Van Horn's Texas Crossroads Cowboy Gathering

Van Horn is producing a new event this year for cowboy poets and musicians, the Texas Crossroads Cowboy Gathering. This was one of the earliest performers on Friday, Paul Harris. For more about this event, click here. Ralph's Back Porch will be broadcasting the some of the festivities, click here!

Inside Indian Lodge

One of the most unique places to stay in the region is the Davis Mountains State Park's Indian Lodge outside Fort Davis. A CCC-built adobe hotel in the Southwestern Indian style, it was lovingly restored a few years ago. Here's a public sitting room, which is cool, comforting and cozy.
For more information on the Indian Lodge, click here. This page also includes a link to a recent article on Indian Lodge in Southern Living magazine!

For information on Davis Mountains State Park, click here.

For information on other historic hotels in the region, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/historichotels

Clark Hotel Kitchen

The town of Van Horn has been a crossroads for travelers from the very earliest days..for the Apache, soldiers, the Butterfield Overland stagecoach travelers, and early settlers and ranchers. The town's Clark Hotel--now a museum--housed travelers for overnight stays as they moved across the country. A block wide, with the railroad on the north and the highway on the south, it housed and fed many a traveler since the early 1900s. You can visit the Clark Hotel Museum; for information, click here.

Mountain biking in the Guadalupes

Our friend, Don Baumgardt, of the El Paso Visitors Guide, sent us this photo of Williams Ranch from his last mountain biking trip to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Don reports:

"My friend and I had a fun ride up Williams Ranch Road. This is only about a 13 mile round trip it's pretty short, but I think good riders would enjoy it. We parked just inside the second gate. It took us 55 minutes of riding time (1 hour, 20 minutes including stops to look around) to make it to the end of the road. The ride back was obviously much quicker - about 25 minutes of spinning wheels. It's a rough road, but the kind of thing we're used to doing."

"We ride dual suspension bikes often on roads like that, so the bumps were no big deal. I didn't have my altimeter with me, but I'd guess we climbed 1000+ feet. So, because of the rough terrain, amount of climb and the fact that you're on your own, I'd classify it as" a strenuous ride for experienced mountain bikers". Just like you tell hikers what to take, riders probably need a reminder - helmet, water, tools, flat tire repair plan and the ability to use it all."

Entry to Williams Road requires special access and a key, which is returned at the end of your visit. Click here for more information.

For more information on cycling in the Texas Mountain Trail region, visit: http://www.texasmountaintrail.com/bike

Trappings of Texas opens this week!

The Museum of the Big Bend's signature exhibit, Trappings of Texas, opens this weekend. Visitors to this annual invitation-only show see works from the very best cowboy artists and gearmakers anywhere. Check it out here. Also in Alpine this weekend, is the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

A YouTube video of two of the best artists, father-son Mike and Wilson Capron, is here: http://www.youtube.com/user/TMTrail

Across the Tracks in Alpine

Just across the railroad tracks from Alpine's downtown is a burgeoning new restaurant and shopping district. Most of the businesses are housed in historic, quaint buildings. Next time you're in Alpine, take a look!

Rising above Texas

El Capitan rises above the desert floor, and is the first sight most people have of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The Park is one of the world's best examples of a fossilized reef. El Capitan is full of fossils of marine creatures, a massive geological uplift exposed them to the elements. Just behind this formation is Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas. Both El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak have great hiking trails with terrific views of the mountains and desert below.

For more information on Guadalupe Mountains National Park, visit: www.nps.gov/gumo

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

Adobe Courthouse Detail

Sierra Blanca's Hudspeth County Courthouse is the only adobe courthouse in the state. Here's a detail from above the entrance.

For information about Sierra Blanca, click here.

Want to visit adobe structures in Far West Texas? Check out: www.texasmountaintrail.com/adobe

Buds

The cactus in the region will start blooming soon! You can see a variety of them in our many excellent Far West Texas nature centers. For a list, click here!

Plan to visit El Paso for the Poppy Festival

For information about El Paso's Poppy Festival at the Museum of Archaeology, click here!

Santa Elena Canyon

One of the highlights of visiting Big Bend National Park is seeing Santa Elena Canyon. In the late afternoon, the sun warms one side of the canyon casting a glow everywhere.

The short Santa Elena Canyon hike was rated by Texas Monthly magazine as one of the best in Texas. For more information on hiking in the area, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike

Master Craftsman, Wilson Capron, Bit and Spur Maker

Wilson Capron, one of the featured artists at the Museum of the Big Bend's exhibition of cowboy artists and gearmakers, Trappings of Texas, allowed us to photograph him at his studio near Midland. The show opens later this month in Alpine; for more information, click here.

