Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Side-by-side, Bastrop and Buescher State parks have delighted outdoors enthusiasts for decades. Over the last two biennia, the legislature increased funding for all parks. Now these neighbors are getting a makeover. Our state park guide, Bryan Frazier, is here to tell us more.

The cabins and the things that we have there—they’ve gotten a lot of use over the years—and so they’ve been due for some improvements, and people are going to see renovations to those at Bastrop State Park.

Some of it’s going to be some trails and things that are going to be more ADA compliant. We’re going to renovate the bath house and the swimming pool at Bastrop State Park. So, again, we’re seeing monies from the previous two bienniums, put on the ground into real improvements and real facilities that people know and love and are going to be able to enjoy even more.

Tell us what you like about Bastrop and Buescher State Parks on our Facebook Fan page at Facebook.com/texasparksandwildlife.

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

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This is Passport to Texas Outdoor Stories

Waco resident, Judith Nees, is passionate about Atlanta State Park in east Texas. She calls it a hidden gem, and says it is priceless.

Atlanta State Park has so much to offer. What I liked the most was the tent camping areas were spacious enough from each other that you would never know that you even had a neighbor for the way they’re designed. The park rangers there are very knowledgeable about the historical angle of the park. It was a Caddoan settlement at one time. There are mounds there from our understanding, but they are protected from the public, and I can understand why. The park has both fire rings as well as griddles to grill on. They offer electricity and water. We noticed the restrooms are very, very nice. They each have showers in them—very clean. And it’s just a nice park settled in East Texas.

With hiking and interpretive nature trails—in addition to fishing and swimming—Judith says everyone can find something to love about Atlanta SP.

Do you have a favorite state park you want to tell us about, or outdoor experience you want to share? Go to passporttotexas.org, and click on the tab for Outdoor Stories.

That’s our show…Remember: Life’s Better Outside…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

Thanks to increased legislative appropriations for parks over the last two biennia, many state park sites will finally get the attention they deserve. Our state park guide, Bryan Frazier, is here to tell us more.

We’ve got Improvements and renovations at Goose Island SP, that’s a very popular park. Along the coast there, on the beach, those old picnic structures are really in need of repair and those are being repaired and fixed up.

Dangerfield SP is actually going to close for a little awhile, because it’s going to get almost a total face lift to its facilities, its campgrounds and things. And so I think people are really going to see some of their favorite parks and facilities and some of the jewels that we have be that much better—and their camping and hiking and fishing experiences will be that much more enjoyable.

Share your experiences at these parks with others when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife Facebook fan page, at Facebook.com/texasparksandwildlife.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Buying ready to cook food wasn’t an option for early Texans. The majority grew vegetables and raised animals to feed their families. Timing was everything when processing certain foodstuffs.

05—Things like this butchering that we’re doing today, or making sausage, has to be done in the wintertime.

Summer heat would spoil fresh meat, says Stephen Baethge, Sauer-Beckmann Living History farm park ranger and interpreter. The farm, at the LBJ State Park and Historic site, interprets early Texas life.

05—What we’re doing on a daily basis down here is just trying to show you how people would have lived a hundred years ago.

Which means this early 1900s farmstead did not have the benefit of refrigeration. If families wanted bacon or sausage in summer, for example, they had to plan ahead and make it during the cooler months of the year.

05—Because a lot of the meats we prepare, they take about ten days to cure.

Taking 10 days in Texas’ summer heat to cure meat would raise a stink. Staff uses 60 % beef to 40% pork when making sausage, a favorite of the German families that settled Texas Hill Country communities.

10—You know, these people ate a lot of lard, they ate a lot of fat. But they were working so hard that it really didn’t make them fat, because they burned it all off. They worked their way through all those calories.

Something to consider next time you’re in air conditioned comfort, eating a BBQ sandwich, needing to unbutton the top button of your jeans. That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

Garner State Park, which may be our most popular park, seems to have it all, including access to water, beautiful scenery, cabins and campsites, and even a nightly dance during the summer. And now it has one more thing—money for much-needed repairs. Our state park guide, Bryan Frazier, explains.

Garner State Park is one of those iconic natural resource wonders that we have in Texas. So many people have visited Garner State Park and love it and enjoy the Frio River, and the cabins.

We’ve been able to spend a couple of million dollars toward those renovations. Toward those projects, and those are all due to voter approved, legislative approved increases in the previous two biennium. And I think people are going to see that in the next several months.

Go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife YouTube channel where you’ll find a video of Garner State Park…it’s like being there.

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

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