tour and talk with someone that's in the know. That would be cool.

Just read about 50 Places Straight Out of Nightmares on the Weather Channel.

I wonder if Don is amused about Caddo Lake being chosen as number 17?

The picture does look pretty scary! :fear:

https://weather.com/travel/news/cree...hotos-20140514

When you think about it, Caddo Lake is kinda scary.

I'm thinking about going to Caddo Lake when I head to Houston in January. I just debating. I probably go on Friday, spend the night somewhere closer and then head to Houston on Saturday. I'm staying in Houston until that Monday since its a holiday. I have 3 more months to think about it, but I really want to see Caddo Lake since I didn't get to see it last year when I went to Linden. I was time restraint and I had to be in Missouri before 8 and I had 6 more hours to go from Linden.

I can imagine the Caddo Lake area looks scary when the weather is dreary and overcast surrounded by the forest. :nervous:

That picture does like look eerie! It reminds me of "Legend of Wooley Swamp" by the Charlie Daniels Band. Just in time for Halloween, too.

So listen...if you dare, ya'll....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jxFzfvZazaU


hey, I just realized I'm a Border Rebel now!

It was only a year ago today, I drove the 4 and an half hours out of the way to Linden to see Don's birthplace. IT was soo worth it even though I was super tired from driving 6 more hours to Missouri.

Like I said in another thread. I'm thinking about going back to Linden and also see Caddo Lake in January when I head to Houston to see Don.