Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas Outdoor Stories from Texas Parks and Wildlife

To Mindy Waters, all rocks are hidden gems, just waiting to be found and added to her collection at home in Cedar Creek.

Oh we have jaspers, agate, petrified wood. Rocks lining our garden and rocks lining our driveway. They’re everywhere in our house! You open a drawer and there’s a rock, you know.

She and her husband are confessed “rock hounds” and enjoy scouring the Texas countryside in a game of rock hide and seek.

We just love rocks, we hunt rocks, we go to different places. And once you look at some rocks, you get hooked. If it’s in your blood and you want to hunt rocks, that will do it.

And it certainly is in their blood—nipping on the heels of their rock hunt are their up and coming collector grandchildren, or “pebble puppies.”

McKinney Roughs has a lot of good places to look for rocks; just lying on the ground. You find a lot of jaspers, flint. I remember my grandson and I, when he was young, he’d pick up a yellow rock and he’d say, “what’s this?” I’d say, “that’s flint.” Then he’d pick up a red rock and say, “What’s this?” and I’d say, “Well hun’ that’s flint also.” Then he’d pick up a black rock, he’d say, “Don’t tell me it’s flint, right?” I’d go, “yes.” We have a lot of flint here. It’s amazing! So even though it’s flint it just comes in many, many colors. Once you start really looking at what you walk on, it’s amazing, it really is.

Share your outdoor passion at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Thanksgiving, a “uniquely” American observance is, in fact, a variation on an Old English harvest tradition, which makes sense as the colonists came from Britain.

What we know as Thanksgiving—centuries ago—was actually called Lammas. And that means Loaf Mass in Old English.

Cynthia Brandimarte is program director for Texas historic sites. On Lammas, farmers brought loaves of bread to mass as a token of thanksgiving.

It’s when breads were made from the season’s first grain crop. They were baked, blessed and broken. And it was celebrated on August first or thereabouts. Over some time, especially the 17th and 18th Century, Americans brought over the tradition of observing Thanksgiving at the end of the harvest, which would be closer to our late November date.

When New Englanders, the first to observe the day, moved west, they brought their traditions with them. However, Thanksgiving did not become a nationally recognized celebration until the mid 19th Century.

Sarah Josepha Hale, Editor of Goudy’s Ladies Book, took it upon herself to make it a widespread celebration; and that was in the 1840s.

At Thanksgiving, remember to give a nod of gratitude for nature’s bounty, and for the people who made this long weekend of food and football possible.

That’s our show for today… from all of us at Passport to Texas…we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

At first glance, South Texas’ arid brush land seems inhospitable to man and beast.

[hawk screech] The biggest challenge, of course, is the lack of rainfall. We have over forty tanks on the place, so whenever it rains, our goal is to have every drop stay on the place.

Capturing rainfall through vegetation and soils management along with construction of tanks, diversion levees, and pipelines… keeps water on the 43-hundred acre High Lonesome Ranch, in McMullen County, owned and operated by Charles and Nancy Hundley. The Hundley’s wildlife program emphasizes management for trophy white-tailed deer, quail and dove. But that’s not all… the property also sustains a western village for hunters and eco-tourism.

This little western village is actually guest rooms and accommodations for our hunters. It’s very expensive running a ranch. And, uh, so, so, this is another attraction for guests other than hunters. The bird watchers want to come, and this brings in new revenue…brings in new interest, actually.

The High Lonesome Ranch is the regional winner of the Lone Star Land Steward Award for the south Texas eco-region. Learn about the awards program and land management when you visit passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife restoration Program… providing funding for the Private Lands and Public Hunting Program.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

[wind] People from the city might think, this is God-forsaken country, and how could anything live off of this. But in reality, it’s a smorgasbord for the deer and the wildlife. [truck pulling away]

The High Lonesome Ranch covers 43-hundred acres of arid South Texas brush land in McMullen County. Charles and Nancy Hundley own and operate the ranch.

We’re in the middle of a big transformation that’s taking place in Texas. I was born and raised on a dairy farm, and I watched the family farm die as we know it. [cow moos] The beef industry is pretty much in the same position, and money is what drives it. There’s a lot more [money] in wildlife than there is in cattle.

The Hundleys have spent over ten years transforming their ranch from a parched patch of land into a premier hunting destination.

Any time you develop a herd that’s better: more deer, bigger deer, bigger horns… You take care of the doves and the ducks…it’s always better for wildlife if they come and thrive here than it was when they couldn’t.

The High Lonesome ranch is the regional winner of the Lone Star Land Steward Award for the south Texas eco-region.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife restoration Program… providing funding for the Private Lands and Public Hunting Program.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Horse rides and cattle trails…a dime a dozen in Texas…but saddling up camels?

In 1857, there was one very glamorous expedition, so to speak, that left San Antonio and took 24 of the US Army camels and made it all the way to Los Angeles.

Doug Baum became fascinated with the historic US Camel Corps and established a unit of his own: the Texas Camel Corps. It’s up for hire—not to the military—but to folks interested in trekking alongside camels on an educational and breathtaking camel-assisted excursion through Monahans Sandhills State Park.

It fits exactly what everyone’s image, the romantic ideal is, of a desert. What we do out there guiding camel treks is overnight. We actually start in a public area and head way out into the dunes. There’s some coyotes up there, feral hog, deer. The wildlife is beautiful, but we go into areas where most folks simply don’t go. And you can thank the camels for that: they’re carrying all the supplies for us.

True, it’s a literal walk in the park, but don’t expect a walk in the park.

Just moving through the terrain, working with the camels. I teach these folks how to the hobble camels, how to lead the camels, how to kneel them down so they can load and unload gear. This may push some folks limits, and I think that’s fabulous.

Trek to our website for more on camel tours at passporttotexas.org.

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

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