"Boot Hill"

There's a special place in El Paso, where a short walk will take you through history. Concordia Cemetery was started in 1856 and in a few years it became the main burial site for the city. That makes it a fascinating place for the visitor. You can see the graves of Chinese railroad workers, buffalo soldiers, and numerous infamous outlaws including John Wesley Hardin.

When I was there recently, I was lucky enough to see an immature burrowing owl guarding his home underneath a tombstone.

To read more about Concordia Cemetery, click here. (Thanks to Bernie Sargent for providing this great photo!)

Stories of Spirits in El Paso

Tomorrow, March 11 (and every month or so), the Magoffin Home State Historic Site in El Paso presents a special program called Stories of Spirits. In this special two-hour tour, the historical tour is expanded to include stories of spirits and odd events that occur in the house!

Starts promptly at 10 a.m.; fees $5 per person, no children under 12 please; reservations encouraged (915) 533-5147.

This is a popular tour and fills quickly, so put these dates on your calendar for future Stories of Spirits tours--April 8, May 13, June 10, August 12 and September 9!

The Magoffin Home Built in 1875 by pioneer Joseph Magoffin, the nineteen room, adobe home is a prime example of Territorial style architecture. This style developed in the southwest in the mid-1800s and combined local materials (adobe) and then fashionable mid-Victorian wood trim. It is a beautiful place!

More information about the Magoffin Home State Historic Site.

Drive the speed limit and you miss it!

Late this summer, I noticed a curious structure being built on the side of the Hwy 90 heading south from Van Horn. Odd. Too small for a house or store. Too large for a bus shelter, and too far from anything to house kids waiting for the schoolbus. Yet, there it was, being patiently built by a small crew of men, just a few miles north of Valentine, population 247. A boxy-looking thing, way out in the middle of the desert.

In early October, I took that road home to Van Horn. The first clue was the portable lighted sign by the only gas station in Valentine. "Welcome Prada Marfa," it said. Huh.

Then I sped by, way too fast to get anything but a hint of what it was. Stop the car, back up. What?!? A Prada store?

There, perfectly and beautifully positioned in the desert, is a sealed time capsule, a non-functional full-sized reproduction of an urban boutique Prada store stocked with the fall 2005 line of shoes and purses. It makes me happy just to look at it. It will decay in time, and the ruin will become part of the landscape.

Get ready for the flowers!

I confess, this is a bit of a tease. These pictures, taken at the foot of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, were shot last April. (That yellow you see in the foreground of the first photo--all flowers!) But you should know that bluebonnets started appearing in Terlingua just about a month ago, and we're starting to see wild flowers pop up all over the Texas Mountain Trail Region.

Thought you folks in colder climates might like to see some pretty pictures. Come see the flowers for yourself soon!

Taking the time to look at the little things

The stunning vistas in the Texas mountains can certainly inspire us to look up and out. But even on a day with 115 mile visibility at the Big Bend National Park, small jewels can be found by looking down. Look at what we saw on the South Rim trail not too long ago--a beautiful six inch rock bullseye right there at our feet.

Two Suggestions: Before you go to the National Park

If you're not familiar with the Big Bend area, there are two great ways to familiarize yourself with the natural history of the area.

This weekend, I took an excellent jeep tour through Far Flung Outdoor Center in Terlingua. Our guide, Elizabeth, took us on a thoroughly enjoyable three hour tour, telling us about the geology, botany, zoology, history, and prehistory of the area. This would be a great activity for a family, or a group with a variety of fitness levels.

Visiting the Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center near Lajitas is another excellent way to learn about the Big Bend area before going to the National Park or the Big Bend Ranch State Park. The Center presents the archaeological, historical, and natural history profile of the Big Bend area, plus it has a gift and bookshop and desert garden. You can also buy camping and river use permits and licenses for the state park in the Center's administrative offices.

South Rim View - Big Bend National Park

Hikers wanting to tackle the moderately challenging 13+ mile round trip from the Basin to the South Rim will be richly rewarded with views like these!
This and other great hikes in the Big Bend National Park are outlined here: http://www.nps.gov/bibe/visit/activities/greathikes.htm

Ruidosa Adobe

At the end of the Pinto Canyon road (Hwy 2810) you come to Ruidosa and this stunning 1914 adobe Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church. The Texas Historical Commission and others have provided resources for the stabilization of the structure, but there's still need for restoration of this beautiful church.








For more information: http://www.thc.state.tx.us/news/newsbriefs/nb2005/nb0105.html

Rock Art

Short vocabulary lesson:
Pictographs--designs painted on rock by ancient peoples
Petroglyphs--designs carved or pecked into rock

Recently, it was my good fortune to tag along on one of Red Rock Ranch's Rock Art Hikes. Wow, what a terrific time! Not only does the Ranch have rock art on its own property (a detail of a deer pictograph from the 1400s, right), but they also have exclusive permission to take visitors to one of the Southwest's largest and oldest collections of petroglyphs just 20 minutes from Van Horn. I was shown petroglyphs of human, animal and plant forms, as well as geometrics and calendaring systems, made as far back as 2,500 years ago.

I most enjoyed seeing how the artists used the bumps and fissures in the rocks to accentuate their drawings. The deer's eye (above) is easy to see because of a protrusion in the rock, and the jawline is partially defined by a ridge on the surface.

The hikes were easy and gentle, and seeing the designs made by people centuries ago was a powerful experience.

For more information, contact Red Rock Ranch Tours in Van Horn.

Great Drive!

If you want to travel from Marfa to Presidio, let me suggest an alternative beautiful and exciting drive! Climb into your high clearance four-wheel drive and bring lots of water, and get ready for a truly spectacular time by going through Pinto Canyon.

Instead of taking Hwy 67 directly from Marfa, take Hwy 2810 through Pinto Canyon, and down to Ruidosa. The road is rough and bumpy in spots, but well worth the effort. You'll pass through private land, so please respect the landowner's property and follow the signs by keeping to the road.

Recently, it took us a little less than two hours to make the trip from Marfa to Ruidosa, where we stopped to view an old adobe church waiting for reconstruction and renovation. From Ruidosa, you can turn east on Hwy 170 for another wild, but fully paved, drive to Presidio. Have a great time!

Ranching on the Last Frontier

There's a great exhibit at the Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine through January 22, of photographs from this Texas A&M Press book byJune Van Cleef. The photos are terrific. What better way (on a cold day, especially!) to get an insider look at ranch life in our area? You'll recognize many of the views, as most of the photographs were taken right here in the Big Bend area.

(The opening last Friday was great fun, in part because so many of the ranchers Van Cleef photographed were in attendance. It was a little surreal to see a rancher peer at his own photograph on the gallery wall!)

Visit the Museum of the Big Bend

Van Cleef's photos are also now on display at the Marfa Book Company in Marfa.

More about this book
Books are available at the Museum, Texas A&M Press and regional booksellers (including Front Street Books in Alpine and Marathon, and Marfa Book Company in Marfa.)