Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The worst part about visiting a state park is leaving. Yet, if you make your last activity a shopping spree at the state park store before driving away, you’ll depart with more than memories.

Our park stores are mainly an extension of the park experience.

Tony Lucio oversees state park stores for Texas Parks and Wildlife. The park stores sell a wide variety of keepsakes and educational gifts that help to generate income for each location.

We want to provide our users, and our customers, a little something – whether it’s an educational product – or something that will help enhance the experience. And so, they can take home some sort of memory of the park to commemorate their experience visiting the state parks.

You’ll find a wide variety of mementos in the stores – many specific to the site you’re visiting — although some items rank high as visitor favorites.

Probably our number one and number two sellers in our park stores are our t-shirts and caps. Three and four would be our books. And then patches and magnets.

By the way, until December 31 when you purchase a state park pass or a gift certificate for a State Park Pass through our Austin reservation center, you will receive 2008 state park ornament free.

A state park pass makes a great gift for the state park enthusiast on your list.

Find a link to state park stores at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Looking for something fun to do with your family this holiday season that gets you out of the mall and into the wild? Texas State parks may have the answer.

On December 15th, Martin Dies, Jr. State Park is hosting a Holiday Celebration. At 2 pm, the park will be holding it’s annual Gingerbread House Design and Construction Marathon followed by a holiday sing-a-long with a live band concert.

If you’re in West Texas, the Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center is hosting Christmas on the Border on the 17th. The season will be celebrated in true border fashion with local community performers providing entertainment. Treats will be served and Santa Claus is scheduled to make an appearance.

Fort Richardson State Park and Historic Site and the Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway in North Texas is featuring a visit with Saint Nick on the 22nd. Visitors are invited to go back in time and see what Jolly Old Saint Nick was like in the 1870’s.

Battle Ship Texas State Historic Site, on the Gulf Coast presents Santa Swingin’ 40’s Christmas on the 22nd. Santa is on board for the occasions along with swing dancers, who will perform live.

You can find more information about these and other holiday events happening in state parks this holiday season at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Make time this month to relax with the Texas Parks and Wildlife television series that airs on PBS stations statewide. Writer/producer, Ron Kabele, let’s us know some of what’s in store.

Oh, we have a bunch of good stories this time around. There’s this guy named Sammy Ray. And he’s an expert on oysters. In fact, people call him the oyster man. And he’s a biologist, and he knows everything there is to know about oysters. And he’s been working with oysters all his life. And the thing about Sammy is he’s 88-years old.

The oyster can be used as a barometer for what’s going on in the bay. And if oysters are doing well, many other estuarine species are doing well.

Another story, it’s a really cool story, about urban wildlife.

Typically, when I tell people I’m urban wildlife biologist, they say things like ‘do you study rats and cockroaches?’

One of the things that we cover is a group of volunteers who work with this biologist, and they make artificial nests for burrowing owls.

This is an urban wildlife sanctuary park Rio Bosque Wetlands, and it’s a place where we can provide more habitat for the owls.

A story I worked on was about a park manager and his family. And the thing that intrigued me was, park managers they live on the park. So, I thought about how he balances being on call all the time and having two small kids.

That’s our show for today…for Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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