Children in front of theatre, Alpine Texas, by Russell Lee

Chilfren waiting in front of moving picture show, Alpine, Texas
Russell Lee, May 1939

Another beauty of our region from the Library of Congress!
Credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, LC-USF33-012208-M2

Waiting for Customer in Alpine, by Russell Lee 1939

Interior of hamburger stand, Waiting for Customer, Alpine, Texas
Russell Lee, May 1939.

 We love the wealth of images of our region made available to all of us online.  More on Russell Lee, UT's first instructor in photography is here.

From the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, LC-USF33- 012192-M5 [P&P] 

Cowboys in the Collection of the Clark Hotel Museum

From the collection of the Clark Hotel Museum in Van Horn, shows ranching work near Van Horn....can you make out the shadow of Turtleback and Six Mile Mountains in the background? 

Sunset at Sauceda, Big Bend Ranch State Park!

Oasis in Big Bend Ranch State Park, Ojito Adentro trail

The trail head: we'll be heading off to the green cottonwood trees in the distance (seen through the ocotillo!)

Big Bend Ranch State Park offers so many lovely surprises, including the Ojito Adentro trail, an easy-to-get-to oasis from the hot sun.  We've just shared 10 seconds of a shaded portion of the trail here, and if you want to learn more, take a look at our friend Derrick Birdsall's blog entry.

Despite our dry conditions, the trail's end does have water and restorative shade along the way.

You can get to the trailhead from the main road to Sauceda Ranch...no 4x4 vehicle required! 

We were lucky enough to be part of a group of Texas Master Naturalists...interested?  Read more here!

Would you like to see more of our videos?  Visit our YouTube page, here.

Fall Color Update for Guadalupe Mountains National Park

 

Our friends at Guadalupe Mountains National Park are putting fall color updates on their website and facebook page...and we'll also post information on fall color on our Texas Mountain Trail facebook page as well.  Stay tuned for the best information about this rare Texas treasure!  Traditionally NOW is the peak time to see fall color, however it seems we're slow this year and some years there is no real peak.   Best trails for color are traditionally McKittrick Canyon and Devil's Hall.  Enjoy these hiking trails regardless of the time of year...both are terrific!

Presidio's Enlightened Bean Cafe and the remnants of a wonderful lunch

If you're down in Presidio, may we offer a recommendation?  For morning coffee, breakfast or lunch, visit the Enlightened Bean Cafe!  Located on the main street, O'Reilly Street near the intersection with the River Road, Hwy 170, the cafe offers great food.  We had a terrific lunch--the remnants you see here--of a combo fajitas plate, chips and hot salsa, and a luncheon brisket burrito after a quick camping trip to Chinati Hot Springs. Another nearby attraction is Fort Leaton State Historic Site.

Open Monday through Saturday, 7 am to 3 pm!

Who woke us up at Chinati Hot Springs? Take a closer look!

A favorite getaway of locals is the historic Chinati Hot Springs, and that's where we enjoyed camping on Wednesday night.  Isolated, the property is about 45 minutes from Presidio on the "good road" and an adventurous 90 minutes or so from Marfa via the rugged 4x4 only Pinto Canyon Road.  We like camping there because it is a lovely place, PLUS you get the use of a swimming pool (called the "cool pool") as well as the spring-fed warm and hot pools, and a common kitchen.  We last visited the property a few years ago, and upon our arrival this week we were pleased to learn the kitchen had all new appliances making it even more welcoming. 

We brought our mountain bikes and enjoyed the roads leading up to the Hot Springs property, then we took a quick hike on the trail at the top of the canyon walls.  

The Hot Springs property is a site on the Far West Texas Wildlife Trail map, and while we were there we saw many birds including an owl and covey of quail, and look whose bray woke us up in the morning?

How do you dress for a hike?

Unknown couple, on the Beach Ranch outside Van Horn.  From the collection of the Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn!

More from the Museum of the Big Bend's "Lost Colony" Exhibition

Untitled,Oil, n.d. 7 X 10, Anna Keener, Collection of the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum

Here's another fine beauty from Alpine's Museum of the Big Bend's exhibition called,"The Lost Colony," about artists working at Sul Ross State University.

