For the first time in the United States, we have the chance to see what experts consider the missing link. She’s named Lucy, a 3.2 million-year-old hominid skeleton, probably the most famous fossil in history. Her appearance at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, starting today and continuing through April 2008, is a huge deal, as the exhibit resulted from seven years of negotiations between the museum with the Ethiopian consulate in Houston and the Ethiopian government. What this means is that massive crowds will set records for attendance at “Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia’’ – but you don’t have to wait in line to see her or the 100-plus anthropological artifacts if you don’t want to. Buy one of the special hotel packages that include discount VIP tickets, and you zip right in. Participating hotels include the Alden Houston Hotel, Courtyard by Marriot-Houston Downtown, Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown, Granduca Luxury Residential Hotel, Hilton Americas Hotel, Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites-Medical Center, Hotel ZaZa Houston, Humble’s Best Kept Secret Hideaway, JW Marriott, Lancaster Hotel, Marriott Medical Center, Marriott West Loop by the Galleria, Renaissance Houston Hotel, Residence Inn by Marriott-Houston Downtown, Sheraton Suites near the Galleria, and The Magnolia Hotel. Might as well do it in style, as the nine other participating American cities where Lucy will appear haven’t been announced yet, and it’s highly unlikely she’ll go to another Texas city. To buy packages, visit www.visithoustontexas.com and click on “special offers.” For more information, call 713/639-4629 or visit HERE.

If your kids are lucky enough to live in a home where pancakes are part of the weekend ritual, they may not realize how good life is. They also may think that the syrup they pour over those delightful pancakes just magically arrives in the bottles labeled “Log Cabin” and “Aunt Jemima.” Why not treat them to an experience that illustrates exactly how good they have it here in 2007? Show them how dramatically different life would have been if they had lived in Texas back in 1907. That’s the deal this Labor Day when the Homestead Heritage Traditional Crafts Village near Waco, celebrates its annual Sorghum Harvest Festival. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, you’ll see sorghum cane pressing with a horse-powered mill, woodworking, blacksmithing, pottery making, quilting, soap making, and other demonstrations. There will also be horse-drawn hayrides and music, plus plenty of good barbecue and homemade ice cream to enjoy. The Homestead Gristmill, with a 1760s-era mill from New Jersey, will also be operating and open for tours.

Homestead Heritage Traditional Crafts Village is at 608 Dry Creek Road, about five miles north of Lake Shore Drive on FM 933. Admission and parking are free. For more information, call 254/754-9600 or go HERE.

Whether you know a lot or nothing about wine, you’ll find yourself having a blast this weekend at Fall Creek Vineyards, with its dramatic setting on the western shore of Lake Buchanan, not too far from Burnet and Marble Falls, surrounded by magnificent Hill Country beauty. This Saturday, the winemakers are hosting their 18th annual Grape Stomp and Harvest Festival, an event that celebrates the bringing in of the 2007 harvest. Very much a family event, it’s the place to enjoy a jumping castle (“bouncy-house” to the kids), listen to live music on the vineyard patio, and have your moment of imitating Lucy’s famous bare-foot grape stomping, complete with an “I Love Lucy” video playing in the background. Be sure to come hungry, too, as students from the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin will be making shrimp cocktails, herbed chicken salad on croissants, pork on baguettes, and goat cheese with roasted peppers on baguettes ($5/plate), plus myriad salads, hot dogs, and cookies. But if you really want a gastronomy tour, book right away for one of the two-course cooking demonstration lunches ($22/person) with a menu that includes crab salad with curry vinaigrette and spicy peanuts, sautéed chicken breast with chipotle bacon cream reduction, or check into one of the wine- and-food pairing classes in the afternoon ($15/person). For reservations, call 325/379-5361 or go HERE.

Who doesn’t love a free party? Well, you can enjoy one today at 6 p.m. at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth. The museum is heralding its return after being closed nearly three months undergoing repairs. The museum is a special place to me, as my Aunt Maria was the museum’s first curator upon its opening in 1961. On top of that, the magnificent archival cowboy photos in “The Texas Cowboy Kitchen,” the book I wrote with Fort Worth cowboy chef Grady Spears, are from the museum’s Erwin E. Smith Photography Collection. If you can’t make tonight’s party – with hot dogs, ice cream, and live jazz – you really need to visit the Carter sometime soon. Veteran visitors know it’s worth the trip, too, to examine one of the nation’s most extraordinary collections of American art, including works by early 19th-Century artist explorers, mid-20th-Century modernists, and contemporary photographers. Of course that includes the most comprehensive collections of work by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, which the late Amon Carter, the Fort Worth publisher and Texas legend, came to love through his friendship with Will Rogers. Be sure to check out the museum’s new show, “Chimneys and Towers; Charles Demuth’s Late Paintings of Lancaster.”

The Amon Carter Museum is at 3501 Camp Bowie Blvd. For more information, call 817/738-1933 or visit HERE.

Folks at the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco are abuzz this week, and it’s not because they’ve been drinking too much Dr Pepper. This Friday, the museum anticipates that its one-millionth visitor will cross the threshold into the 101-year-old building, a monumental achievement for this museum dedicated to the carbonated drink.

The museum, which first opened in 1991, bases its estimate on visitor counts, which, as of this writing, is at 999,461 and counting. Jack McKinney, the museum’s executive director, calculates that the millionth visitor should arrive sometime before noon on Friday. So what does this lucky person receive? According to Jack, a lifetime membership to the museum, a gift basket of Dr Pepper products, two nights lodging at Hotel Waco, dinner at Elite Circle Grill (don’t miss the Dr Pepper baby-back ribs), and, of course, bragging rights. Even if you’re not the millionth visitor, it’s still worth the visit, as there will be a special appearance by Bill “Old Doc” Pantel dressed as Old Doc, the drink’s original mascot, replete with top hat, tails, monocle, and a doctor’s bag. Peggy Pepper, another mascot, will also be in attendance, along with museum board members and employees, who will perform a 10-2-4 cheer for the millionth visitor.

