Wildlife Watch at Big Bend Ranch State Park
With cooler temps, crisp air and beautiful colors, autumn is a great time to visit Big Bend Ranch State Park. It’s also a great time to watch for wildlife. More than 48 mammal species and more than 300 bird species have been spotted in the park. While some species migrate to the park during the autumn season, others are there year-round. Here, Park Superintendent Nathanael Gold gives us some insider tips on what to watch for in the park, along with some safety tips in case you run into a slightly feistier species. Read More »
4 Must-See Fall Foliage Spots in Texas
Fall color takes the right kind of trees, meaning deciduous hardwoods. These types of trees practice a sort of winter hibernation, turning off production of chlorophylls, a green pigment in the leaves responsible for producing energy for the tree. Without that green, other leaf pigments become visible, including yellow xanthophyll and orange carotenoids, or the leaf turns shades of brown. Some of the best color comes from Texas red oaks and other oaks, flameleaf sumac, cedar elm, cottonwoods, walnut, sycamore, and, of course, maples—all trees found only in certain parts of the state, at least in any significant numbers. Read More »
Explore the Lone Star Hiking Trail in East Texas
The sun crested over the tops of the tall pines, taking the chill out of the winter air as my partner and I set out from our campsite at Double Lake Recreation Area in East Texas’ Sam Houston National Forest. Our goal was to explore an 8-mile segment of the Lone Star Hiking Trail. The needles of loblolly and shortleaf pine trees crunched softly beneath our feet, and we listened to woodpeckers tapping in the canopy above as we looped through the forest on a part of the trail known as the Magnolia section. Encountering some of the namesake magnolias, we stopped to marvel at the towering, untamed trees—so unlike their manicured city cousins that it took me a moment to recognize them. Read More »
Gearing up for Palestine’s El Camino 205 bicycle tour
We rise before daybreak to a chorus of birdsong and pump up our tires. ... Read More »
Texas’ Top Natural Wonders: Big Bend
“Vast is just too small a word. It is a world apart from the flat, sprawling suburbs and plains of North Texas, where I was raised. For me, Big Bend is a cruel mistress. Her raw beauty is intoxicating—and she’ll kill you if you’re not careful.” – Andrew R. Slaton Read More »
Explore the wonders of nature in the Hill Country River Region
We could hear the river before we could see it. My 11-year-old daughter, ... Read More »
Biking with Birds
Not a half-hour into my daylong adventure, in the middle of a prairie of sea lavender and leatherleaf, I stopped my bike in wonder. A few dozen yards from the pavement, dozens of sandhill cranes comingled with a flock of ivory snow geese, completely ignoring my entrance into this unspoiled coastal scene. Read More »
10 Epic Summer Travel Adventures
Get even more summertime adventure ideas. Hello summertime! We know it ... Read More »
Nine-river Day
There’s something about the summer solstice that inspires adventure. As ... Read More »
The Alamo Inn B&B Welcomes Birders Flocking to the Rio Grande Valley
On the historic Alamo town square—bordered by a shaded plaza with a bandstand—we found the round sign with a picture of a golden-fronted woodpecker that marks the Inn’s entrance. Innkeeper Keith Hackland greeted us warmly. White-haired and soft-spoken, Keith dressed the part of a birder in hiking boots, cargo pants, and a long-sleeved camp shirt. His accent from his native South Africa made me wonder how he ended up in the Valley—a story he’d share later. For now, he led us through the lobby to a literature rack nearly as high as the ceiling. “We offer our guests information as far as birding goes,” Keith said modestly as he assembled a voluminous sheath of brochures, maps, and checklists. Read More »
Big Thicket Drift
“It’s not too often that you just don’t have anything to do,” our guide ... Read More »
The Art (and Fun) of Stacking Rocks
Michael Grab wades into the waist-high water of the Llano River in Central ... Read More »
Favorite Big Bend Mountain-Bike Rides
When out in Big Bend for the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest, I talked with multiple local riders to gather information for my story about mountain biking in the Big Bend region. I threw in an extra question for some of them: What’s your favorite ride? Here are their responses. Read More »
Biking Big Bend
Chances are I won’t be hitchhiking out West any time soon to hire on with a ranch or join a sheriff’s posse. My boyhood fancies of a cowboy life on the open range, fueled by Lone Ranger reruns and imaginative bicycle escapades around the neighborhood, lost steam over time. But I’ve still got a Lone Ranger poster, and I’ve still got a mountain bike. And exploring the Texas countryside by bicycle still kindles my childlike excitement for adventure, freedom, and fun. Read More »
Return to the Guadalupes
I got to know the Guadalupe Mountains as a child in the 1970s, when my ... Read More »
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