A 1 1/2 video featuring Wilson Capron and his father, cowboy artist Mike Capron, can be seen at our Texas Mountain Trail YouTube video channel, here.

Inside Yesterday's Rainbow Cactus

Rainbow Cactus

Big Bend Cactus

Take a closer look at the desert floor and you'll be rewarded with beauty. Here's a cactus in Big Bend National Park we saw only because we were traveling slowly on bicycle!

For more information on Big Bend National Park, visit: www.nps.gov/bibe

For a Girlfriend Getaway Hiking and Biking Itinerary, click here.

For information on cycling in the region, click here!

Making Your Mark at the Top of Texas

When hikers get to the Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas (8,749 ft), they're invited to write an entry in the official register. It is great fun to see the comments of hikers from around the world, and share your own experience. For more information about the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, click here and here.

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

Thanks to Susan Penney for this great photo!

Fort Davis Scenic Loop

One of the most scenic drives in the region begins and ends in Fort Davis. With rain, the landscape becomes emerald green; when it is dry it presents an infinite number of colors of the desert. A great drive, bike ride and motorcycle ride for visitors!

Trappings of Texas Video

Mike Capron, one of the best cowboy artists anywhere, graciously allowed us to photograph him in his studio as he prepared for the Museum of the Big Bend's Trappings of Texas exhibition. The show opens later this month in Alpine...for more information on the show, click here.

Take a look at a 1 1/2 minute video slideshow featuring Mike and his son, Wilson, a master bit and spur maker, click here.

On the Road from Alpine to Fort Davis

The View from Guadalupe Peak Trail

Drive up Hwy 54 from Van Horn to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and within an hour you see one of the most impressive sights from a Texas highway, the mountain called El Capitan. But adventurous hikers are treated to an even more spectacular view...up Guadalupe Peak to see the back end of El Capitan from the Guadalupe Peak Trail, and the desert floor down in the distance.

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

Border Patrol Museum

At the base of Transmountain in El Paso is the National Border Patrol Museum. Visitors enjoy learning about the history of the proud men and women who protect our borders. You can learn more about the museum here and here.

Van Horn's Texas Crossroads Cowboy Poetry Festival

A new event has been added to the region's offerings for Cowboy Poetry, Van Horn's Texas Crossroads Cowboy Gathering. You can learn more about the festival here and at http://www.texascrossroadscowboypoetry.org/

The Adobe of Indian Lodge

One of the "stars" of Fort Davis is the historic Indian Lodge, a lovingly restored hotel inside Davis Mountains State Park. A CCC-built adobe structure in the Southwestern Indian style, the hotel is now one of the more popular accommodation properties in the region. For more information on the Indian Lodge, click here and here.

For more information on historic hotels, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/historichotels

For more information on adobe architecture in the region, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/adobe

Straight from the Sketchbook--Trappings of Texas

One of the most anticipated events of the year is coming up at the Museum of the Big Bend--a show of traditional cowboy artists and gear makers. Here's a view from the sketchbook of one of the best bit and spur maker in the country, Wilson Capron, who will be exhibiting at the Trappings of Texas. Plan to visit the show on the campus of Sul Ross State University in Alpine, February 28 through April 26. And stay tuned here for more previews of the work!

Two other related events take place on Trapping's opening weekend, Alpine's Texas Cowboy Poetry Festival right next door to the Museum of the Big Bend, and a new event, Van Horn's Texas Crossroads Cowboy Gathering.

Ranchieras Trail at Big Bend Ranch State Park

Winter is a great time to go hiking at Big Bend Ranch State Park, west of the Big Bend National Park. This is a shot from the Ranchieras Trail which takes hikers across the desert, aside as stream and up to a waterfall.

For information on activities in Big Bend Ranch State Park, including hiking, click here.

For information on hiking in the Texas Mountain Trail region, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike

Prickly Pear Blossoms

Want to learn about the botany, geology, archaeology, and zoology of the high mountain desert of the Texas Mountain Trail? Visit one or more nature centers on your trip! Click here for a list!

Van Horn's Six Mile Mountain

Van Horn's landscape is dominated by Six Mile Mountain (three miles from town and back equals six!), which can be seen by motorists heading west for more than thirty miles. This view was taken just north of the Town of Van Horn--the Crossroads of the Texas Mountain Trail--from Hwy 54 on the way to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Clark Hotel Museum in Van Horn

Van Horn's main street has long been a place for travelers to stay the night--it has had hotels, motels, tourists courts and RV parks for 100 years now. Right near the Crossroads of the Texas Mountain Trail was the Clark Hotel, now the Clark Hotel Museum. Come on in and visit!