 

Anna Keener taught in the Art Department at Sul Ross from 1925 to 1926. Of her time spent at Sul Ross she wrote that it "ruined me for all later positions" due to support she received from the college.  This piece is called, "Untitled."  Credit line for the image: Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas.

More about "The Lost Colony" from the Museum's website:

"Hidden in the mountains of the vast Big Bend, a fledgling teachers college played an important role in the Texas Regionalist Art Movement. In this remote place, a simple Department of Drawing metamorphosed into a vibrant and dynamic art department.

The Art Department at Sul Ross State Teacher’s College created an Art Colony by inviting guest artists and students to the high desert to challenge themselves in an unfamiliar landscape. For over 15 years, the Art Colony was a successful and popular summer course; however, for reasons unknown it simply faded away.
The Lost Colony: Texas Regionalist Paintings rediscovers and celebrates this important chapter in early Texas art."

 

Catch the exhibition on display through January 29, 2012!

Nursing Pronghorn Fawns by Carolyn Nored Miller

"Pronghorn fawns spend most of their time alone, inert on the ground until they are strong enough to make a thirty-mile-per-hour sprint.  It may take as little as three days to develop that kind of speed, at which point they can keep pace with the mildly panicked adults.  Still they are not fast enough for a serious chase, so for eight weeks they keep to the ground.  Within hours, sometimes minutes, of birth, they seek a hiding place, drop, and wait.  The technique works.  Wildlife researchers have observed standing fawns from a distance, but when they have walked down, startling the fawns into hiding, they have been unable to find the animals." From The Animal Dialogues, by Craig Childs. 

You can read more about pronghorn here. 

Again our hearty thanks to Carolyn Nored Miller of Fort Davis for this wonderful photo taken in Jeff Davis County!  With her permission, we'll most more photos by Carolyn from around Fort Davis.  In addition to taking photographs, she's also the publisher of San Angelo Family magazine.  Thanks again, Carolyn!

Pronghorn Herd

"They do not run like deer, who will gather speed with hesitation, glancing back, bounding, jumping and weaving between trees.  Not like elk, the ones that crash and gallop, heavy and solid, moving toward a forest into which they can vanish.  The pronghorn were gone with grace, sprinting into the open.  They moved like birds, swerving together as they aimed for a single point.  They are the fastest long-distance runners on the continent, some of the fastest land creatures in the world, clocked at nearly sixty miles per hour.  They have been known to clear thirty feed without touching the ground."  From The Animal Dialogues, by Craig Childs. 

You can read more about pronghorn here.  (include link:  http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/habitats/trans_pecos/big_game/pronghorn/)


We thank Carolyn Nored Miller of Fort Davis for this lovely photo taken in Jeff Davis County.  Carolyn publishes San Angelo Family magazine.  Thanks again, Carolyn!

Big Bend Ultra!

Here's your chance to run a trail race in Big Bend National Park!  The folks at Friends of Big Bend National Park announced Friday that spaces in their 50K and 25K race, as well as accommodations on the Martin Luther King weekend (the race is Sunday, January 15) are getting slim so act now and enter!  And there's still plenty of room in the 10K too!

This is a WONDERFUL race in beautiful Big Bend National Park, incredible scenery, with well-trained good spirited volunteers, and camaraderie among runners.  We ran the 10K last year and had SUCH A GREAT TIME!

A volunteer on mountain bike awaits the runners' starting gun to fire

To register for the 50K, 25K or 10K, do it online here. (And the race's facebook page is here.) Make your camping or hotel reservations separately, but do both soon!  This is a benefit event for the Friends of Big Bend National Park and the proceeds go to support park efforts...so far, over their 15 year history, they've donated $1.2 million to the park!  If you're not a runner, consider joining them as a member.  The Friends facebook page is here!)

Hiking the Window Trail in Big Bend National Park

One of our favorite hikes from the Chisos Basin area of Big Bend National Park, the 5.6 mile Window Trail.  Here's what the park's website says about the trail.

Window Trail
Medium, 5.6 miles round trip.Begin at Basin trailhead.

This trail leads down to the Window, offering views of the Window and desert beyond along the way. During wetter periods Oak Creek may be flowing, and must be crossed several times. Use caution on this trail: the top of the Window pour-off is slickrock with no railings, and the return hike is uphill.

Cycle-friendly Stone Village Tourist Camp

Stone Village Tourist Camp Pool

 

Open air camp rooms...nice bedding, fresh air!

