Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

When I come here in the morning I milk cows or run a cream separator, or do all the things the men used to do, or might have done.

That’s not the typical way most of us start our days, but then, Ricky Weinheimer’s job isn’t typical. He manages the Sauer Beckmann Living History Farm in Stonewall, where he performs the daily chores of a typical turn of the [20th] century farmer.

Back then, folks worked hard, slept good. They didn’t have everything to distract them in life. They stayed put on the farm. And, they still had time on Sundays to visit with neighbors. And that’s something you don’t find much anymore—everybody’s too busy in this modern day world.

When Weinheimer leaves the historic farm, he continues his agricultural avocation at his family’s farm.

Actually I have the best of both worlds: a modern life of tractors and equipment we have; plus, once I step across the fence here, the clock gets turned back, and we farm with horses, turning plows, a machine called a garden hoe and push plow…and blacksmithing and everything else that goes along with it.

Rural life in Texas changed slowly, and many people still recall those simpler times—something that Weinheimer says is often lost on the very young.

Adults will come into our barn and they’ll just take a deep breath and they’ll say…’ahhh…smells good’. The children behind them are holding their noses.

Reconnect with your farming past at the Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm…it’s never too late…learn how at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Time spent in the outdoors is never wasted. And Texas state parks afford all citizens nearby… cost effective outlets for all flavors of nature lust. Walt Dabney is Director of State Parks for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Texas is largely privately owned, so the parks – if you like to go out and do things in the out of doors – the parks are one of the primary locations you have to do those kinds of things. So whether you’re a horse user, or a fisherman, or a camper, or a hiker, or a birdwatcher, or a photographer – whatever it is – parks are where you have to go enjoy those things. The other thing about parks is that we have some very important places that represent Texas history, important places where events occurred or people lived, and that remind us of who we are and how we became what we are. So, a lot of interesting things from an educational or interest standpoint and certainly lots of places to just go have a great, fun experience in the out of doors.

And with a Texas State Parks Pass, you and your family will get unlimited entry to all state parks and historic sites for a full 12 months. Learn more about the pass by logging onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife Web site.

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

When photographer Richard Stone sets out to capture nature with his camera he never leaves home without… his mountain bike.

You get to see much, much, much more…as a wildlife and nature photographer I get more places on a bike that I do in a car.

And Texas state parks offer a wealth of scenic variety for biking…including mountains.

You can bike on a beach, you can bike in Big Bend Park, you can bike in the Hill Country State Natural Area with the horses, there’s many different places, East Texas through the Pineywoods, even Bastrop to Buesher State Parks…there is a tremendous diversity.

There is also a wide range of trail users, which means riders have to share the road.

We always yield the trail to hikers, because they have the right of way…and to equestrians…give the walkers the right of way. Control your bicycle, plan ahead, control your speed, don’t skid your tires, don’t leave any traces on the park.

Texas Parks and Wildlife offers an online brochure listing state parks with bike trails as well as their degree of difficulty. We have a link to it at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today…thank you for joining us…For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Visitors to Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway, in the Texas Panhandle, leave with a better sense of Texas’ rich natural and cultural heritage than when they arrived.

It’s one of the unique Texas treasures that everyone should see.

Deanna Oberheu (O-bur-hew), former park manager, said that in recent years, the park added an overlook for viewing the state’s official bison herd and a new visitor’s center. The installation of interpretive exhibits this past November further enhances the visitor experience.

Really, this is the most important part of the process—is getting the exhibits installed. It’ll showcase to people what they might see if they get out in the park, and teach them a little bit about the geology, the plants, the animals and the past people of Caprock Canyons.

The relationship between Native Americans and bison is a recurring theme in the exhibit.

The thread of Caprock Canyons is that people have been there and occupied the site at since, at least, ten thousand years ago. So, out exhibits focus a lot on how the native people used plants, and how they used the bison, and really just how they interacted with the landscape.

Find more information about Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

This tree is easily spotted by its fruit.

When you come up to a Bois D’Arc tree, you’ll see the fruit, which most people call horse apples. It’s a yellowish color and will get as large as grapefruit. I always kinda joke with people it can be kind of a hard-hat area.

Lee Ellis is Park Manager of Bonham State Park, where the Bois D’Arc can be seen in large numbers. Of course, the apples are not edible to humans, but Ellis says that people have found them useful for other purposes.

Some people actually still use bois d’arc apples to put around their homes. There’s food for thought out there that it’ll actually keep spiders and other insects from getting to your house.

But more valued than its apples, is the Bois D’Arc’s wood.

Especially before the invention of barbed wire, people would use it as hedges. The bark actually has spines on it, so it acted as a natural barrier. And the wood itself is very durable, very hard, and very elastic also, and it turned out to be very resistant to termites and other insects. So they would use it, the early settlers, for everything from fence posts, grave markers, foundations for houses. Matter of fact, at one time, the only way to get a loan for a house in Texas was if the foundation was made out of Bois D’Arc.

One gentle reminder: the wood, nor its fruit, can be taken from the parks. The animals need them too!

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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