Just outside of Fort Davis is the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens, with some wonderful hiking options. Here's a view from their Modesta Canyon Trail.
South of Marfa on Hwy 67, is the old mining town of Shafter. Turn off the road here to take a few minutes to explore from your car. Follow the road up to the cemetery and a wonderful small self-guided museum of the history of the area!
Artwork created by Presidio High School art students (assembled here at Fort Leaton State Historic Site) will be on display at the Saatchi Art Gallery in London, England this summer. To view the artwork at the Saatchi gallery online, click here.
Van Horn's cemetery is a lovely spot in the shadow of the town's Turtleback and Six Mile Mountain. Right now so many of the flowers are in bloom, because of our summer rains.
We're had rain so the landscape is greening and plants of all kinds are blooming!
Located off remote Pinto Canyon Road, visitors to the Chinati Hot Springs get away from everything to enjoy the land, the cool pool and hot springs, tremendous views and comfortable adobe cabins.
Yesterday's entry showed the gentle rolling landscape at the north end of Pinto Canyon Road, FM2810 heading out of Marfa. Here's the rocky part further south, best traveled by all-wheel, high clearance vehicles. Pinto Canyon Road cuts through private property, please respect the landowners and take care not to venture off the road and onto private land.
Head south out of Marfa on FM2810 to see some great scenery. The first part of the road is paved, and then it becomes rough and rocky best for high clearance vehicles with all-wheel drive. The road cuts through private property; enjoy your drive, but take care not to cross fencelines.
The interplay of desert plantings, adobe and stone delights visitors to the Indian Lodge Hotel in Davis Mountains State Park near Fort Davis. The 18-inch thick adobe walls, hand-carved furnishings and mountain views add to the rustic, yet elegant accommodations experience.
The lovely and historic Indian Lodge hotel in the Davis Mountains State Park near Fort Davis provides something else for visitors: the ability to cool off in the pool with a mountain view.
The Hudspeth County Courthouse in tiny Sierra Blanca is the only adobe courthouse in the state of Texas. Take the time to get off I-10 and explore this small community. Walk inside the courthouse to enjoy the spacious feel of this distinctive adobe structure.
HIkers taking the Guadalupe Peak trail to the highest point in Texas are treated to beautiful vistas all along the trail. Here's one overlooking the Chihuahuan Desert below.
Here's a shot from Hammerfest, a yearly bike race in Fort Davis sponsored by Peyton's Bikes of Midland and the Permian Basin Bicycle Association.
Cemetery adornments offer a window into the hearts and minds of our west Texas communities. Many graves are decorated with articles that are purely Texan.
Beautiful views await you all over the Texas Mountain Trail region, but one of the best is the drive from Alpine to Fort Davis along Hwy 118. 
Taken on the Scenic Loop near Fort Davis, a favorite route for motorists, motorcyclists and cyclists.
The historic and luxurious Gage Hotel has built a beautiful garden space across the railroad tracks in Marathon, providing a quiet, green respite from the road. The garden also provides the Hotel's chef with its produce for the kitchen. More photos of the garden are here.
An incredible view of the Franklin Mountains, El Paso, Mexico and New Mexico can be seen from the Wyler Aerial Tramway in El Paso. Visitors ride to the top of Ranger Peak (more than 5,600 ft) and can see over 7,000 square miles of the desert below. The Tramway celebrates its 50th anniversary this year! Check it out, here and here!
One of the loveliest drives in the region, actually takes you out of the state of Texas for awhile. Dog Canyon is at the north edge of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park--to get there you have to drive in New Mexico awhile, passing the entrance to Carlsbad Canyon. After long stretches of flat desert, you turn south again and the valley opens up to view. You reenter Texas and you're again at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, remote and beautiful. Terrific hiking awaits you there.
We saw these hummers at Dog Canyon in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
Van Horn's Clark Hotel Museum has many paintings created by local folks, charming paintings of places important to the community.
