Scenes from a GREAT Museum

One of the best small museums you'll find anywhere is in Alpine on the campus of Sul Ross State University, the Museum of the Big Bend.  The museum's staff, volunteers and donors have built a tremendous resource for visitors and residents of the area, for the museum illuminates and helps us understand our shared history.

 

From the Museum's website:

"The exhibit Big Bend Legacy greets visitors as they enter the Museum of the Big Bend. Legacy introduces visitors to the distinctive natural history, human history and confluence of cultures in the Big Bend region.

Native Americans inhabited the area for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans. The Spanish, through their system of missions and presidios, imprinted their customs on the region only to be replaced by the nation of Mexico. The westward expansion of the United States brought yet another unique culture to the Big Bend.

 

Many exhibits are enchanced
with video displays

 

Big Bend Legacy invites the visitor to experience this panorama of natural and human history.

Every year, the Museum hosts "Trappings of Texas" a terrific exhibition and sale of cowboy gear and Western art...the longest running event of its kind in the country.  Learn more here.

Travel Spotlight!

Members of our Texas Mountain Trail get a discount at the Museum of the Big Bend's gift shop!  Click here to become a member.

Hiking to the Top of Texas, Guadalupe Peak by Sarah Clark

Sarah Clark is a Community Outreach SCA AmeriCorps Intern serving at Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  She's helping us promote the Peak Fitness Challenge, a free hiking challenge in Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Franklin Mountains State Park

 

 

Mountain tops seem to hold a special place in men’s minds. Moses came down from the mountain top with the moral code that has shaped the lives of millions of people for thousands of years. Native Americans seek their visions among the mountain tops, while Buddhist monks remain to find nirvana. The mountain top is a symbol of clarity, knowledge, and enlightenment. The effort and struggles of gaining the peak are integral to the significance of gaining the summit. No one would say they had conquered a mountain by flying to the top in a helicopter. No, each step on the way to the top has its own place and meaning.

The hike to the top of Guadalupe Peak is no different. As you work your way up the trail the desert floor falls away; the sounds of the highway gradually fade. Valleys and hills unfold before you, curving away to join ridge upon ridge, knitted together by rock and tree. Rounding a corner opens new worlds, as barren hillsides and sheer cliff faces become mountain slopes covered in pines, only to give way to the grassy shoulders of the peak. The air, thin enough to give pause as you switchback your way through the steepest sections of the trail, fills with the scent of pine. Even with your eyes closed, the air near the peak would tell you that you are far from the rest of the world. The last scramble to the summit, full of white fossil rich rocks of a long vanished reef, brings you face to face with the goal of your long climb. The mountain top is yours. Away below is the work-a-day world. But here, on the top, the press of everyday affairs is far away. Whether the first or the hundredth time to the top, the summit brings its own sense of time and scale to your perspective. As you gradually make your way back down the trail the headiness of the summit will remain. Distances seem changed, perspectives reframed. The memory of the view from the top is contrasted with where you are. Once returned to the base, the moments of clarity on the mountain top, with only the sky above you, the winds around you, and all the world below, remain.

Sarah Clark

 

Adventure Spotlight: JOIN the Peak Fitness Challenge!

This free, fun challenge is designed to entice you to try new parks and new trails and new challenges!  How does it work?
1) Sign up at www.geobetty.com/peak  (This is FREE!)
2) Browse the challenge site to find trails you'd like to try
3) Get out on the trail, complete your hike, and log it on your profile on the Peak Fitness Challenge website
4) Once you log a hike, your name is entered in a monthly drawing for neat prizes!

The Reward of Taking a Closer Look: Part 2

In Van Horn's Clark Hotel Museum, there's a special hat

Thought to be one of movie cowboy's Tom Mix

In Van Horn's Clark Hotel Museum, there are plenty of little jewels.  Take, for instance, a hat reputed to come from early movie cowboy, Tom Mix.

We thank Van Horn native, Dan Baeza, who took a series of wonderful photographs for us at the museum and around Van Horn.  And while he was at it, he built the Clark Hotel Museum's first-ever website!  Thanks, Dan!