One hotel property to join our cycle-friendly program recently is the historic 1935 Stone Village Tourist Camp in Fort Davis.  The property features 14 comfortable motel rooms, 6 charming camp rooms, heated pool and a landscaped courtyard and patio. All rooms in the motor court provide a sense of rustic comfort with hardwood floors, throw rugs, cedar ceilings.   There's plenty of room to park your bicycle right in your room for the night!  Next door is the lovely Stone Village Market (their facebook page is here!) for breakfast and lunch treats, and snacks for your day's adventure on the trail or road.  

Stone Village motel room, every one is unique!

To read more about cycling in the Texas Mountain Trail region, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/bike

Yank and Yak at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center

Sometimes when you visit a place, you fall in love with it and want to get involved.  So many folks are inspired by the high desert in our region, they want to spend part of their vacation helping out.  There are lots of opportunities to do this at Fort Davis' Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center.  

The Nature Center's Volunteer Coordinator, Susan Penney writes this, "Since this past year has given us a myriad of hardships including a severe drought, a hard freeze, a wild fire and flood - the Botanical Garden is in desperate need of pruning, weeding and general tidying up...our Yank and Yak group works in the Botanical Garden from 8:30 am to 10:30 am every Thursday morning.  As you might imagine, mornings are an absolutely wonderful  time to spend in the garden.  Our Yank and Yak Group is fun as well as productive.  If this sounds up your alley, please contact me at:  spenney@cdri.org."

One thing you may not know is Susan is a wonderful cook and baker, and though we're hesitant to promise anything, we know Susan often provides great treats for her Yank and Yak volunteers.  The morning we visited, she'd  made mini-southwestern quiches!

Volunteer opportunities are available at the Center anytime, so if you want to get involved, just contact Susan and see what might fit your schedule and interests.  Enjoy!

Ocotillo at Ojito Adentro Trailhead in Big Bend Ranch State Park

We're excited because we're spending a weekend in Big Bend Ranch State Park in a couple of weeks with the Tierra Grande Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists, and we'll take EVERY opportunity to experience this vast, wild, and incredibly beautiful land.  This is the national park's lesser known neighbor, but it offers more remote hiking, mountain biking, birding, and rock watching opportunities.

This trailhead is on the main road to the center of the park, Sauceda Ranch.  The unpaved road is rugged, and most cars can handle it fine.  If you have a delicate vehicle or a large RV you might want to enjoy the park's wonderful sights and trails along the paved River Road (Hwy 170) instead.  The road to Sauceda Ranch has a 25 mph speed limit, and that's really as fast as you want to go, more for the scenery than for the rugged road conditions.  The drive into Sauceda will take an hour...we recommend taking it in the morning light, which is when this photo was taken. 

Texas Mountain Trail Travel Advice at the Texas State Fair!

If you're in the Dallas area, we'll be at the Food and Fiber Pavilion at the State Fair of Texas through Thursday morning...actually, our travel guide will be available there through the end of the Fair!  Please stop by and say hello!  We're working with the nine other Texas Heritage Trail regions to share travel information for every corner of the state.  You'll find lots of great information to help you explore Texas!

And if you're looking for more information about Big Bend, hop on over to the travel booth at The Grand Place on the fairgrounds right by Big Tex (pictured above).  The folks there would be happy to visit with you, too!  Representatives from Alpine, Marathon, Terlingua/Study Butte and Big Bend will be there through the end of the fair!

From the Collection of the Clark Hotel Museum

This wonderful shot of local Van Horn residents, along with other artifacts of early life in Culberson County, is in the collection of the Clark Hotel Museum!  

The Museum is located in one of the oldest surviving buildings in Van Horn, which served as a hotel for many years. When Culberson County was first created, the Museum site served as the first courthouse while one was being constructed. It subsequently served as a hotel for more than four decades.  It features an old western style saloon with bar and mirrored back bar which have been in the same room since the early 1900’s. There are displays showing the history of mining, ranching, the railroad, and other early activities, as well as personal items which belonged to members of early pioneer families who first settled here.

A View of the Rio Grande from the River Road

One of the best scenic drives anywhere is the River Road, FM170, that connects Terlingua to Presidio.  When you're visiting Big Bend, it is a "must do!"