Passport to Texas

Palo Duro Canyon, where Lindsay Stroup is a Park Host.

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Lindsay Stroup started her college career intent on becoming a nurse. She spent two years completing her prerequisite classes.

And then right before I applied to nursing school I was just like “Nah.”

Instead she decided to study wildlife biology at West Texas A&M University in Canyon. She’d need a place to live, and found the rents in Canyon a bit out of her reach.

I researched the volunteer opportunities, and I came across being a park host. And in the description it said you can keep your camper up there; you get a camp spot while you’re working. And I thought: Hmmm. That’s interesting.

The distance between the park and school was about 10 minutes, so Lindsey applied for and was accepted into the Park Host program at Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

Everybody thought I was crazy. ’What do you mean you’re going to live in a camper?’ I was real fortunate that my grandparents let me use their camper. Since it’s just me and my dog and my snake, it’s really all the space we need. It’s a great way to go through college.

Park superintendent, Shannon Blalock, is glad to have Lindsay as a volunteer.

Lindsay is not jaded by some of the boundaries of life that some people know because of their experiences. She knows no bounds at this point. So it’s been wonderful for my staff.

See Lindsay ’s path from Campus to Camper the week of February 19th on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS. Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

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

Caprock Canyons State Park– a great place for nature photography.

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Last time my colleague Aaron Friar and I got together to talk about holiday events in state parks for the radio show, I also asked him if he had any resolutions for the New Year that include the outdoors.

Well, one thing that I would really like to work on is outdoor photography. I love taking pictures—I do it a lot now—but I want to do it more and hone my skills. Do a lot more dark sky photography. I think that’s really neat. I’ve seen that a lot lately, and that just really gets me excited. I have a camera; I really want to get involved in trying to get some of those really special shots. All it takes is getting out and doing it. Where’s a park you’d like to do some of that? Oh, that’s a great, great question. I’m actually in love with Caprock Canyons—and it’s so photogenic out there with the mountains and the colors and the wildlife. The sunsets out there are absolutely beautiful. So, that’s one site that I think is really, really good for that. But, then again, in the spring in the Hill Country…I mean, you can’t beat the wildflowers. I mean, it’s just so hard to say. That’s a really tough question. But I really am enjoying Caprock, and there’s a lot of great chance to get some good photography out there.

What do you want to do new or better in the outdoors this year? Let us know at passporttotexas.org.

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.

Enjoying the amenities at Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

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Palo Duro Canyon State Park, one of the crown jewels in the Texas State Park system, just got a little polish.

If you haven’t been to Palo Duro in a while, consider getting out there to see what’s new. Because—like all Texas state parks—it’s getting better all the time.

Last fall, Texas Parks and Wildlife unveiled comfort and safety improvements at the park, made possible through a joint effort with the Texas Department of Transportation.

The more than 27-thousand acre park got a new camping loop with some sweet amenities, as well as a series of bridges constructed to provide safe passage across flash-flooding hazards on some of the park’s roadways.

The new Juniper camp loop features 20 rebuilt campsites, a group camp area, an indoor group hall and comfort stations with bathrooms and showers.

In addition, six bridges were constructed over water crossings on Palo Duro Canyon’s main roadway to enhance park visitor safety by providing access to higher ground areas of the park during flash flooding events.

Palo Duro Canyon State park offers camping, hiking, biking, wildlife viewing, and equestrian trails. And for lovers of musical theater, there’s the summer production of the musical Texas!

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.

Butchering and curing workshop at Barrington Living History Farm.

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They’re going whole hog at Barrington Living History Farm January 14 & 15. That’s when they’ll present a hog butchering and curing program to the public.

Butchering is just one part of many things that we do seasonally throughout the year.

Barb King is a park interpreter at the farm, located at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. The program takes place outdoors in January just as would have happened in 1850s rural Texas.

So, all the meat that will be produced, and the sausage and the fat that we will save for soap or cooking all needs to be at a constant temperature, which is cold—like your fridge. So that we can start the curing process without worrying about it spoiling.

Staff will dispatch a heritage breed hog before visitors arrive. Barb says the rest of the process is for public view, which is mostly a demonstration…

People are able to do a tiny bit if they choose—like helping us scrape the hogs. But cutting up the carcass into specific portions of meat is only done by staff. A lot of people come right at 10, and we normally have a big group waiting. And then on Sunday, we focus on more of the preservation aspect.

Visitors who return Sunday will observe how staff cures the meat for storage. The butchering and curing program at Barrington Living History Farm is January 14 & 15, from 10am – 4pm both days. Admission fees apply. Find complete details at texasstateparks.org.

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

Palo Duro Canyon First Day Hike, Upper Comanche Trail.

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As another New Year draws near, we make resolutions to do better and to be better. Increasing our physical activity rates high for most of us. Texas State Parks are stepping up to help you reach your goals with First Day Hikes and other outdoor fun beginning Day One.

That’s right. New year new goals.

That’s Aaron Friar with Texas State Parks.

We have a lot of cool first day hikes, where folks can come out on New year’s Day… on the trails…or we even have biking seminars…or even paddling events. Our parks really embrace the whole New year, new you, new goals and getting people out using the parks. If you’re doing something that’s fun, and you enjoy it—you forget about the work side of it. So, I think when you’re out in the parks and you’re being active, you enjoy it a lot more, and are more inclined to do it again—and make it a habit. If you go to www.texasstateparks.org, we have an events page; our parks are constantly posting events on that page. And our first day hikes [and other first day activities] will definitely be on there. The parks really embrace it and have a lot of fun with it.

Find all first day activities at www.texasstateparks.org.

We record our series at The Block House and Joel Block engineers our program.

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.