Passport to Texas

Caprock Canyons State Park

Caprock Canyons Search and Rescue Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Caprock Canyons State Park is 14-thousand acres of rough terrain, and elevation drops of a thousand feet. If you hike there, Superintendent Donald Beard says “stick to designated trails.”

We have about 28-miles of trails inside the park—which are multi-use trails. But, not all people follow the trails. And some bad things can happen when that takes place.

During the July Fourth weekend, a man and woman went off trail, and ventured into a remote area, where the woman ended up falling and breaking her leg.

So, the husband was able to use his cell phone and get assistance. We were able to dispatch—not only us—but several other law enforcement agencies and fire departments. Close to two dozen people. About 10 and a half hours of either searching, or trying to remove her from the remote location so we could get her to a helicopter.

Superintendent Beard said rescue crews could only drive so far to reach the location, after that—it was all by foot.

Once we got to that point when we could no longer drive, then it was about another hour or so. Hour and a half hike just to get to their location. That was after we found them.

By the time rescuers found the hikers, it was getting dark. How did the finally reach the injured hiker and get her to safety. Tune in tomorrow and find out.

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

Keep an eye on the night sky and you might see a meteor.

Meteors Over Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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When small fragments of cosmic debris—created when a comet swings past the sun—enter the earth’s atmosphere at high rates of speed, they’re visible as streaks of light in the night sky. And there are plenty of meteor showers on the way.

The popular Perseid meteor shower, which peaks in mid-August, is among the more popular meteor events, and seems to originate from the constellation Perseus. In dark sky locations, expect to see up to 75 meteors an hour.

From early October to Mid-November the Orionids are visible. In a normal year you may see 20-25 meteors an hour; in a great year, as many as 50/hr.

The Leonids, are visible much of November, caused by the comet Temple-Tuttle. The Leonids have offered stunning meteor storms as recently as 2001, but expect only 15 meteors an hour through 2031 when the comet reappears.

The Geminids, visible from early to mid-December, are often bright and intensely colored. Meteors start showing up before 10 p.m., which means you don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to see them.

Whether you see 1 or 100 meteors, it’s always a thrill. You can always find more stargazing information in the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Texas State Bison Music Festival

Bison Music Festival at Caprock Canyons State Park Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Clear your calendar the weekend of September 17 and make plans to attend the annual Texas State Bison Music Festival.

This year’s festival is in the town of Quitaque; it’s a street dance where we close off part of the street. We have arts and craft vendors, lots of food, and some fantastic entertainment this year.

Quitaque is south of Caprock Canyons State Park, home to the state’s bison herd. Donald Beard is superintendent. The festival is a fundraiser for the Texas State Bison Herd Restoration Project.

It’s a good way to have a fundraiser and have a lot of fun. This year we’re also celebrating because the bison has recently been named as our national mammal. So, we’ve got lots of reasons to celebrate this year.

Tickets are available now; festival details and ticket prices at bisonfest.com.

The festival this year will be headlined by Robert Earl Keen. We have several other entertainers: Mark Powell, Zac Wilkerson, and Kevin Deal. You can call the park for more information, or you can check us out at our website or Facebook…Texas State Bison Music Festival. The concert starts at about 3 p.m.; vendors start at 9 a.m. Come all day and bring your lawn chairs.

The Texas State Bison Music Festival, benefiting the Texas State Bison Herd Restoration Project is Saturday September 17 in Quitaque. Plenty of food and drink–including adult beverages–available from vendors.

Be safe and have a designated driver.

You can bring a cooler when you pay a $10 cooler fee.

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

Members of the Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons State Park

Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons State Park Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Caprock Canyons State Park is home to living history: the State Bison Herd.

The herd was started by Charles Goodnight back in the 1870s. And it’s one of the five foundation herds that all bison today pretty much come from.

Unchecked slaughter of Bison nearly brought them to extinction. Mary Goodnight, wife of legendary Texas rancher Charles Goodnight, encouraged her husband to capture calves to save the species. The 130 or so bison roaming Caprock Canyons today are direct descendants of those animals.

There is about 12-thousand acres of bison range in the park. Just about everything that’s open to the public is open to the bison. You can run into them almost everywhere in the park.

Donald Beard, Park Superintendent, says although bison roam freely, visitors must not interact with them.

We do everything we can to keep the park visitor and the animal safe. We educate the visitors as they come in. There are signs. As they come into the visitor center, they’re hand a safety message pamphlet that talks about what to do if you run into a bison on the trail. We just have to keep telling visitors that this is a bison range; of course the bison have the right-of-way. So, the best thing you can do if you run along a bison on a trail is find a shade tree, get out your camera, take some pictures, and wait for them to move on.

Tomorrow: the annual Texas Bison Music Fest.

That’s our show… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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

Paddling where the Gulf meets the marsh: Sea Rim State Park.

Sea Rim Bounces Back from Past Hurricanes Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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At the far southeast corner of Texas lies a remote and unique coastal park. Sea Rim State Park has 5.2 miles of Gulf shoreline and 4,000 acres of marshlands…and is no stranger to the fury of hurricanes.

Sea Rim has a long history with hurricanes.

Nathan Londenberg is site superintendent at Sea Rim.

Back in the late 80s, we had Hurricane Jerry that came through—and it wiped out Highway 87. Then, we had Hurricane Rita. Hurricane Rita came out and it devastated the park. Then, after Hurricane Rita, the park was just about to reopen, and lo and behold, Hurricane Ike decided to come and visit the park.

Ike completely wiped out the infrastructure at the park in 2008, save for the Gambusia Nature Trail. But it’s not all bad.

It’s a fresh, new leaf. The park has slowly been rebuilding with all brand new facilities and amenities for the public to come and enjoy.

This coastal wonderland is open, and ready for your visit.

We have 15 water and electric campsites. We have camping out on the beach. We have a boardwalk that you can walk out to the beach if you don’t want to drive out. We do have a couple of restrooms, and a cabin that we rent out with the comforts of home with air conditioning. We also have 10 miles of canoes and paddling trails. We do rent out canoes and kayaks at the park as well.

There’s more about Sea Rim SP on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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