Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

If you’ve spent more time in front of a computer than a campfire, and want to change that for yourself and your kids—The Texas Outdoor Family Program can help. Bryan Frazier has details.

Up to six people for a weekend, for $65, can learn basic outdoor skills: how to pitch a tent, build a campfire—do all of those things that make those outdoor experiences so great. Things that maybe we did a generation or two ago, that have kind of gotten lost. And so we’ve got expert guides that will help you and teach you all of these basic outdoor skills—for you and everybody who’s with you—up to six people. Check our calendar for the Texas Outdoor Families. And it’s at state park all across the state. It’s a fantastic way to get comfortable in the outdoors. To take your kids and show them that we can leave the TV behind and the video game behind for a little while and still get outside and have a great time. And Texas Outdoor Family breaks down some of those barriers when people aren’t comfortable, or don’t know those basic outdoor skills. We provide the tents, we provide the expertise, and all the other equipment that people will need in our Texas Outdoor Family program.

You just bring sleeping bags, food and personal effects.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet…building dependable, reliable trucks for more than 90 years.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Growing up, President Lyndon Baines Johnson felt the pinch of rural poverty, which may be why the Sauer Beckmann Living History Farm exists inside the LBJ State historic Site. TPW TV Producer, Don Cash, tells us about a segment airing this month called LBJ’s Hill Country Legacy.

It’s not really so much about Lyndon Johnson as president, but it’s really more about how he grew up in this part of Texas. A simple life on a farm, and how maybe that affected what he did as president later in his life.

It’s a great chance for people to go see how hard life was and how easy we have it today.

Thanks, Don.

The show airs the week of May 21.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

You want to take the family fishing, but maybe time is tight—or funds are tight. No worries. Our state park guide Bryan Frazier says your family can fish for free at state parks.

No one needs a fishing license as long as you’re inside a state park. Our free fishing in state parks program is something that we’ve done and is one of the most popular decisions we’ve ever made. We also have events: everything from fishing derbies to kids’ fishing tournaments, to fishing with a ranger, to learn to fish classes. All over the state. Wherever you are. Chances are there’s a state park near you and chances are there’s a fishing event happening this summer for you and your whole family. If you’re inside a Texas state park, you don’t need a fishing license or stamp, or anything like that. Whether its freshwater or saltwater, if you’re on state park property, we want people to fish and enjoy that—we want you to take kids fishing, and share that, so that down the road—in the future—maybe they’ll take their kids and so on. And just flat out, we don’t want people to miss out on what fishing can be in the state of Texas. And that is: enjoyment, peaceful scenery, and time spent together that you really can’t find in other ways.

Thanks, Bryan.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet…building dependable, reliable trucks for more than 90 years.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Abundant water and huge old cypress trees makes Caddo Lake ideal wildlife habitat.

06—Caddo Lake is the mother load for several species of neo-tropical migrants.

Cliff Shackelford is a non-game ornithologist stationed in Nacogdoches. The prothonotary warbler, northern parula, and yellow-throated warbler flock to Caddo.

17—A dawn chorus of those warblers singing is quite a neat thing. It’s good to be out in a boat, a canoe, a kayak, something where you can get out in the middle of the swamp to hear these things—they’re just loud and explosive. It’s really refreshing to hear things like that singing in the morning.

But warblers aren’t the only creatures that make use of Caddo’s resources. Vanessa Adams is the area biologist at the Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area. And says you’ll find white-tailed deer and…

14—We unfortunately do have feral hog, but that is a huntable population, of course. We see several species of ducks. You’ll see wood duck year round. We get mallards; we have other unusual ducks. In fact, we’ve had black-bellied whistling ducks nest here.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… providing funding for wetland conservation through the Private Lands Enhancement Program.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

State parks offer a variety of overnight accommodations for outdoors enthusiasts. And as our State Park guide Bryan Frazier tells us—it’s wise to make your reservations early.

62—The great thing about Texas is we do have a lot of year-round opportunities because of the weather and the seasonal nature of the state that we live in, but without question, our busy time is traditionally spring break all the way through labor Day up into September. We’re in that period right now, and what we really encourage people to do is—as early as you know when your plans are going to be—call and make a reservation or go online and make a reservation for a campsite, for a cabin or for a screen shelter. You can make a reservation 11 months in advance, and you can do that by phone, by fax; there are lots of different ways. The best way is online. Now, there’s no extra fee charged for an online reservation. You can go straight to our website, texasstateparks.org and follow the prompts. You can call 512-389-8900—that’s our main reservations number that people are familiar with for years to get a reservation. If you’re not camping, come on ahead, unannounced. It’s great—the more the merrier. But if you’re going to be doing overnight accommodations in any way—campsite, cabin, screen shelter—people need to make a reservation if they can at all, as far in advance as they can.

Thanks, Bryan.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet…building dependable, reliable trucks for more than 90 years.

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

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