Window Hike at Big Bend National Park

This is one of our favorite hikes in the area...it has a big payoff at the turnaround point...this dramatic view from the Window! 

From Big Bend National Park's website:

Window Trail
Difficulty: Moderate; Distance:, 5.6 miles round trip
Begin at the Chisos Basin Trailhead
This trail descends through Oak Creek Canyon to the Window pour-off which frames panoramic desert vistas. 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.

For information about the national park, state park and the communities around Big Bend, take a look at www.visitbigbend.com !

Watching cacti bloom at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center

Echinocactus parryi at 10 am this Monday

We are having fun this spring watching what happens in the Cactus Greenhouse at Fort Davis' Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center.  On Monday, we watched a Echinocactus parryi bloom!

Echinocactus parryi at noon

View from above at noon

From the collection of Van Horn's Clark Hotel Museum

Click on the photo for a closer view!
Vida McAdoo and Alma Gibson, Photograph, 1913; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14171/ : accessed May 12, 2014), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn, Texas

From the collection of Van Horn's Clark Hotel Museum, an image from 1913!

Van Horn's Frontier Days Okey Dokey Fun Run-5K and 10K!

The 5K race course will highlight the new sidewalks that the Texas Department of Transportation installed along Highway 54 at the request of Mayor Lucas and the Town of Van Horn; part of a campaign to make our streets cleaner, prettier, and safer for community members, tourists, and travelers.

The 10K race will also give you a taste of off-road running in the Chihuahuan desert with breathtaking views of our local red rocks (pre-cambrian sandstone) and the Beach Mountains.

Proceeds from the event will fund local scholarships given to graduating seniors who are continuing their education at a College, University, or trade school.

Longtime Van Horn Mayor, Okey Lucas.  The races are run in his memory.

 More information about the 5K and 10K are on our Texas Mountain Trail regional calendar, here.

Race Check-in, packet pick-up, and race day registration opens at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, 2014 at the El Capitan Hotel.

Hotel El Capitan, the starting point for the race

Dog Hike in Davis Mountains State Park

Join the Davis Mountains State Park as they host the Grand Companions Humane Society of Fort Davis and a few dogs to hike with visitors every Thursday at 9am! This hike is priceless for the dogs to get out and socialize, and allows visitors to get their puppy fix! Please check in at the front office for trail head information. Entrance fees apply. 

All the hikes, through September, are on our Texas Mountain Trail regional events calendar here.

For more information on the hikes, click HERE.

Join the Davis Mountains State Park as we host the Grand Companions Humane Society of Fort Davis and a few dogs to hike with visitors every Thursday at 9am! This hike is priceless for the dogs to get out and socialize, and allows visitors to get their puppy fix! Please check in at the front office for trailhead information. Entrance fees apply.

- See more at: http://texasmountaintrail.com/events/fort-davis-grand-companions-dog-walk-davis-mountains-state-park#sthash.hwzBZ6sx.dpuf

Join the Davis Mountains State Park as we host the Grand Companions Humane Society of Fort Davis and a few dogs to hike with visitors every Thursday at 9am! This hike is priceless for the dogs to get out and socialize, and allows visitors to get their puppy fix! Please check in at the front office for trailhead information. Entrance fees apply.

- See more at: http://texasmountaintrail.com/events/fort-davis-grand-companions-dog-walk-davis-mountains-state-park#sthash.hwzBZ6sx.dpuf