If you don’t like the weather in West Texas, just wait a while. This part of the state is prone to dramatic climate conditions: bracing windstorms, sizzling droughts, and even the occasional blizzard. Such is life in the desert, where folks can experience all four seasons on any given day. This snow-dusted hill, set off by clusters of ripe sumac berries, sits 2 miles east of Marathon, a town of 410 people at the confluence of US 385 and 90. The snow pictured here fell in November 2007, a bit early for this part of the Trans-Pecos. Precipitation of any kind is rare in Brewster County—which shares a border with Mexico and is the largest county in Texas—but there are usually a few snowfalls each year between December and February. In the county’s southern reaches, closer to the Rio Grande, you’ll find the West Texas wonders of Big Bend National Park and its counterpart, Big Bend Ranch State Park. An Amtrak line runs through the area, offering unrivaled views of this region’s rugged beauty as riders soak in the central heat or air-conditioning—whatever the day demands.
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