Snippet of tour at Fort Davis National Historic Site

The folks at Fort Davis National Historic Site do a wonderful job bringing life to history.  Here's a bit of a tour give by Matt Walter as he explains how the Indian Wars were fought.  Consider adding a tour of the Fort to your next visit to the Texas Mountain Trail region.

They are ready!

Another wonderful image from a collection of photos given to the Clark Hotel Museum by Jim Maloney.  The collection shows early life in Van Horn.

Little beauties you should see, surrounded by places you should visit!

These lovely rainbow cacti are nestled against the Frankin Mountains and Franklin Mountains State Park, on the grounds of the El Paso Museum of Archaeology.  The museum is right next to the National Border Patrol Museum, so that's three great places to visit in one outing in El Paso!

Beautiful sky on Hwy 90 from Van Horn to Marfa!

Antelope Lodge, a new addition to our cycle-friendly program

Alpine's Antelope Lodge recently joined our cycle-friendy program offering special services to cyclists wanting ride our scenic roads and challenging trails.  Eachy cycle-friendly property has a floor pump at the front desk, and information about Adventure Cycling Association's Southern Tier Route which runs right through our region, on the cross-country route from California to Florida.  But cycle-friendly properties aren't only for the touring cyclist; they're great places to stay for anyone who wants to travel with their bicycle and enjoy our seldom traveled and scenic roads!  See them all here.

Our cycling page offers descriptions of each participating property, and links to more information about them.  Here's the info on Antelope Lodge:  Antelope Lodge, 2310 W. Highway 90, Alpine, TX 79830, 800- 880-8106 or 432- 837-2451, http://www.antelopelodge.com/ Cycle-friendly features include: rustic casual 1949 motor court cabins, each with mini-kitchen with 2 burner stove, mini-fridge, microwave and coffee-maker; in-room or sheltered outdoor bike parking; outdoor fire pits, BBQ grills and picnic tables; free wi-fi; cable TV; coin operated laundry on site available after 5pm.

Chisos Mountains of Big Bend

This beautiful view in Big Bend National Park was taken by Lee Towns, Executive Director of our counterpart in east Texas, the Texas Independence Trail!  Thank you, Lee!

Lost Mine Trail in Big Bend

Possibly the quintessential hike in Big Bend National Park, the Lost Mine Trail offers hikers magnificent views and access to the variety in geological formation, plants and animals of the Chisos. It is a moderately difficult hike of 4.8 miles roundtrip, in close proximity to the Basin.  The trail starts at an elevation of 5,600' and steadily climbs to the top of a 6,850' promontory overlooking Pine and Juniper Canyons.

For more information about hiking in the region, visit our hiking page: www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike

or Big Bend National Park's review of day hikes in the Chisos. 

Beautiful blossoms

Commerce!

Double-click on the photo for a closer view.  Stores in places like Van Horn needed to carry a large inventory of supplies to serve the local community.  This photo is in a collection newly donated to Van Horn's Clark Hotel Museum by Jim Maloney.  Thanks to him and to the Museum for allowing us to share these images all week!

Cowboys Just Delivered 30 Cars of Cattle, Van Horn, Tex.

From a recent gift of historical photographs to Van Horn's Clark Hotel Museum by Jim Maloney.  Thanks, Jim, for sharing these wonderful images!

Waiting for the Train

(Double-click on the photo for a closer view)  The long-gone train station in Van Horn, part of a collection of historical photographs of the area given to the Clark Hotel Museum by Jim Maloney. 

There are plenty of opportunities to watch the trains go by in the region still.  For more information, visit our Train Spotting page!

Van Horn girls having fun

Another image in the recent gift of old Van Horn photographs to the Clark Hotel Museum by Jim Maloney.  Thanks to the Museum for allowing us to share these with all of you!

"Let Me Give You a Boost Up!"

While we can't imagine hiking in these formal clothes, these historical photographs from Van Horn's Clark Hotel Museum's collection gets us in the mood for getting out on the trail.  A recent gift from Jim Maloney, the photographs show life in early Van Horn.

For information about hiking in the Texas Mountain Trail region, visit our hiking page: www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike for suggestions for new trails to conquer!

Van Horn Ladies

This week we're featuring historical photos of Van Horn, and the newest additions to the Clark Hotel Museum's collection gifts of Jim Maloney.  This one is labeled, "Pink Blythe and friends, she 2nd."  No comment on their style sense, which as we call can see is impeccable!

Double-click on the photo for a closer look!

Clark Hotel

The front door of the Clark Hotel--and where it is located--tells an important story in the shift in transportation options in the west.  This old photo shows the front of the hotel (center) facing north towards the railroad tracks in Van Horn.  When the highway came in, the "front" of the hotel shifted to the south where it remains today.  Now the Clark Hotel Museum, the building offers a look at the hotel's lobby and dining room (still on the north side of the building), some examples of hotel rooms, and the hotel's grand bar.  While you can no longer stay at the Clark Hotel, just down the street is a beautifully restored historic hotel, the Hotel El Capitan, a cattleman's hotel from 1930 and the site of many, many cattle deals.