The Reward for Taking a Closer Look

Beautiful landscape in Big Bend Ranch State Park

On our recent trip to Big Bend Ranch State Park, we found ourselves in a beautiful landscape right near the Rio Grande.  See those blue mountains in the background?  Those are in Mexico.  And while it is tempting to look as FAR away in the landscape you can, there are rewards for taking a closer look. See where we're going?

A little Rainbow Cactus sits atop the rock!

 

 

 

Travel Spotlight!

Now you can join the Texas Mountain Trail as a member! 

Great benefits are available for our members; join here!



Almost Sundown in the Desert

Taken a couple of weeks go in Big Bend Ranch State Park!  So lovely!

TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT!

The Museum of the Big Bend's ONLY annual fundraiser is coming up and you don't want to miss it!  Trappings of Texas tickets are $50 for the Opening Exhibit Sale and Reception, Saturday, February 23 from 5-8 pm. There's also a DANCE at the Holland Hotel and a Preview Party.  Click HERE for all the information at a wonderful event benefiting a critical resource for our region, the Museum of the Big Bend!


Mark Stewart of Lipan, Texas
 is the current President of the
International Guild of Bit and Spurmakers.
Looking at this bit by him, we think
 we know why is the president!
Mark will have a Santa Barbara
 Style bit for sale in the
2013 Trappings of Texas.

Mary Baxter

 

Rio Conchos at La Junta
by Mary Baxter

     Our region is not only blessed with jaw-droppingly stunning scenery, but also with artists who capture it beautifully.  We've been enjoying the work of painter and sculptor, Mary Baxter of Marfa.  Mary travels all over the Texas Mountain Trail region, sometimes painting for days and weeks at a time from her trailer.  Recently she was down in the Presidio-Terlingua area painting along the River Road, Hwy 170.

"I moved to the Big Bend region in 1994, when we had leased a ranch Southwest of Marfa for raising cattle. Most of the time I lived there by myself, checking water and putting out feed, and training some horses for extra income.

The landscape was growing on me and I began to paint my surroundings. I had previously studied printmaking at the University of Texas at San Antonio. This was in the pre-digital age and the only place to have film developed was in Alpine, two and a half hours away. So I learned to rely instead on sketches and notes for reference, a practice I still prefer to use today.

For several more years while I painted this area, I supported myself through training and trading horses, and sometimes working a season on the high-goal polo circuit in Florida or California.
Now I just paint and sculpt. I love my job, and I especially like that I can make my living off this land without having to alter it in any way."

 

Would you like to see more of Mary's work?  Click here to see her website.


Last Light Near Fresno Canyon
by Mary Baxter

 

Our Thanks to El Paso County Historical Commission

El Paso County Historical Commission's
Bernie Sargent presents a check
to support Texas Mountain Trail
to Executive Director, Beth Nobles
 

Our Texas Mountain Trail regional non-profit organization is grateful for the participation and support of individuals and organizations across Far West Texas.  We could not do the work we do without the dedicated support of organizations like the El Paso County Historical Commission. 

Year after year, the dedicated folks volunteering their time to serve the Commission are recognized for their vibrant, creative and non-stop advocacy for the preservation and appreciation of El Paso County's history by the Texas Historical Commission and their Distinguished Service Awards.

Inside Ysleta Mission
Photo by Randy Mallory for the THC

From the EPCHC's website, "The El Paso County Historical Commission (EPCHC) is a vital link in Texas' preservation network. Few other states have a built-in mechanism that makes possible a preservation organization in every county. CHCs have statutory responsibility to initiate and conduct programs suggested by the county commissioners court and the Texas Historical Commission (THC). Over the years, CHCs have worked in a dynamic and positive partnership with the THC to preserve Texas' heritage for the use, education, enjoyment and economic benefit of present and future generations. They have been responsible for the preservation of countless historic buildings, artifacts, documents and other pieces of Texas history.

We work closely with the folks at the El Paso County Historical Commission on projects that illuminate the vibrant history and bring travelers to the county.  THANKS SO MUCH for your partnership and friendship!