And, of, course, don’t forget the 18,500-square-foot museum, which houses a collection of more than 17,000 Dr Pepper items, including bottling equipment, metal signs, and an old-fashioned soda fountain where ice-cold Dr Pepper floats are whipped up on the spot. Will you be the 1,000,000th visitor?

The Dr Pepper Museum is at 300 S. Fifth St. in Waco. For more information, call 254/757-1024 or visit HERE.

Speaking of the rapture that Big Bend inspires, do you ever wish you could bring home some of that dramatic mountain and desert glory when you return from vacation? Now you can, if you sign up for the next photography workshop at Big Bend Ranch State Park. Veteran photographer Jim Carr of Houston will teach the hands-on class, which happens Sept. 14-16. Not only do you get the joys of a holiday out there at a gorgeous time of year, but you’ll come back with new skills. The Chihuahuan Desert, along with the Chisos and Chinati mountain ranges, will provide the spectacular scenery at this 300,000-acre spread between Presidio and Big Bend National Park. Just bring your digital camera and let Jim show you how to best compose images and use available light for the best shots (see his photo above). He’ll also show you how to best store, organize, delete, edit, and resize your images. The cost is $400/person and includes meals, lodging, park fees, and workshop instruction. To register, call the park at 432/229-2416. For more information, call Jim at 281/486-8070 or email jcpic@sbcglobal.net.

While we’re sweltering in North Texas – we should see 102 degrees tomorrow, yippee! – a friend called from Davis Mountains to brag about his day on the links. He had played nine holes at Marfa’s municipal course, the highest golf course in Texas, where the temps hung around the 80s. When he and his pals went to see the Marfa Lights last night, it was a lovely 59 degrees. I’m so envious, I could cry – but I’m too darn hot to expend that kind of energy. Instead, I’m remembering my last trip out to the Trans-Pecos, where I go to get my head on straight again. There’s something so comforting to me about the big, open land, those hulking mountains, and craggy cliffs and buttes. There’s a soothing simplicity in driving that scenic Davis Mountain Loop, stargazing at the McDonald Observatory, riding a horse at Prude Ranch, and eating a plate of red enchiladas at Fort Davis’ Cueva de Leon. Best of all may be returning to a room at the wonderfully remodeled Indian Lodge inside the Davis Mountains State Park, a beautiful stucco compound filled with all that great Civilian Conservation Corps workmanship.

What’s your favorite place to go in the Big Bend?

If you’re a Food Network junkie, you’re probably familiar with a dynamic new personality named Rory Schepisi, who was the runner-up on the TV network’s recent program, “The Next Food Network Star.” Why should this be of interest to Texans and people traveling around Texas, you might ask. Well, simply because Rory is poised to open a much-anticipated restaurant on Route 66, only about 15 miles west of Amarillo. Yep, her Boot Hill Saloon & Grill should open before long in the town of Vega, at the intersection of that famous highway and US 385. Rory has said she’ll offer a traditional Western saloon on one side and a restaurant on the other, where she’ll serve what she calls American comfort food, including steaks, chicken and fish. The New Jersey transplant gave up the fast pace of the East Coast and sold her restaurant there when she fell in love with Vega while participating in a Country Music Television (CMT) reality show a couple of years ago. I stopped by a few days ago, but they’re not quite open yet – should be in a few days, I was told. I just hope she’ll be serving the dish she made on the TV show, which was also featured in last month’s Bon Appetit: baby back ribs with grilled corn, cantaloupe, and fresh herb salad. For more information, call 806/267-2904.

Last weekend, I was doing my usual daughterly duty of giving my dad a weekly phone call. Normally, our conversations revolve around movies, traveling, and my finances, and often end in a heated political debate, but not this past Sunday. Instead, our conversation turned to peaches. My dad, who lives in Arizona, complained that he has trouble finding good peaches at his local supermarket. “Does Texas have good peaches?” he asked. Well, that’s a no brainer. I explained to him that plucking a fresh-picked, sun-ripened peach bursting with juice from a tree is practically a rite of summer here in Texas. And with Fredericksburg, the “Peach Capital of Texas” smack dab in the center of the state, there are plenty of these juicy fruits to go around.

Although peach season is beginning to wind down, a number of stands are still open to the public for a few more weeks. One of my favorite places to stock up is Burg’s Corner in Stonewall. This market offers peaches from a number of area growers. In addition to boxes of just-harvested peaches, Burg’s sells peach jams, jellies, salsas, and vinaigrettes, as well as other produce. During my last visit, I walked away with some beautiful zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. Also, don’t miss Burg’s white chocolate and peach bark, well worth the $5. Homemade peach ice cream and cider are also available.

Also open:

Behrends Orchard, four miles east of Fredericksburg on US 290. (830) 997-4420. Peach ice cream, peach pies, and other produce.

Engle Orchards, on US 290 east of Fredericksburg. (830) 997-3292. Peaches, other fresh produce.

Gold Orchards, 14329 E. US 290 East in Stonewall, (830) 644-2890. Peach ice cream, award-winning peach pie, peach candies, and more.

Vogel Orchard, 12862 US 290 East, between Fredericksburg and Stonewall; (830) 644-2404. Peach preserves, peach butter, peach-butter ice cream, and more.

Burg’s Corner is at 15194 US 290 East; (800) 694-2772; HERE.

For more information on peach farms, go HERE.