Sunday, April 20, 2008
Girlfriend Getaway to Big Bend National Park
There's a new travel itinerary up at the Texas Mountain Trail website, click here to read the details!
Hiking, biking, camping and a stay at the Gage Hotel in Marathon...perfect for a girlfriend getaway!
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Congratulations Fort Davis!
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Fort Davis as one of this year's Dozen Distinctive Destinations! Each year since 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has selected 12 vacation destinations across the United States that offer an authentic visitor experience by combining dynamic downtowns, cultural diversity, attractive architecture, cultural landscapes and a strong commitment to historic preservation and revitalization.
For more information on Fort Davis including links to attractions and travel information, click here.
Here's what the National Trust says about Fort Davis.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Once again my favorite place, but for a new reason
I have been a fan of Hueco Tanks State Historic Site in El Paso County every since my first visit. I've been on hiking tours and rock art hikes with volunteers and staff members, and hope someday to go bouldering, since the park is a world-class bouldering venue and it just looks like so much fun!Over the Christmas holiday I took friends on an organized rock art hike, and the volunteer guide pointed out something new....ruts in the rock believed to be left from travelers on the Butterfield Stage Mail route.
This year will be the Sesquicentennial (150 years!) of the Butterfield Stages, which brought the first transcontinental mail delivery to this country. You can read more about the Butterfield sites and events across the state here!
--Beth Nobles, Texas Mountain Trail Regional Coordinator
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Be there yourself!
Video comes to the Texas Mountain Trail! We've received permission to post some excellent YouTube videos of vistor's adventures to Far West Texas.
Check out the top of the Lost Mine Trail in Big Bend National Park, link available on our hiking page, www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike
And there's a neat video of bouldering at Hueco Tanks State Historic Site, link on our women's adventure page, www.texasmountaintrail.com/adventurewoman (this is a new page and we'll be adding new content in the next few months...keep checking back!)
Check out the top of the Lost Mine Trail in Big Bend National Park, link available on our hiking page, www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike
And there's a neat video of bouldering at Hueco Tanks State Historic Site, link on our women's adventure page, www.texasmountaintrail.com/adventurewoman (this is a new page and we'll be adding new content in the next few months...keep checking back!)
Monday, September 10, 2007
Alpine's Favorite New Place
Clearly, Alpine has a new favorite place, the Museum of the Big Bend. An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people turned out recently for the opening of the new permanent exhibit--and this in a town of 6,000 residents!
After many years of work, the museum moved to its original location on campus of Sul Ross State University, near the current student center. The new exhibit covers the history and natural history, and the culture of the Big Bend region, from Van Horn on the western and northern boundaries of the region; to Marathon on the east; and Big Bend National Park and Mexico to the south.
Archaeology, geology, geography, religion, ranching, military history, the stagecoach and railroad, and movies in the region are some of the topics covered. As you enter the museum, visitors need to look UP to see the museum's mascot, MOBBY, a flying reptile!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
The Results are IN--Our Top TEN!
Awhile back, we solicited folks to nominate their favorite "rest stops" in the Texas Mountain Trail region. Each stop had to be interesting, and encourage travelers to get out of their cars for a few minutes, but not require a long stay. We're happy to say there were great places nominated, and they're all over the region: Marathon, Fort Davis, Marfa, Shafter, Van Horn, and El Paso! You can read all about them here.
If we missed your favorite 15-Minute Rest Stop, please nominate yours by emailing us at info@texasmountaintrail.com For your trouble, we'll send you a Texas Heritage Trails travel diary!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Fort Davis
Not many places in the Texas Mountain Trail region can put one as closely in touch with the past as the old fort at Fort Davis, now a National Historic Site. The fort is spectacularly located in the mouth of a small canyon, and it is the best-preserved 19th-century military post in the Southwest. The rows of buildings that are there now were built in the 1870s and 80s to house the soldiers – many of them African-American cavalry troopers – who protected travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso road. My wife and I like to walk to the fort from our house in town early in the morning and sit on the porch of the hospital, which gives us a view of the officers’ quarters, the parade ground, and the barracks with virtually no 21st-century intrusions. You can almost hear the jingle of harness and the shouted orders that would have echoed off the surrounding cliffs as the soldiers assembled for morning parade a hundred and twenty years ago.
--Lonn Taylor, Fort Davis
To learn more about the Fort Davis National Historic Site, click here.
Would you like to write an entry for "My Favorite Place" about the Texas Mountain Trail region? Write us at info@texasmountaintrail.org for more information!