Remnants left behind, Ranch History at Big Bend Ranch State Park

Two stock tanks--one round, one rectangular--out on
remote ranch land in Big Bend Ranch State Park...which is
older, do you suppose?

If you look closely, the wildlands of Big Bend Ranch State Park reveal relics of its ranching past.  Consider these two stock tanks side by side--one is round, the other rectangular--which do you suppose is older?

The round stock tank was made of stone, and it is believed manual laborers gathered local stone to construct the tanks.

Our TPWD guide, Blaine Hall, believes the rectangular one was the more recent addition--as the shape indicates a form was used to form the concrete stock tank.

Water was pumped from Sauceda to remote areas of the park, and you can see remnants of that enterprise, if you look closely!

Ranch Buildings at Sauceda, Big Bend Ranch State Park

Tack Room and Bunkroom in Sauceda
in Big Bend Ranch State Park and the corrals,
still used today

 

The historic ranch at Sauceda in Big Bend Ranch State Park has many intact features, including the corrals (yes, they still have horse there!) and the Tack Room and Bunkroom building, which is used for storage today

Wool barn at Sauceda, built in the 1940s.  At their peak
production in 1955, the Fowlkes brothers sold more than
200,000 pounds of wool, "the biggest clip in Texas"

.Click here to read the park's Historic Walking Tour brochure of Sauceda!

Adventure Spotlight! 


Are you a walker/hiker/runner or cyclist?  Did you know your miles could add up to support charity?

Check out Charity Miles, a free app to download and record your miles...and every cycling mile means 10 cents, and walking/running/hiking mile means 25 cents can be donated to your favorite charity!  Read more about it here.

May we suggest Feeding America?  If you live in Far West Texas, your miles dedicated to Feeding America will benefit the West Texas Food Bank!

Snuggling by the Fire in the Big House, Big Bend Ranch State Park

Many visitors to Sauceda, the historic ranch in the center of Big Bend Ranch State Park, point to the "Big House" and say, "I want to stay THERE."  Rustic elegance is there for you:  queen beds, bathrooms, a shared kitchen and the romance of an adobe fireplace in your room!  Built in 1908 and remodeled in the 1940s, the Big House is a terrific opportunity to step back into ranching history.  Don't expect city elegance...but DO expect a great experience, peace and quiet and beautiful sunrises and sunsets!

Fireplace in one of the guest rooms

 

Colored Mexican tile was installed in the 1950s by
Manny and Patricia Stewart Folkes

Shared kitchen with large windows (for viewing the sunset!)

Click here to see more pictures, and learn more about booking your stay in the Big House.  Make sure your vehicle is up to the rugged 27 mile ride to Sauceda.  The speed limit is 25 mph and you won't want to go any faster than that! Click HERE to read the park's flyer on a Walking Tour of Historic Sauceda Ranch!

 

Travel Spotlight: 

 

JOIN the Texas Mountain Trail!  Like the tips and travel ideas we post here every day?  Now you can get the inside scoop AND support our work, AND receive great benefits!  Click here to learn all about membership and make your tax-deductible contribution! 

Rock Art in Big Bend Ranch State Park

Ancient peoples left pictographs in several locations in Big Bend Ranch State Park, and on a recent tour by TPWD's Blaine Hall, we saw some beautiful examples of rock art thought to date back 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.  To ensure preservation of the images, we'll protect the precise location.

 

 Read more about rock art in the park, here.  From the park's website:

"The earliest artifacts identified within BBRSP indicate that Native Americans traversed the area as early as perhaps 11,000 years ago, and continued to do so well into the 19th century. Native American site types attributable to the prehistoric era include open campsites, open camps associated with rock shelters, rock shelters, quarries, lithic scatters, Late Prehistoric Cielo complex (ca. A.D. 1250-1680) sites, rock art sites (primarily pictographs, or rock paintings) and special-use or ritual sites.

