Passport to Texas

Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum. Photo by Richard Nowitz.

TPW Magazine: Exploring Beaumont, Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Beaumont never seemed like a destination to me. Yet, after reading Sheryl Smith-Rodgers’ article about it in the December issue of TPW Magazine, I’ve reconsidered.

05— I guess I was surprised that there are many museums there.

There’s the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, the Energy Museum, the Fire Museum, the Art Museum of SE Texas, the McFaddin-WardHouse Historic Museum and many others. Plus, there’s good grub.

10 – They have Cajun there since they’re so close to the Louisiana border; Cajun food’s real big there. Seafood – being so close to the Gulf – they have really great seafood.

They have nature, too, and a lot of it, including the Cattail Marsh, a 600-acre manmade wetlands.

30 – It was constructed to treat the effluent from the city’s wastewater treatment plant. But it’s also become a hotspot for birders. They’ve got more than 240 listed bird species there. And, when I was there visiting, just during the course of maybe an hour, it was amazing how many birds that we saw. There’s alligators that have migrated over from the bayou into these wetlands. It’s just a really cool place.

Beaumont. Who knew? Learn more about this town with a little something extra when you read Sheryl Smith-Rodgers Three Days in the Field article called Mixing Oil and Water, in the December issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

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

State Park Ambassadors at Colorado Bend State Park.

Parks: State Park Ambassadors Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Karen Zimmerman loves Texas state parks so much that she became a volunteer state park ambassador. Today she coordinates the program for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

15—The ambassador program is a team of hand-picked, dedicated outreach volunteers that mainly target the young adult demographic, and are just here to spread the word about the benefits of outdoor recreation and everything that Texas State Parks has to offer.

The program casts a wide net, with a particular interest in attracting young adults aged 16 to 28.

07— That demographic makes up 14 percent of the Texas population and only four percent of Texas State Parks visitors…

…thus creating a generational problem in Texas, said Zimmerman.

13—If you don’t go camping as a kid, it’s harder for you to learn to appreciate that as you get older. And, if you make it past that young adult age range without being exposed to how great that can be, then it becomes even harder.

The 16 – 28 age range is the last “entrance point” before possibly losing them altogether. Ambassadors reach out to these young people, speaking their language, using their technology and once they get them to sample the outdoors…

08—State Parks sell themselves. Usually all we have to do is just tell them what’s out there, how easy it is to get there, and how much it costs. Young adults are curious.

Read an in-depth article about the State Park Ambassador program in the December issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

That’s out show. Funding Provided in part by RAM Trucks. Guts…glory…RAM.

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

Big antlers on a fine buck.

TPW Magazine: The Allure of Antlers Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Deer provided sustenance to ancient people who hunted them. Today, deer hunters seek more than a meal.

05— You never see anyone take a picture with a nice backstrap. It’s always the antlers.

What is the allure of antlers? Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine editor, Louie Bond, says they tackle the question in November’s cover story; just in time for deer season.

05—We always like to look at deer hunting stories in different ways than other publications might.

While nourishment was their main reason for hunting deer, like modern hunters, ancient peoples also valued the antlers…but for different reasons.

16—Medicine men from back then believed that you could grind up the antlers and use them to cure all sorts of ailments. As writer Mike Cox says, they were sort of the Home Depot raw materials selection of the day as you made knife handles, and scrapers and all sorts of implements and tools out of them.

Louie Bond says she originally intended the story, The Allure of Antlers, as a photo-essay in Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

15—But, then when we began digging into all of the cultural stuff, and Mike Cox is our great historian here at Texas Parks and Wildlife; it was right up his ally. So, he started looking into the cultural references and medicinal aspects, and then we decided there was just too much story here to ignore.

Discover how antlers transitioned from tools to trophies in the November issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series.

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

Dancing with a Ghost, artwork by Clemente Guzman.

TPW Magazine: Ghost Stories from South Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you grew up in South Texas, you probably heard stories from the book:

02— Stories That Must Not Die.

Stephanie Salinas grew up in Laredo reading these tales by Juan Sauvageau. They capture the soul and spirit of the region. The author’s storytelling pulls readers in and keeps them on the edge of their seats, says Salinas – such as the tale of Manuel and Maria in Dancing with a Ghost.

44—A man was driving along to go to a dance, and he found a woman on the side of the road. She wanted to go dance, so he took her with him. And, she was the best dancer, and everyone was completely in awe. At the end of the night he dropped her off in the same place; she was cold so he lent her his jacket. The next morning he drove to where he dropped her off. He saw a small house in the distance, so he drove up and asked is Maria was home. The woman who answered the door started bursting into tears. She said Maria had passed away ten years ago. He said that’s impossible; I danced with her last night. He said she was wearing a pink dress. And she said, oh, she was a great dancer and we buried her in a pink dress. And the mother took him to the grave where Maria was buried, and on top of the grave was his jacket.

Stephanie Salinas has an article about Stories That Must Not Die by Juan Sauvageau in the October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

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

Stephanie Salinas taken at Inks Lake, and her dad at Pedernales Falls.

TPW Magazine: Three Days in the Field Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The outdoors helps you recharge and connect with those you love, as Stephanie Salinas discovered when writing a piece for Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine’s Three Days in the Field column.

07— You basically try and create a weekend adventure just to get away, and take a break from the routine.

Her dad was her companion for this Central Texas jaunt.

09—Well, my dad and I are very close, and he’s a big nature buff. He loves going hiking and hunting, and I don’t really get to see him as often since I moved away.

They visited Inks Lake, Longhorn Caverns and Pedernales Falls, all within 30 minutes of one another.

08—We stayed the first two nights at Inks Lake, because Inks Lake and Longhorn Caverns are about five minutes apart. So, it’s really easy to go back and forth. At Inks they stayed in a cabin, fished, cooked on a campfire and the first night took a quarter mile hike to
Devil’s Waterhole.

05—Which is an overlook of the entire park. It was a really short hike that offered great, great views.

Across the road at Longhorn Caverns, the absence of stalactites and stalagmites surprised Salinas and dad.

07—This one was made by a rushing river millions of years ago. It’s completely smooth – the entire top looks like marble.

And Pedernales offered surprises around every turn.

05—The thing about this one is it has a lot of hidden nooks and crannies that you wouldn’t even think of.

Read Stephanie Salinas’ article in the October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia