Take a Dip at Soon-to-Reopen Balmorhea Pool in West Texas
I remember the first time, and the second time, and close to the 100th time I’ve visited Balmorhea State Park for a swim.
Roadside Oddity: The Return of Alley Oop Day and Fantasy Land in Iraan
Back in the spring of 1964, West Texans in towns like Iraan were in something of an existential crisis.
The ‘Art Spirit’ Perseveres at San Angelo’s Old Chicken Farm Art Center
The “art spirit” is alive and well at San Angelo’s Old Chicken Farm Art Center.
A Reader’s Maiden Voyage Into the World of Lonesome Dove
On January 1, I started doing what I’d been planning on doing for almost a year: reading the many books about Texas that I wasn’t exposed to until I was an adult.
3 New Things to Check Out This Month in Marfa
The small West Texas town of Marfa has blossomed into a mecca for art lovers since the late minimalist sculptor Donald Judd settled there in the 1970s and started organizing art installations and events.
Riding High in El Paso’s Lowrider Scene
Lowrider culture isn’t difficult to find around El Paso. It’s in the oldies the local radio station 92.3 The Fox plays for eight hours each Sunday.
How To Be a Boss Like Barbara Jordan
Big power can come in small packages. The brightly colored board book Boss Texas Women, by coauthors Kristen Gunn and Casey Chapman Ross, may be for children, but it packs a wallop of inspiration for all ages about the women who’ve changed Texas.
The Host of Spring Baking Championship Reveals His Five Favorite Texas Bakeries
Texas Forever … and Ever … and Ever
Buzz Bissinger’s book Friday Night Lights still sells about 30,000 copies a year, making it arguably as popular now as it was when first published.
Elizabeth Taylor Lived at This El Paso Hotel
Prada Marfa Celebrates 15 Years of High Fashion in the West Texas Desert
There’s a certain subset of people who, when I tell them I live in Marfa, get a hazy look in their eyes.
Making Music with Birds in Marfa
Some of the world’s best musicians are small and feathered, and many regularly perform in Texas.
My Favorite Texas Trip: Two Instrumental Guitarists Tour Through Far West Texas
Two winters ago, my friend Cameron Knowler and I were touring across Texas, playing concerts of instrumental music referencing jazz, country, and avant-garde guitarists to anyone who’d listen.
When the Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys Came to El Paso
In 1993, the El Paso Red Cross was in desperate need of money. The organization hatched a plan to host an event so large that it could sell out the Sun Bowl and give the proceeds to local charities.
West Texas Painter Alice Leese Talks About Her New Exhibit at the Ellen Noël Art Museum in Odessa
In Winkler County on the Texas-New Mexico border, Alice Leese supports her art habit as a painter with her day job as a cattle rancher.
Balmorhea State Park, Home of a Cherished West Texas Spring Pool, is Set to Grow Sevenfold in Size
Balmorhea State Park, where a spring-fed swimming pool sparkles against a prickly desert backdrop, is set to expand to nearly seven times its current size.
Small-Town Dispatches: Two Brownwood Restaurants—One Classic and One New—Overwhelmed by Support
Two Brownwood restaurants—one the city’s oldest and one of its newest—have received overwhelming customer support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two establishments, Underwood’s Cafeteria and Teddy’s Brewhaus, each face unique challenges at the moment, but have risen to them to provide care and comfort for their community of nearly 20,000 located about 70 miles southeast of Abilene.
Small-Town Dispatches: Marfa Gives Back to Service Workers Affected by COVID-19
The touristy West Texas town of Marfa is reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic with a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for service workers whose finances are affected.
Small-Town Dispatches: Sleepy Marathon Quieter Than Ever During COVID-19
Although it’s a spring morning in Marathon, gateway to the Big Bend, it looks more like a hot midsummer’s afternoon—vacant sidewalks, shuttered shops, and empty streets.
Big Bend National Park in West Texas Closes in Response to COVID-19 Concerns
Big Bend National Park has announced that it is closing to visitors in response to growing concern that travelers seeking escape from COVID-19 could introduce the virus in this remote corner of far West Texas.
The Daytripper Strikes Black Gold in Midland
Balmorhea State Park to Remain Closed Until Summer
The 3 Best Places to See Poppies in Texas
Springtime calls for road trips to see Texas’ native wildflowers—bluebonnets, firewheels, and pink evening primroses, just to name a few. But other flowers bloom this time of year, too, and they’re celebrated in festive fashion in El Paso, Castroville, and Georgetown.
In Alpine, Cowboy Poetry Hangs on for Another Ride
Fans of cowboy poetry know the arrival of February means it’s time to head to head to Alpine for one of the nation’s most authentic cowboy poetry gatherings.
Let It Flow: The Return of Comanche Springs
The return of Comanche Springs in Fort Stockton, the “Spring City of Texas,” is prompting conservationists to incentivize landowners to curb their irrigation practices in hopes of restoring the springs to a year-round flow.
In Odessa, the Transformation of Aging Shopping Mall Signage into Striking Public Art
A piece of Odessa history is shining with new life as the Odessa Spire. A project of the nonprofit Odessa Arts, the project transformed the old Cloth World sign into a striking lighted sculpture at the corner of 10th Street and Maple.
UTEP Professor Takes Readers to the Top of Texas in Guadalupe Mountains History Book
More than 10,000 years ago, Native Americans made camp along the towering flanks of the Guadalupe Mountains, a range that harbors Texas’ highest peak at nearly 9,000 feet.
Musician Ryan Bingham’s Link to Railroad Blues, Under the ‘Big Country Sky’ in Alpine
A theme of several of singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham’s songs is that you can’t truly escape your past.
Around the Horn: The Craftsmanship and Community of Texas Saddle Shops
The Daytripper’s Top 5 in Odessa
Artist “Cimi” Alvarado Teaches History Through the Murals of El Segundo Barrio
Photo: The Old Stardust Hotel in Marfa
Photographer John Dyer Drove 5,500 Miles to Document Texas’ Outer Limits
In the spring of 2019, John Dyer set out to see what the edge looked like close up. Dyer is a San Antonio-based commercial photographer who has authored photography books on vaqueros and conjunto music, written two novels, directed several short films, and shot numerous magazine covers including Selena for the May 1995 issue of Texas Monthly. But he’d never taken on a project quite like this.
The Daytripper’s Top 5 in the Davis Mountains
When it’s time to ditch the phone, the Netflix queue, and civilization in general, then it’s time to head west to the Davis Mountains. One of Texas’ three sky islands, this majestic range rises from the desert floor, creating a postcard-worthy panorama in every direction.
Find Rock Art, Relaxation, and Rare Wildflowers at Twistflower Ranch
O ften the most exceptional things are found by accident.
That’s what happened at Twistflower Ranch, 5,800 acres of West Texas mesas and canyons, named for the rare bracted twistflower that bathes the arid landscape with delicate purple blossoms in the spring.
Qualify for Boston at This Marathon in Marathon
At fun runs across the country, it’s not uncommon to see participants goofily dressed in animal costumes for effect, but at Marathon 2 Marathon, a race occurring each October in West Texas, it’s the spectators who assume the role of the beast. In this case, though, the antelopes, rattlesnakes, javelinas, roadrunners, coyotes, and jackrabbits are real.
Exotic wildlife, a big sky, and an expanse of high-desert landscape are integral components of M2M, the Boston Marathon-qualifying run held in Marathon, named after the city in Greece that inspired the modern-day race. Last year’s event, the 16th annual, more than tripled the size of the town, considered an entry point for Big Bend National Park. The community of around 420 souls welcomed nearly 540 registrants, along with family and friends. Part Trans-Pecos Mardi Gras, part fundraiser and community-builder, M2M steers runners through the beautiful, windswept prairie along US 385 and into downtown Marathon.
“It is the biggest event that Marathon has, and everyone is touched in some way by M2M,” says Marci Roberts, the race director and a Marathon resident. “Since 2011, the race has given $60,000 to local organizations, including the school, the volunteer fire department, the library, and the clinic. That may not sound like much for a big city, but for us it is huge.”
Fall Really Does Happen in Texas – You Just Have to Know Where to Look
Mother Nature’s autumnal coloration of leaves before she applies her cruel winter grip is a visual gift typically associated with areas of the country that actually experience four distinct seasons. In Texas, where for the most part it’s oppressively hot and dry in September and October, green can abruptly give way to brown, without displaying even a hint of the kaleidoscope of oranges, reds, and yellows typical of a postcard New England fall. There are hidden pockets of the state, however, where the trees, beneficiaries of just the right weather conditions, offer one final, dramatic blush. Follow our photographers to these special places for some of the best foliage in the state—from the Nolan River in North Texas and Garner State Park in the Hill Country, to the Canadian River in the Panhandle and Guadalupe Mountains
National Park in West Texas.
Slither Into the Outback Oasis Motel for a Lesson in the Snakes of West Texas
The hills outside of Sanderson teem with snakes: long-nosed snakes with rusty stripes; rock rattlers and diamondbacks; tiny, cat-eyed nightsnakes; and coachwhips like swift red racers. Walk the right roadside bluff at the right time, and you might see the most sought-after prize of all: the gray-banded kingsnake. The West Texas town is a treasure trove of desert reptiles, and the Outback Oasis Motel holds many of its finest jewels.
El Paso Has a Fascinating Connection With a Small Himalayan Country
In 1914, National Geographic published an article about the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, a remote Buddhist country tucked between India and China. El Paso resident Kathleen Worrell, who was married to the dean of the college that became the University of Texas at El Paso, was intrigued by the photographs of Bhutanese fortresses and monasteries. She also noted a resemblance between the rugged Himalayas and the Franklin Mountains that soar over El Paso. Three years later, as the college’s new campus was being built in the Franklin foothills, Worrell saw an opportunity. She asked her husband: Why not construct those buildings in the Bhutanese style?
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Play Lotería and Eat Raspas at a Traditional Kermesse
A kermesse or kermes is a festival or bazaar hosted by a Catholic church to raise funds from summer through late fall.
Transformed Shipping Containers are the Latest Lodging Trend
A few nights stay inside one of these Texas shipping containers could inspire your participation in the tiny homes movement, if not just allow for a great weekend getaway.
Celebrate Fourth of July with These Tasty Recipes
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Agave Festival Marfa Dives Into the Plant’s Historical and Cultural Significances
Now in its third year, the mostly free event features panel discussions, tequila tastings, art exhibits, live music, and reservation-only pairing dinners—all celebrating the plant that has contributed so much to the region’s culture.
In San Angelo, A Celebration Remembers the Mysterious ‘Lady in Blue,’ Who Evangelized to Jumanos
The young Franciscan nun in the cobalt-colored cloak was, quite literally, a vision in blue to the Jumano Indians of the Desert Southwest. Though she never left her convent 5,000 miles away in Spain, Sor Maria de Jesus de Agreda mysteriously appeared before the indigenous people of what is now the San Angelo area, delivering an evangelistic message. They called her the “Lady in Blue.”
Terlingua Hosts the World’s First Sotol Festival
Nearly 1,000 attendees learned about the native spirit with tastings and more
Tracking Elusive Mountain Lions in the Mountains of West Texas
The cat has been gone for hours by the time Bert Geary comes upon the footprint. He sees it as our utility-terrain vehicle bounces over a rough ridgeline trail, the wind gusting over golden grass, heavy and cool with incoming August rain. The tracks are perhaps 5 inches across, clear and distinct. “It’s too big to be a bobcat,” Geary says, swinging out of the vehicle to examine it. “I think that’s a mountain lion. Young one, too. Maybe 60 pounds.”
