Passport to Texas

Old time Christmas at Texas Historic Sites

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Spend time with family and friends at a Texas state park or historic site this holiday season.

06—Christmas in parks is huge. We’ve got a ton of events and they cross all sorts of activity levels.

Thomas Wilhelm, with state parks, says there are 60 different Christmas themed events this year.

19—We’ve got decorating your campsite and driving through the park and seeing the decorated campgrounds. We’ve got historical events happening in our historic homes and farms, where they’re decorated for the time period. We’ve got hiking with Santa Claus… reading of traditional Christmas stories. All sorts of activities.

Get a head start on the holidays with Cookie Decorating and German Traditions Nov. 29 at LBJ State Park. December 6, enjoy an exhilarating hike to the summit of Enchanted Rock, where hikers will hear an inspired reading of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Yet, one of the most beautiful events is at Goliad State Park.

19—Throughout the month of December, you’ll see the park bathed in light for Christmas. But, December 6 they have their Christmas concert in the chapel. [It’s a] mixture of sacred and secular music. It’s very beautiful. The Beeville Community Choir comes in and does a great presentation that really moves you into that spirit of the holidays.

Find holiday events and download a seasonal events brochure at texasstateparks.org/holidays.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Hiking in Franklin Mountains

Holidays: Hike Off Thanksgiving Calories in Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The average American gains up to 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then spends the New Year trying to lose them. If only there was a way to negate those extra calories…

08—State parks offer a lot of opportunities for people to get out and burn off some of those calories from the extra piece of pumpkin pie.

Why didn’t I think of that? I was probably too distracted thinking about pie. Thomas Wilhelm is with state parks.

05—We’ve got some great Thanksgiving themed events across the state happening in the parks.

Including a few hikes to rev up your metabolism so you can enjoy a guilt-free holiday meal…and leftovers.

25—Enchanted Rock has a turkey trot that happens on Thanksgiving Day. A run with a park ranger on the loop trail – early Thanksgiving morning — it starts at 9 o’clock. There’s an excellent opportunity in El Paso at Franklin Mountains SP. There’s what they’re calling their trilogy hike; so there are three hikes that happen on Thanksgiving day. Each starting at different times and different levels –from very simple family friendly hikes to more advanced hikes.

Those are just two of many opportunities. Find others at texasstateparks.org/holidays.

08—I think some people may be tired of the annual parades or how they spent their Thanksgiving Day, so I think this is a great opportunity to do something different.

Now who wants pie? That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Donated Venison via Hunters for the Hungry program, Image courtesy of http://www.newschannel10.com/

UPDATE: Since producing this program, The Texas Association of Community Action Agencies, Inc., entered into an agreement with the Texas Food Bank Network, now Feeding Texas, to take over the Texas Hunters for the Hungry program. You can find more information about making a donation or becoming a processor at the Hunters for the Hungry website: http://hfth.tfbn.org/

Hunt/Food/Charity: Hunters for the Hungry Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Venison is quality protein; and hunters help get it onto the tables of deserving families when they donate deer to Hunters for the Hungry.

09—Once it’s [the deer] donated, the meat is used by food pantries, food banks, and other food assistance providers, which serve their local communities.

Anitra Hendricks oversees the program. Hunters may donate their legally tagged, field-dressed deer by bringing it to participating meat processors. Find a list of processors on the Hunters for the Hungry website.

24—Once they locate a processor, then basically it’s just a matter of harvesting the deer, making sure that they get it cleaned out. The processor will handle everything else. There is a reduced processing fee for those who donate to the program. They pay the fee, they do receive a receipt for a possible tax deduction. The meat processor will grind the meat, package it, and then from there it goes to the food assistance provider.

The Panhandle, far west Texas and the Rio Grande Valley have the fewest donations due to low processor participation. Without nearby participating processors, hunters don’t have an easy way to donate. Anitra is always on the lookout for more processors.

08— The have to be willing to keep some minimal book-keeping as far as tracking donations and reporting that to us at the end of the season.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish restoration program supports our series and works to increase fishing, hunting and the shooting sports in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Bass Angling at Choke Canyon

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Hunting and fishing are deeply rooted traditions for Gabe Kulhanek of El Campo.

04—It’s just as stress relief to go hunting and fishing and get away from everything.

The outdoors has been a lifelong pursuit for him, and something he shared early on with his son.

11—He started hunting when he was probably four and a half years old. He shot his first deer at five years old with his own rifle. I never shot anything for him. He’s always killed his own deer whenever he hunted.

This past June Texas Parks and Wildlife drew Gabe’s name as the winner of a Lifetime Super Combo License, giving him the right to hunt and fish in Texas without ever having to buy another state license or state stamps. Instead of keeping, it, he transferred it to his son – now 17 – as his legacy.

05—It would benefit him more than anything, and it’s something he can have and cherish the rest of his life.

Entries for the Lifetime License Drawing are five dollars each and available online or at retailers. Enter as many times as you like; fees go toward conservation in Texas. The next drawing is December 30, 2014.

04—It’s a good opportunity. I never dreamed I would win it – it was the first time I entered.

Is luck on your side? Find more information on the Lifetime License Drawing on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Enter to win a Lifetime License

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This is Passport to Texas

Tim Brockway is an avid fisherman.

02—I fish about four days a week.

This competitive bass angler from Kaufman says he’d always buy an annual super combo license for hunting and fishing.

02—Because I think the money goes to a good cause.

The cause: conservation and habitat management in Texas. In 2010, Tim – a retired firefighter – spent five dollars online to enter Texas Parks and Wildlife’s twice-a-year Lifetime License drawing…and won.

25—I told the guys up at the fire station: Hey, I bought a five dollar chance to win a lifetime license. And I get a call a few months later – and I would have bet anything one of the guys got their wives to call and mess with me – and I actually didn’t believe them. I got off the phone and I called our local game warden that I know real well. He said: ‘Give me the phone number they called you from and the person’s name and I’ll check on it.’ Whenever I gave him the phone number and name, he said: ‘Congratulations; I know the person and I know the number.’

The win allows Tim to hunt and fish in Texas without buying another state license. Fees from every five dollar entry go toward conservation in Texas, which improves hunting, fishing and the outdoors for all.

09—I know your entries went up by about 30 right after I won mine from people at the fire station. I said: Come on guys; it’s five bucks. You spend that much on a hamburger. It’s well worth the chance.

The next drawing is December 30, 2014. Entries are online or at license retailers.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.