This week we're featuring a collection of historic photographs of Van Horn, donated to the Museum by Jim Maloney, a descendent of one of Van Horn's founding family, the Beach family.  Thanks to the Museum and to Jim for allowing us to post these wonderful images!

Early Ranching in Van Horn

If you're familiar with Van Horn, you'll recognize the mountains in the background in this astounding image recently given to the Clark Hotel Museum by Jim Maloney.  Walter Beach is on the right; Jim Beam in on the left.  Jim Maloney is a descendent of the Beach family, who ranched and had a merchantile in Van Horn.

Van Horn photos from Clark Hotel Museum

Nada Stuckey at the Clark Hotel Museum in Van Horn gave us a disk of amazing historical photos of the area, donated to the museum by Jim Maloney of El Paso.  He's a descendent of a founding family of Van Horn--the Beach Family--which owned Beach Merchantile and the Beach Ranch north of town.  The Museum is generously allowing us to share these images with you! 

Just a plain old beauty shot from Big Bend Ranch State Park

Gorgeous, eh?  There's views like this all around you when you're in Big Bend Ranch State Park!  The quintessential "get off the beaten path" destination for frontier, wilderness, quiet, and beauty.

Benefit Poster for Van Horn's Clark Hotel Museum

Our host community is Van Horn and they generously support the Texas Mountain Trail in many, many ways.  To give back to the community and show our thanks, we did a special little project for them to benefit the town's Clark Hotel Museum...and you can help!

Every five years, Van Horn has an all-town reunion called Jubilee.  We wanted to create a historical record of all the folks attending this year's party for the museum's collection, so we offered to take portraits of anyone willing to pose for a photo.  Approximately 90 groups of people stepped forward, and we used their photos (with their permission, of course!) to create this commemorative poster to benefit the museum.  The poster is available for sale at www.cafepress.com/vanhornmuseum and all proceeds over cost (which ends up being $5 per poster) is donated directly to the Museum.  The Trail donated photography support and graphic design support (thanks to a volunteer--a resident of Houston, but frequent visitor to Van Horn).

Stay tuned if you're one of the people in the poster!  In mid-September, we'll post information on how you can access your individual shots, but until then, support Van Horn's Clark Hotel Museum and purchase a poster!

Nothing Fancy: Just a beautiful Davis Mountains Sky

More Images from Fort Davis, Outpost from 1854 to 1891

It takes no imagination at all to picture life on the frontier when you visit Fort Davis National Historic Site.  Here are a few more shots from a tour of the fort offered by the National Park Service.  To learn more about this wonderful place and amazing resource, click here.

From the National Park Service's website, "Named for Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, the fort was first garrisoned by Lieutenant Colonel Washington Seawell and six companies of the Eighth U.S. Infantry. The post was located in a box canyon near Limpia Creek on the eastern side of the Davis Mountains--where wood, water, and grass were plentiful. From 1854 to 1861 , troops of the Eighth Infantry spent much of their time in the field pursuing Comanches, Kiowas, and Apaches."

Scenes from Fort Davis, A Frontier Post

Fort Davis: Frontier Post

Fort Davis National Historic Site is one of the best surviving examples of an Indian Wars' frontier military post in the Southwest. From 1854 to 1891, Fort Davis was strategically located to protect emigrants, mail coaches, and freight wagons on the Trans-Pecos portion of the San Antonio-El Paso Road and on the Chihuahua Trail.

More information about visiting Fort Davis is here, on the national park service website!

An adobe ruin near Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park, a reminder of the rich cultural history in the area.  To read more, click here.

Our thanks again to Lee Towns of the Texas Independence Trail, our sister organization to the east for this photo!!

Camping in the Chisos

This great shot of camping in the Chisos was sent to us by Lee Towns, Executive Director of our sister organization based in East Texas, the Texas Independence Trail.  Thanks, Lee!

For information about camping in Big Bend National Park, click here!  For other travel information for Far West Texas visit our Texas Mountain Trail website, here!

Chihuahuan Desert landscape

Another of his neat photos of Far West Texas...thanks to Chuck Nowland for sharing his images with all of us!

The Rio Grande at Big Bend National Park

A cactus blooms above the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. 

For river trip information and regulations visit these links:
http://www.nps.gov/bibe/parkmgmt/riverregs.htm
http://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/floating_the_rio.htm

Thanks to NPS for use of this photo!

Casa Grande in the Fog

Lovely shot of Casa Grande (elevation 7325 feet) in Big Bend National Park.  Thanks to NPS for the photo!

Daniel Baeza Landscapes

This week we're featuring the work of Daniel Baeza, and his lovely landscapes of Far West Texas.  Take a look at his blog, http://ulyssesbaeza.blogspot.com/ to see more of his images!

Daniel Baeza Week: Day 5

Van Horn native, Daniel Baeza, draws inspiration from the Far West Texas landscape.  We invite you to see more of his images at his blog:   http://ulyssesbaeza.blogspot.com/

Daniel Baeza week: Day 4

Another beautiful Far West Texas landscape by Daniel Baeza.  Daniel is currently a a photography major at Texas A&M University-Commerce, and a 2007 graduate of Van Horn High School.  His blog shows more photographs of the region, catch it at:  http://ulyssesbaeza.blogspot.com/