 

Many pictographs that have been recorded within the park are monochromatic red, black or white. Bichrome and polychrome (red, black, yellow, white) figures also occur. The figures include humans, animals, insects, tally marks, double zigzags, hourglass chains, star patterns and various other abstract motifs. Most of these pictographs were probably painted during the Late Archaic (ca. 1000 B.C. - A.D. 1000) or Late Prehistoric (A.D. 1000 - 1535) periods. Other pictographs represented by human figures on horses, longhorn cattle, Spanish saddles and crosses date to the Protohistoric (ca. A.D. 1535-1700) period or later."

Pictographs found in rock shelter in undisclosed
location in Big Bend Ranch State Park

Our adventure included driving very challenging roads
and hiking over very rugged desert terrain
to an undisclosed location in a remote area of the park
 (similar to this) to a rock shelter.

Interesting sun-like image centered in the
light blue circle (mid-right)

 If you're interested in visiting some rock art sites in the park yourself, there's one easily viewed set of pictographs on the road to Sauceda in the center of the park.  There's a rock shelter RIGHT by the road, and if you go slow, you can see some rubber mats on the ground and there's a new sign urging stewardship of the park's resources.  Stop there, get out of your car, walk along the rubber mats and look up at the shelter's rock ceiling...and soon, you'll see some pictographs! 

Or, you can hire a guide to give you a personalized archeology tour.  Page down on this link to read about "Ranger Programs."

TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT!

Now you can join the Texas Mountain Trail and support our programs, including this Daily Photo blog!  Our members receive terrific benefits and gifts are tax-deductible.  To learn more and become a member, click here!

Remote landscape shows evidence of early life--Metates

Near a remote landscape in Big Bend Ranch State Park

Last week, we visited extremely remote portions of Texas' wildest state park, Big Bend Ranch, with TPWD guide, Blaine Hall.  He took us to places we couldn't have found on our own, including this place in an undisclosed location where earlier people--possibly Comanche--made fires (notice the ash-colored ground in the photo below?) and ground grain on the metates.  To learn about the ranger-led programs and tours offered by the park, page down to "Ranger Programs," on this page.


Metates or grinding stones at the site
 

TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT!

Big Bend Resorts and Adventures'
Putting green behind the motel and
RV/Campground in Terlingua

Big Bend Resorts and Adventures

Close to the entrance of Big Bend National Park in Terlingua is Big Bend Resorts and Adventures, a lodging property with motel, RV and tent camping.  On our cycle-friendly list of properties, the folks at Big Bend Resorts also offer golf, horseback riding, and specialized tours of the area.  Don't want to take your own car down rugged park roads?  Let them do the driving (and the guiding) for you! 

Evidence of Earlier Life in Big Bend Ranch State Park

Down this trail in a remote park of the park, there's
evidence of wagon travel in this amazing landscape
 

Volcanic mudflow-type material in the foreground

In the remote Guale Mesa portion of Big Bend Ranch State Park, there's an incredible landscape that offers many clues to the history of the park and the surrounding area.  The area near Guale Mesa #2 campsite is marked by a rough-textured rock surface that was once a volcanic-create mudflow-type material. The forms and shapes seem otherworldly and are immense fun to climb around and explore.  And the views, so near the Rio Grande and Mexico?  Spectacular!

As is the case in many parts of our region...if you look closely at ancient landscapes they can also hold clues to our more recent human history. 

The trail near the campsite is steep and heads DOWN...and what do we see?  Wagon ruts in the rock.

And this:

See the dark stripe in the center of the white patch?

 

Our guide, TWPD's Blaine Hall speculates wagons may have "slid" down the trail with someone riding the brake, and the teams following behind.  Metal wheels or metal covered wooden wheels made the ruts, still visible today.  The trail is too rough and too steep to consider traveling UP that routel, so teams probably used another route to get back to higher elevations.


Travel Spotlight:  JOIN the Texas Mountain Trail! 

Now you can get support our work AND get great benefits by joining Texas Mountain Trail as a MEMBER! 

Click here to learn how easy (and fun) it is to do just that! 


