September 5, 2002

9:26 AM

Amaizeing!This was mentioned once before a year ago but I missed out on the fun of the thread. It's that time of year again. This year there's over one hundred and thirty locations. Since farming alone doesn't bring enough money in for many, I guess tourism & entertainment is a nice sideline for some farmers. Gee whiz! It looks like fun! Any Texan MeFites interested in a road trip?
posted by ZachsMind (15 comments total)

i wouldn't mind a Halloween midnight session with them Monsanto Frankenstein genetically modified crops you Murricans grow, North by Northwest style...

With, come the beloved dawn, for the survivors Margaritas and GM tacos all round!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:30 AM on September 5, 2002

Coincidentally enough, they did a story about another corn maze guy on the Today show this morning (disclaimer: it was on in the gym ;) ) who created a patriotic themed maze--bald eagle, stars, etc... said it was probably a 9 out of 10 in toughness. I would love to try that one out.

However, I couldn't help feeling sad about the people who make these mazes since, as the guy stated a few times, many of the farmers who create them do so in order to get by since the state of farming in the United States is so poor. But hey, I guess its a good way to support farming to a point.

And I really wanted to slap Matt Lauer too. The farmer wanted to plug the web site for the farm/maze and Lauer was like: "I'm about to do that right now.." and then he plugs the Today web site instead. Grrr.
posted by tittergrrl at 9:41 AM on September 5, 2002

Did a couple of these this past weekend. I wasn't particularly moved by the operators' maze construction ability: In one maze, you were supposed to collect four pieces of information, supposedly sequentially as you work through the maze, but only the first one was found in the correct order. (In other words, there were too many interconnecting corridors.) The second maze was better (six acres vs. three), but my party adopted a follow-the-left-wall policy and carried it to the bitter end. It was fun, but it drove home to me that the fun of such mazes is not so much finding the exit but competing to find it. Preferably with Lazer Tag guns or Super Soakers.
posted by blueshammer at 9:43 AM on September 5, 2002

That Dallas location ( actually Rockwall) is only about 45 minutes from me, and I never knew it existed. I may have to check it out soon. ( I'm sure the wife will be thrilled to be stomping around in a big cornfield.) Thanks, Zachsmind.
posted by bradth27 at 9:50 AM on September 5, 2002

I'm down.
In Austin.
We can have a corn party.
Yay, corn.
posted by Espoo2 at 9:54 AM on September 5, 2002

Thanks Zach, right in my backyard, I would have not known.
GM tacos, is that like Huevo Rancheros muy cálate style served on a corn tortita, Mig.
posted by thomcatspike at 9:59 AM on September 5, 2002

To anyone who's been to these before, what else is there around the area? Like should I bring a basket of food? Is alcohol provided? Are they so much out in the boonies there's not even a convenience store nearby?

I'm a cityboy. I work in downtown. To me, fifteen minutes east of Rockwall is like going to another country. I used to try to do Verdun Manor every Halloween, and it was worth the trip cuz it wasn't just the haunted house but also some simple rides and a hayride and other fun silly stuff going on. But he moved out of the metroplex and into Forney, and now he's in Terrell. ..I don't even know where Terrell is.

I mean do these mazes have other features with them or is it just a few hours wandering around lost in a field and then it's time to go home?
posted by ZachsMind at 10:15 AM on September 5, 2002

Sorry, I'll have to miss it. I'm going to the Oatmeal Festival in Bertram.
posted by RylandDotNet at 10:27 AM on September 5, 2002

Zachsmind- 15 minutes east of Rockwall is not exactly "in the boonies". The site states that it is right off the interstate, so it shouldn't be too bad..... that places you right between Greenville and Rockwall, so you got 15 minutes either way. 15 minutes east of Rockwall places you just past Wolf City, I think, so beer and convenient stores are at the ready for you.
Lots of restaurants in Rockwall, and a few in Greenville. (which is about 15 minutes further down the interstate.)
Terrell is not too far from the Meptroplex either...about 25 minutes. Terrell is approximately 25 miles east of Dallas on Interstate Highway 20 and U.S. Highway 80.
posted by bradth27 at 10:30 AM on September 5, 2002

I-20 == scary highway of death.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:40 AM on September 5, 2002

yes! thank you! I lost the newspaper that had the big article on these things and it didn't occur to me that they'd be organized enough to be online. maze o' corn, here i come!
posted by karenh at 11:44 AM on September 5, 2002

Any Texan MeFites interested in a road trip?

Heck, ya'll...that's nigh onto my backyard! I'm really less than 15 minutes from this place...just across the lake, really. I say we all go do the maze, then go have a steak! [homer] oooooh....steak....[/homer]

Although, it's a might dry area around here...booze wise...the only town that sells it is Fate...but it's just .5 mile east of Rockwall...so you could pick up beer and it'd still be cold for your trek through the corn.

If a group effort is decided upon to come out here, send me an email and I'll send you directions on where the corn is, where the booze is, where the nasty chain food places are...and where there be good grilled cow. :)

And Rockwall...while not Dallas (thankgods), isn't quite the end of civilization. Why heck, we even gots us a bank, a fancy restaurant where flip flops and shorts are frowned upon...but boots, hats and jeans are always welcome, we even gots a movie theatre...hell, once...I saw somebody driving a Japanese car...but we think they was just touristas.

heh.
posted by dejah420 at 12:25 PM on September 5, 2002

I'm pretty much in the Land of Gar - think King of the Hill - which is right next door to Rockwall. And Rockwall is very near Lake Ray Hubbard - where there's a lake, there has to be beer...

I'd love to make the trek - do email. Post to the dfwbloggers as well.
posted by thinkdink at 4:35 PM on September 5, 2002

Maybe we Texans can talk about this more at the dfwbloggers cocktail gathering thingy. Anybody in other parts of the country interested? Would be cool to have MeFites everywhere brave the Signs. I didn't mean to make this a mostly Texan thread. =)

But it would be cool if we Texans could all make it at the same time. Not sure how I can work that, since I have weird days off, but if we can all decide on a date ahead of time, I might be able to find a way to get that day off work. I'm gonna need a few weeks warning though. I'm the low man on the totem pole, seniority-wise.
posted by ZachsMind at 8:15 PM on September 5, 2002

I drove through North Carolina farmland hit with moderate to severe drought conditions two weeks ago and was "amaized" at how short, brittle and brown the corn looked. We had a week of steady rain here recently, but it only helped a little bit. I can't help but wonder how the cornfield maze business has suffered.
posted by mediareport at 11:57 PM on September 5, 2002