Look UP at Night: Feb 2-23 Best Evening Viewing of Mercury AND Guide to Visiting McDonald Observatory

Photo by Randy Mallory for the Texas Historical Commission

Locals and veteran travelers already know it:  Our region has a distinguished jewel in McDonald Observatory.  Located atop the Davis Mountains on the "Scenic Loop," it is a place visitors regularly put high up on their bucket list.  Intrigued?  Here's an EXCELLENT article about visiting the Observatory and taking in a couple of their public programs, from our friend, Sheila Scarborough of Perceptive Travel Blog. 

 

Click here to read the Observatory's webpage on visiting the facility.  Heading to the region for Spring Break?  Click here to see all the special Spring Break programming at McDonald Observatory.

The view of the Davis Mountains from
the top of McDonald Observatory
(click on the photo for a closer view!)

This month, we'll be treated to the best evening viewing of Mercury in a long, long time.  Read more here, from Weather.com.  An excerpt:  "Mercury, the "elusive" innermost planet, will travel far enough from the glare of the sun to be readily visible in the western sky, soon after sunset. On the evening of Feb. 8, Mercury will skim within less than 0.4 degrees of the much-fainter planet, Mars."

Henry Trost: A Touch of Genius in the Arid Southwest

Click image to enlarge and get details on this great event!

The Gage Hotel in Marathon is hosting a wonderful evening later this month.  Texas historian and Gage Hotel owner, JP Bryan will speak on the impressive career of architect, Henry C. Trost, who was responsible for some of our best historic hotels in the region.

 They include the Hotel Paisano in Marfa.

The Hotel El Capitan in Van Horn, now completely restored and open for dining and lodging.

The Holland Hotel in Alpine.

And the Gage Hotel in Marathon.

Click here for a list of historic hotels in our Texas Mountain Trail Region, and get your tickets for this great night at 432-386-4205.

Concordia Cemetery, Buffalo Soldier resting place

El Paso is a city of surprising charm, and a diligent community of Texas heritage champions make it a wonderful city for discovering our past.  Take note of the Buffalo Soldier section of Concordia Cemetery.


Don't know about Buffalo Soldiers? Read this from our Texas Mountain Trail website:

"Buffalo Soldiers, a name the Plains Indians gave to the African American cavalry regiments serving the frontier after the Civil War, represent the genesis of the long struggle to integrate both the U.S. military and a society moving towards a more democratic union. Made up of both volunteers and draftees, the cavalry and infantry regiments-two out of four segregated African American regiments authorized by Congress-fought in the Indian wars, battling the likes of Apache, Comanche, and Sioux warriors.

Despite their courage and valor on the battlefield, Buffalo Soldiers received only moderately better treatment by the Anglo society than the Native Americans they were conscripted to fight against. Once the Indian Wars ended, Buffalo Soldiers continued to serve the military by fighting on several fronts, yet they suffered the afflictions of segregation along with the rest of the state's African American community. Although the two cavalry units were eventually disbanded, the remaining regiments continued fighting for the country well into World War ll. The final segregated regiment was disbanded in 1951 and its soldiers were integrated into units serving in Korea. Today, Buffalo Soldiers reside among the list of our most venerated warrior veterans and their heritage is celebrated with reenactments, literary accounts of their exploits, and in film.

Buffalo Soldier re-enactors at a TWPD event

Pictured above is the gate to the Buffalo Soldier Memorial in this special place.   Visitation information is here.

Click HERE to see "before" and "after" photos of this portion of the cemetery....its many volunteers have done a wonderful job honoring early African American soldiers in the region. 

Concordia Cemetery volunteers corralled the resources of many individuals and groups to honor the souls who contributed to the development of the region, including this group.



Travel Spotlight:  Join our Texas Mountain Trail non-profit organization and get the inside scoop on traveling Far West Texas!  We're offering lots of great benefits too.  To learn more and to join, click here!   

Chisos Skyline, Big Bend National Park

Always, glorious views in Big Bend National Park.  Besides getting travel advice from our own Texas Mountain Trail non-profit, may we suggest you also visit www.visitbigbend.com when planning a trip to Big Bend?  Great information about that corner of our region can be found on their website!